Driving Miss Karen

A blog about our travel

Rotorua and Mitai Maori

by · Published · Updated

Rotorua is know for its geothermal features. Kind of a mini Yellowstone. That wasn’t super interesting to us since we’ve been to Yellowstone a couple of times. What they don’t have in Yellowstone is a Maori village. It is rare for any Maori to live as their ancestors did. They are too practical for that. Mitai village does keep many of the traditions alive including Hangi cooking, Maori games. dances, and songs. It is a real family with a hereditary chief and many other cultural traditions. This is our second Maori activity and both have been weirdly emotional.

We don’t know the language but the songs are full of joy and maybe longing. I’m not sure why, but both times we’ve gotten choked up listening
The Hangi unveiling after it’s been dug up
They used to cover the food with leaves but today it’s foil and sack cloth
A Maori\traditional feast meal is cooked in an underground oven called a Hangi. Stones are heated and the food is placed on top and covered for 3-4 hours. We had chicken, lamb, and potatoes (not traditional bush meat) and it was so good. The slow cook keeps it tender and moist\
Very cool looking spring
The war canoe barely fits so they reverse row back out
Before we eat, they take us to the Sacred Spring which used to be off limits to all the Maori except the chief and the head priest of the village. We also see a Waka (canoe) demonstration where the y row in and then reverse back out. We also saw New Zealand’s national symbol the silver fern.
Next is a cultural performance with a welcome Haka, weapon exercises, and coordination games like the stick game
Singing is a big part of Maori culture and they sound good with different harmonies that sound great. Last time I was here, I downloaded some Maori songs. I like them but they don’t evoke the same response.
After dinner there was a great Question-Answer session and then we toured the village under the watchful gaze of the guardian statues carved near the gates

Jose

AKA Alfred

You may also like...