Whale Rider

A Film Review by James Berardinelli

New Zealand/Germany, 2003
U.S. Release Date: 6/6/03 (limited)
Running Length:1:45
MPAA Classification: PG-13 (Mature themes, profanity)
Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Cast: Keisha Castle-Hughes, Rawiri Paratene, Vicky Haughton, Cliff Curtis, Grant Roa, Mana Taumaunu, Rachel House
Director: Niki Caro
Producers: John Barnett, Frank Hbner, Tim Sanders
Screenplay:Niki Caro, based on the novel by Witi Ihimaera
Cinematography: Leon Narbey
Music: Lisa Gerrard
U.S. Distributor: Newmarket Film Group
The theme of Whale Rider that of female empowerment is not unique, but the context in which it is
presented is. Like many tribal societies, the Maoris are patriarchal, and the concept of a female ruler, if
not unthinkable, goes against tradition. Whale Rider, based on the novel by Maori author Witi Ihimaera,
postulates what might happen if, in seeming contravention of religious custom, a girl appears to have
been endowed with the mystical abilities of chieftain.
The Whangara people live in a village on the eastern coast of New Zealand a place they have inhabited
for more than a millennium. Legend says that their demi-god ancestor, Paikea, arrived in New Zealand on
the back of a whale. Since then, the first-born son has always been the Whangara chieftain until now.
Pai is the lone survivor of a difficult birth that claims the lives of her mother and her twin brother. Her
grief-stricken father, Porourangi (Cliff Curtis), flees the island for Europe, leaving his little daughter in
the care of his father and mother, Koro (Rawiri Paratene) and Nanny Flowers (Vicky Haughton). Koro is
bitterly disappointed, since it appears that the bloodline of centuries has ended with his immediate family.
He cannot bring himself to consider that Pai, the firstborn in Paikea's bloodline, might be the rightful
chieftain because she is not a male.
The majority of the story takes place when Pai (Keisha Castle-Hughes) is about 11 years old. She spends
most of the film trying to prove herself to her grandfather, who stubbornly refuses to consider her as
anything more than a disappointment. He begins to teach all the first-born males in the village in the "old
ways," hoping that one of them will show the courage, strength, and fortitude to take over the Whangara's
leadership. Ultimately, however, it is the whales those animals that bore Paikea to New Zealand who
indirectly reveal the truth.
Whale Rider is the second movie in a decade to address the subject of Maori survival in modern culture.
The other film, Once Were Warriors, was directed by Lee Tamahori (a Maori) and presented a bleak
perspective of how progress and assimilation have emasculated the Maori spirit. Whale Rider has a more
optimistic point-of-view, indicating that, while change is necessary, it need not destroy culture and
tradition. Pai's role is to not to tear down a custom that has held true for more than 1000 years, but to re-
shape and continue it. Screenwriter/director Niki Caro is not a Maori, but she went to great pains to
ensure the authenticity of the movie, including hiring Maori advisors, populating the film with indigenous
extras, and filming in the actual place where the book is set.
All of this probably makes Whale Rider sound like a study in sociology, but that's only the background.
The story itself is richly rewarding and uplifting the coming-of-age tale of a girl who must defy the odds
to achieve her goals. There's plenty of humor to keep the overall tone light, although there are moments of
deeper, heartfelt pathos. The characters and relationships are three dimensional. The most rewarding of
these is that of Pai and her grandfather. There is affection there, but, on Koro's side, a self-imposed
distance. Especially early in the film, we see that he genuinely cares for his granddaughter, but his
disappointment about her gender colors his actions and perspective. For her part, all she wants to do is
earn his respect a point that is heartbreakingly illustrated when she gives a speech dedicated to him.
Keisha Castle-Hughes is wonderful as Pai, showing the character's unflagging spirit and boundless
determination. The aforementioned speech is the actress' best scene. The way in which she delivers it and
the tears she sheds are entirely believable. Meanwhile, Rawiri Paratene portrays Koro as a stern and
humorless man, but not a villain. He is an individual of strong values and beliefs who cannot escape the
rigidity of his upbringing. In a way, Whale Rider is as much the story of Koro's growth as it is Pai's.
Whale Rider has been successful at every film festival where it has played, but it faces an uphill battle
during its North American release. Nearly every viewer who sees Whale Rider will leave the theater
uplifted and full of praise, but the subject matter sounds so dry and off-putting that the difficulty facing
the distributor is to get people to buy tickets. Whale Rider has the potential to generate strong word-of-
mouth if Newmarket can get enough butts in theater seats to start the flood of praise.
2003 James Berardinelli

