a feast and a song
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Bigger version (640 x 360) [5:05m]: Download (112)Back during NaVloPoMo, I made several posts about Kanohi ki te Kanohi (Face to Face), the Maori performing arts group I spent time with in Aotearoa (New Zealand).
Well guess what?! They’re here! Right here in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. They arrived Friday April 18, and have already kicked things off to a great start. On Sunday there was a pow wow at ASU. Two Navajo students from our travel group made sure our Maori friends could attend the pow wow. I didn’t get to go, but our friends were given the opportunity to perform at the pow wow after the opening ceremony. From what I hear, the pow wow community opened their hearts to our Maori friends, bestowed gifts during and after their performance, and really felt an instant connection. I wish I could have been there.
This video is from dinner after the pow wow, at the home of fellow traveler Nizhoni and her amazing chef husband Joseph. He fed us a four or five course meal that included a prickly pear cactus salad, his own version of surf and turf which included swordfish steak and buffalo burgers, and a custom dessert creation called “Chocolate Taranaki” in honor of the volcanic mountain dominating the landscape where our friends live. The meal was seriously amazing.
Between courses, our friends taught us a song. You can learn it too, here are the words:
He honore, he kororia Maungarongo ki te whenua Whakaro pai e Ki nga tangata katoa Ake ake, ake ake, amine Te atua, te piringa, toku oranga (x2) Toku oranga
Wendy Lewis is the woman teaching us the words to the song and what they mean. This song is an acknowledgment of ties to Parihaka, a Taranaki settlement whose two leaders drew on ancestral and Christian teachings to organize passive resistance to the colonizing army, and that is now is a manifestation of peace here on Earth.
Sorry for my crappy video & audio recording. I’m not good at both recording and experiencing moments at the same time, and I didn’t have my good mic with me either … so this is the best I and my poor little Xacti could do under the circumstances.
April 22nd, 2008 at 1:04 am
[…] hummingcrow: one squall voice « a feast and a song […]
April 22nd, 2008 at 1:06 am
this is amazing, gave me chills. So many cool things about it. The woman had such strength and presence, she commanded the attention of the room. The song was so beautiful. The Mauri people are so interesting, I would love to visit NZ more than any other place. Once my son is old enough I cant wait to take him.
Have you seen the movie One Giant Leap? Lots of great Mauri interviews (amongst others) in that. Great music, great video. Check it out.
April 22nd, 2008 at 1:17 am
Thanks for your comment & movie recommendation.Haven’t seen that yet, Adam. I will be on the lookout for it. Just searched Google video but all I got was stuff with Neil Armstrong in it. Heh.
I strongly encourage you to go to Aotearoa, you’ll love it. I’ll meet you there!!
April 22nd, 2008 at 4:13 am
I’ve got a friend from New Zealand. Loved the movie Whale Rider!
April 22nd, 2008 at 7:19 am
What a fantastic bunch of people. Loved Wendy’s brilliant expressions teaching the pronunciation. And as for the pudding…mmmmmm…
April 22nd, 2008 at 9:38 am
here is a new site OGL have just updated. New project coming soon by the looks of it.
http://www.1giantleap.tv/php/summary.php?id=1&ID=
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1_Giant_Leap
http://www.amazon.com/1-Giant-Leap-Asha-Bhosle/dp/B00006IUJZ
Lots of great samples here:
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=1+giant+leap&search_type=
April 27th, 2008 at 9:27 am
I just came over your blog by accident….. what a great song, what a great moment… thanks for sharing!!!