A Maori Welcome
Last night I was delving into the past via David Howell Studios when I came across this video. The beauty of the words accompanying the post reminded me of my first welcome to Rangiatea, a Maori language immersion school in Aotearoa (New Zealand). So I scrounged up this video from that trip, taken on another student’s digital camera.
Here is the scene. We have been called onto the Marae (if you’ve seen Whale Rider you know what this sounds like), and speeches have been made (in Maori) to introduce us to the place and its leaders. We have in turn all stood up individually and told the people of this place who we are, where we came from and why we are here. There were many more people waiting to greet us than we expected, and they’ve sung to us twice already, to support the words of the speakers. And we have reciprocated by singing for them in support of the words of our leaders. Our time in this sacred space of meeting has ended, and to come back to normal space and time, we will all share a meal together.
So imagine all of that. And then, these beautiful people who have spent all this time preparing for us, cooking, preparing the space and the table, none will eat until we all help ourselves. And while we help ourselves, this song.
A Maori Welcome [1:55m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (600) AppleTV version [2:20m]: Download (514)They are singing about what it means to be Maori, their journey as a people from the beginning of time until now, all they have endured and accomplished. Listen to the enormous love and pride in their voices.
I tell you, I couldn’t eat. I sat there with tears streaming down my face and splashing into my plate. And it’s happening again, writing this. Because now, even watching this crappy video, I see at least fifteen people I made a direct heart connection with, and the love contained within the sound of their voices carries across time and distance.
Thanks, David, for the video you shared, and for reminding me to unearth this and share it. It’s way too beautiful to sit on a hard drive, spinning.
July 4th, 2007 at 10:19 am
Cheryl -
I can hear the love and pride in their voices and the hand movements are beautiful. The way the men’s voices support the women’s and vice versa is incredible. Watching this opened up my heart and tears came even though I wasn’t there. Thank you for posting this.
- Lea
July 4th, 2007 at 12:49 pm
Yay! I figured if any of my friends would appreciate this video (besides my Maori friends and my fellow travelers) it would be you and David. I have another one that I’ll post when I return from my mom’s, where I’m currently enjoying a slice of rural America at its finest.
July 5th, 2007 at 2:02 pm
wow, their voices are so assured and uplifting.
makes me feel good!
August 13th, 2008 at 11:37 am
Wow!
I can’t thank you enough for posting this. The memories, the sounds, the sight of all these wonderful people we met brings joy to my heart as well as an ache to see them and hug them all just once more.
What wonderful experiences we enjoyed!