http://www.piccom.org/home/whalerider/thebook.html
MAORI GLOSSARY
Aotearoa: New Zealand
Aroha: Love
Atua: god
Haka: War dance
Haka Peruperu: A Haka dance performed with weapons
Haka Taparahi: A Haka dance performed without weapons
Hakari: Feast
Hapu: Subtribe
Hariru: Shake hands
Hongi: Rubbing or touching noses, a Maori greeting
Iwi: Tribe
Kaikrero Paki: Storyteller
Kapa Haka: Maori cultural song and dance
Karakia: Incantation
Karanga: Call
Kirituhi: Maori skin art
Korero: Stories
Koru: Artistic spiral design element
Kowhaiwhai: Ornate designs painted onto the rafters in a meeting house
Lapita: Ancestral Polynesian culture
Mana Whenua: Control of land
Mana: Reputation, authority, power, prestige
Manuhiri: Guest
Marae: Community meeting space
Moko or Ta Moko: Sacred Maori practice of tattooing
Noa: Normal state
Pakeha: New Zealanders of European descent
Paua: A shell fish related to the abalone; inside the shell is a myriad of ever
changing colors
Pounamu: New Zealand jade of hard density
Poutama: A woven pattern of steps on the walls of meeting houses
Powhiri: Welcome ceremony
Rahui: Making a certain area tapu, or off-limits
Rangatira: Chief
Rangatiratanga: Leadership
Reo: Speech
Taiaha: A two handed spear-like fighting weapon
Tane: God of the Forests
Tangaroa: God of the Sea
Taniwha: Mythical beast
Tapu: Sacred or restricted
Te Reo: Maori language
Tekoteko: A carved figure found on the gable apex structure of a Maori meeting
house to ward away evil spirits
Tikanga: Customs
Tohunga: Ritual expert
Waiata: Song
Waka Confederation: An amalgamation of iwi connected by whakapapa
Waka: Canoe
Whaikorero: Speech
Whakairo: Maori carvings
Whakapapa: Genealogy
Whanau: Family
Wharenui: Meeting House
Whironui: An ancestor

Synopsis of Whale Rider
The critically acclaimed feature film Whale Rider , a powerful cinematic re-telling of an
ancient Maori legend, airs on PBS Sunday, July 24, 2005, 9:00-11:00 p.m. ET. The broadcast
premiere on PBS stars Keisha Castle-Hughes in her enchanting
Oscar-nominated performance as Pai, with three of New Zealands
most distinguished actors: Rawiri Paratene as stern grandfather Koro,
Vicky Haughton as Nanny Flowers and Cliff Curtis as Porourangi, Pais
father.

A contemporary story of love, rejection and triumph as a young girl
fights to fulfill her destiny, Whale Rider is directed by Niki Caro and based on the best-selling
1986 novel by award-winning New Zealand writer Witi Ihimaera (the first Maori novelist to
be published in that country). Author Ihimaera was inspired to write Whale Rider after he
had taken his daughters to a number of action movies and they asked why the boy was
always the hero and the girl the one who was helpless. "So I decided to write a novel in
which the girl is the hero."

Shot entirely in Whangara, a coastal village on the east coast of New Zealands North
Island, Whale Rider re-interprets a 1,000-year-old legend about Paikea, the founder of the
native New Zealand tribe Ngati Konohi, whose members believe their leader arrived in their
village on the back of a whale after his canoe capsized.

Set in the present, Whale Rider focuses on Pai, a 12-year-old girl who dares to challenge the
ancient traditions of her people, despite opposition from her grandfather Koro, the village
chief. Who will become the tribes new leader after Koro? By tradition, it should be the eldest
son. But Pais twin brother and mother died at birth, and her grief-stricken father has
wandered off, causing a crisis in the transfer of power. Koro refuses to recognize that a girl
could be the leader of the tribe.

Why cant a girl enter the pantheon of leaders, Pai wonders? Koro finds the notion
inconceivable. When he despairs of his sons return, he begins teaching ancestral traditions
to the boys of the village, hoping one will prove worthy to succeed him. Pai is forbidden to
participate, but she watches, secretly, from the sidelines. When her moment comes, she is
ready. It is through Pais singular quest for her grandfathers love and acceptance that she
discovers her destiny.

