What an incredible evening it was! The night kicked off with a delightful dinner featuring mouthwatering ribs and heavenly chocolate pudding, all served buffet-style— not to mention well labeled gluten-free options, making it a feast for everyone! I particularly loved the lemonade. It was more like a herbal tea which was heavily sweated, but it was still refreshing and amazing!
With our spirits high, we strolled into the first building, where an unusual request greeted us: no smiling, laughing, or talking. Despite the challenge, our enthusiasm only grew as we moved to the second building through a light rain. The second building was a carved meeting house for the traditional Maori people! There, we were treated to mesmerizing dances and songs. The rhythmic twirls of sticks, powerful war-like performances, and the vibrant sounds of voices filled the space with energy. It was crazy to watch the faces of the dancers. There were 4 women and 4 men; the men were dressed in war-like clothing with skins, tatoes, and groin cloths. They were all armed with this particular wepon, which I was fassinated with!
One highlight was the explanation of weapons used in their traditional dances— the tip was a sharpened point, shaped to look like a tounge, about that it was adorned with a carved face to symbolize a spasicic tribe or clan and tufts of hair or feathers topped off the head which connected te main shaft of the wepon to the point. The tuft served a dual purpose: wiping off blood and creating distracting whirls to distract opponents. We were also captivated by dances featuring flying balls on strings—I did not get any picutes of this sadly, but it was amazing, I can tell you that! One of my higlights of the night was a song about a tragic love story of two souls separated by an island, their passion leading to a classic end.
It was fascinating to learn that, traditionally, the tribe performed a dance before going to war, either to intimidate the enemy or to uplift their own warriors. The ceremonial dance, with its intense gaze and menacing postures- it is said (and I can be speaking from experience) that the opponent would be freaked out by the bulging of the eyes, and the display of the tongue. All of this reflected the deep-rooted traditions and beliefs of this extraordinary community. What an enchanting and culturally rich experience!