"Whale Rider is essentially about leadership and the fact
that leadership presents itself in the form of a young girl,"
explains director Niki Caro. "Its Pais destiny to lead, but
that is in direct opposition to her grandfathers beliefs, and
hes the person she loves more than anything in the
world. So the film deals with his struggle to accept her
destiny and the extraordinary lengths to which shell go to
make him understand her and prove her love to him."

Winner of audience awards at the Sundance, Toronto and
Rotterdam Film Festivals, Whale Rider is a radiant story about an exceptional girls coming of
age and of a proud Maori communitys struggle to embrace new ways of thinking.

Underwriters: Public Television Viewers and PBS. Producers: South Pacific Pictures,
ApolloMedia and Pandor Film. Presenter: Pacific Islanders in Communications (PIC).
Executive producers: Bill Gavin and Linda Goldstein Knowlton. Producers: Tim Sanders, John
Barnett and Frank Hubner. Associate producer: Witi Ihimaera. Director/screenwriter: Niki
Caro.

The Legend of Paikea
Whale Rider is an up-to-the-minute re-telling of an ancient genealogical legend belonging
specifically to the Ngati Konohi, a subtribe of the Ngati Porou who live along the East Coast
of New Zealand. Their founding father, Paikea, arrived by whale in Aotearoa "land of the
long white cloud," eventually to be called New Zealand in the eighth century. Moreover, he
first hit land in Whangara, their very own village.

"There's nothing startling about this particular incident,"
explains Hone Taumaunu, an educator and Ngati
Konohi elder, who served as the film's Maori advisor.
"Other Maori ancestors reputedly came by bird, by
rainbow and even on other varieties of fish. But Paikea
was a demi-god, able to change his form and appearance.
When he arrived in Aotearoa, he became the eponymous
male, able to generate future generations of Maori." The
elder further notes that paikea is another term for whale.

According to ancient Maori belief, the entire planet once was water through which their
ancestors moved. "We are mindful that Paikea was an offspring of the great god of the
ocean, Tangaroa." says Taunaunu. "We ofNgati Konohi are deeply involved and respectful of
our 'sea mythology.' In a chant dedicated to Paikea's journey, we are reminded that his
caregiver sea mother was a whale who helped him in his epic journey. Two other
ancestors who gave support and encouragement were Te Petipeti, the jelly fish, and Te
Rangahua, the small porpoises.
Making of the Film
Novelist Witi Ihimaera (pictured at right), with tribal links to the
Whangara community, has heard the whale legend all of his life. "I
got the idea for the book in 1985 when I was living in New York as
New Zealand's Consul General," he remembers. "A whale came up
the Hudson River just when my daughters Jessica and Olivia were
visiting. They'd been complaining to me about the movies I was
taking them to, in which the boy is always the hero and the girl
screams 'Save me, save me, I'm helpless.' The Paikea legend
sprang to mind. Having a girl ride the whale, which is also a symbol
of patriarchy, was my sneaky literary way of socking it to the guy
thing."

"All my books are dedicated to my daughters. I was the eldest son
of an eldest son of an eldest son. My daughters came along to
change all of that and also my life. Anybody who says there are
things a girl can't do will have to answer to me!"

Producer John Barnett optioned the novel in the early 1990s but 10 years and countless
screenplay drafts would pass before Niki Caro emerged as a contender, having just won New
Zealand's Best Film Award for her first feature, Memory and Desire.

"I read all the previous drafts but they didn't speak to me," recalls Caro, "so I asked
permission to write one of my own. I wanted to make a film with a powerful, magical quality
that moves effortlessly between the real and the spiritual, a film that honors the original
material but brings it into a real, contemporary setting. What the little girl goes through is so
profound and compelling. It's a spiritual awakening, which movies rarely explore."

What Caro wrote was radically different from previous screen adaptations and even from the
book itself, in that she extrapolated the Pai-Koro generational stand-off from a more
discursive narrative. But her concept proved exhilarating.

"Niki nailed it," says producer John Barnett. "I always believed that Whale Rider's themes are
relevant to societies and cultures throughout the world. What she did was so fantastic, we
offered her the opportunity to direct the film."

The novelist was equally enthusiastic. "By focusing on Pai, a girl fighting against patriarchy,
she made a movie which transcends nationality or ethnicity and speaks universally to the
heart."

But the praise-worthy screenplay was merely the production's first step. The Maori are
understandably cautious about allowing pakeha New Zealanders of European descent to
interpret their history and culture. The best known film to date about Maori life is the
esteemed Once Were Warriors (1977), directed by one of their own, Lee Tomahori.

Enter hands-on producers Tim Sanders, just completing a triumphal five-year assignment
with Peter Jackson and Lord of the Rings. "I thought Niki's screenplay was terrific, and simply
had to be shot in Whangara, where Witi set his story. I drove to the tribal marae in
Whangara to meet with Hone and the elders and got lost! But though I was quite late,
they invited me in for 'tea' which turned into a veritabIe
feast. We sat together for several hours and talked
everything through. Witi is one of theirs and they want to
see his work promoted. I departed with their 100%
commitment." Yes, Whale Rider could be made on the
tribal marae in Whangara.

The marae a large piece of land with associated
buildings is of central importance to all Maori. Hone
Taumaunu: "It's a place where Maori can behave
according to those traditional procedures they hold dear.
It is used as a convention center, for social activities and conferences, and for funeral
observances. It is also the repository of our genealogy as exemplified in the various tribal
carvings which adorn the walls of the wharenui or meeting house."

It now fell to Niki Caro, a pakeha, to make her own case to the elders. "I showed every
single draft of the screenplay to Witi," she says, "before finally submitting it to the elders.
When their blessings were secured, I began to travel between my home in Auckland and
Whangara, not only to know more about the Ngati Konohi, but to allow them to know me. I
learned to speak their language.

"My acquaintance with Hone Taumaunu eventually developed into a warm friendship.
Without the collaboration of the entire Whangara community,Whale Rider would not be what
it is."

Although Caro understands the story's feminist implications, Whale Rider for her is
essentially about leadership or rangatiratanga. A leader can emerge in an unexpected form
for example, that of a young girl. By placing the ancient myth in modern times, Caro
explores universal themes. Can traditions from the past inform the present? Are leaders
born, or made? Is compassion a more potent catalyst for change than force of personality?

Whereas Koro represents an older command-and-control style of leadership, Pai is more
flexible, able to bend without breaking. In the end, she shows herself capable of putting the
needs of community ahead of herself. Despite being excluded, Pai is not bitter. She
continues to respect her grandfather while preparing herself, against his wishes, for her own
future role as rangatira.
MAORI CULTURE
Essayist:
Peter Adds, PhD
School of Maori, Pacific and Samoan Studies
Victoria University of Wellington
New Zealand

The First Settlers of Aotearoa
The question of the origin of the Maori people of Aotearoa New Zealand, and indeed
Polynesians generally, has produced many theories since Europeans first appeared in the
Pacific. The modern scientific "orthodox" theory, however, comes mostly from the work of
archaeologists, linguists and increasingly, from the scientists who study human DNA. The
story that has emerged from these studies is very compelling, although parts of it are still
somewhat incomplete.
The research shows that the direct
ancestors of the Maori arrived from
somewhere in east Polynesia
between 700-1000 years ago. Their
arrival in Aotearoa, or New Zealand
was the last step in a much bigger
and more ancient movement of
people across the Pacific from
Southeast Asia from about 5-7000
years ago that saw every island in
Oceania that is capable of sustaining
human life colonized. New Zealand is
sometimes described, in fact, as
being the last major piece of real estate in the entire world (with the exception of Antarctica)
to be settled by humans.

An important point to note about the arrival of the first humans in New Zealand is that they
were not Maori people per se. They were East Polynesians who came from some island or
group of islands in the tropical east such as Tahiti, the Marquesas Islands or perhaps the
southern Cook Islands. So far, it has not been possible to pinpoint the precise island or
islands that the first colonizers came from. The best that can be said for now is that the early
artifacts of New Zealand are so similar to artifacts from a number of different parts of east
View of
Jerusalem
(Hiruharama)
village from
higher
ground with
two palms in
the
foreground,
Whanganui
River, North
Island

Polynesia that any, or perhaps all, of these places are possible points of origin. What is very
clear however is that the settlers did not come from the geographically much closer west
Polynesia where quite different styles of artifacts were made. Soon, however, with the rapid
development of technologies associated with DNA "fingerprinting" it should be possible to say
with a high degree of confidence who the Maori people of New Zealand are most closely
related to from a genetic perspective.
Having arrived in New Zealand, these east Polynesians
attempted to replicate the tropical life style they had been
used to living. The problem with this is that New Zealand is
anything but tropical and has a much bigger more diverse
landscape than these people would have experienced
before. For example, the climate at the top of the North
Island of New Zealand is sometimes described as
"winterless" whereas the climate at the bottom of the South
Island is sometimes described as sub-Antarctic. As well,
there are many variations in landform, geography, geology
and flora and fauna amongst other things in the different regions of New Zealand. All of this
meant that the first settlers who arrived in the different parts of New Zealand were
confronted with quite different sets of conditions to contend with. For some, adapting from
the tropical mode would have been relatively easy, but for others major changes to lifestyle
were required to ensure their survival. This process of changing and adapting to the different
conditions of New Zealand eventually led to changes in the "shape" of the culture of the
people. Over a relatively short period of time, so much culture change had occurred amongst
the settlers that the archaeologists say that these people changed from having a culture that
we define as east Polynesian into the Maori culture of New Zealand. Strictly speaking
therefore, as one prominent authority puts it, the Maori did not come from anywhere. The
Maori became Maori and the location of their becoming was New Zealand itself.

Although New Zealand has a relatively short "prehistory" compared to most other parts of
Polynesia, there was nonetheless a tremendous amount of change from early to late.
Tracking this change has been a major challenge for archaeologists because of regional
variation across the country but most authorities agree that generally there were three main
phases of development that occurred early middle and late.

The early phase is associated with coming to grips with the new landscape and exploring and
discovering what it had to offer. The adaptations and changes associated with these things
led to the development of Maori culture by the start of the middle period. The middle period
is associated with even more change, population growth, the intensification of horticulture,
the development of a more complex political life, and eventually warfare. The late period is
associated with highly developed art, weaponry, music and dance, and law and religion,
among other things.
Political and Family Structure
Like all of the other Polynesian cultures, Maori culture has many unique features, but it is
also typically Polynesian in numerous ways. This is hardly surprising when Maori culture is
understood to have developed in isolation in New Zealand out of an ancestral east Polynesian
cultural base.

Anthropologists describe the cultures of Polynesia as being very "hierarchical." Conceptually,
this means that the cultures were shaped like a pyramid where the chief sits at the top of the
pyramid, lesser chiefs in layers in the middle and people who were not chiefs at the bottom.
The position of the chief and other people in the structure was determined primarily
by whakapapa or genealogy. Genealogy and kinship underpinned all traditional Polynesian
culture, society and politics including that of the Maori.

Among Maori, genealogies were compared and ranked against each other to determine a
person's position in the hierarchy. The ranking was based on the ability of people to trace
ancestry back to a particular ancestor that lived in the past. Often these were the original

Kura Takai
Puni-
Encircling
Fern Frond.
Maori art is
characterized
by a
predominantly
curvilinear
design
tradition.
ancestors after whom tribes (iwi) and sub-tribes (hapu) were named. For the most part, the
ability to trace ancestry back to the founding ancestor of the group through the oldest male
line was considered to be more significant than tracing descent in either a female line or
through younger brothers. In some tribes, however, female lines are also considered to be
just as important as male lineages, but this tends to be the exception rather than the rule.

This means that the chief of the group has the "senior" genealogy. He is the chief because
his father was chief before him, and his father before him and so on back in time. Ideally,
chieftainship was passed down generations from father to oldest son, but if the oldest son
was not an entirely suitable leader it could be passed to the second or third son instead. If
there were no sons then the chief's next oldest brother or his nephew could become the
chief.

The basis of Maori social and political life centered on the family or the whanau.
Maoriwhanau were typically Polynesian in that they were much larger then standard nuclear
families in New Zealand households today. Not only did they include parents and children,
they also included the brothers and sisters of the original parents, and all their children as
well. The parents of the original mother and father, (the grandparents of the children) were
also included in thewhanau. The head of the whanau was typically the original father.

The whanau was the basic unit of Maori social and political life. Family members typically
worked together in the daily activities associated with gardening, fishing, and seasonal
hunting and gathering. They tended to live in permanent base camps for most of the year
but in summer, moved to other parts of their territories to exploit specific resources where
they stayed in temporary camps.

Over time, as the population expanded and spread out, the social and political life became
more complex. As a part of this, whanau started to band together into bigger units
called hapu. It is likely that for most of the pre-European period the hapu was the major
social and political unit. Eachhapu had a rangatira who was the person with the most
senior whakapapa, drawn from the leaders of each whanau. In addition, each hapu staked
out a territory on the landscape that it claimed as theirs, and over this they asserted mana
whenua, or control. This territory was defended from the advances of
other whanau and hapu when required.

Iwi were bigger aggregations, comprised of hapu that were related to each other
by whakapapa. Each iwi also had a rangatira, who usually had the most senior whakapapa of
the hapu chiefs. Today there is some speculation that the development of iwi as social and
political units may have occurred after the arrival of Europeans in New Zealand. At this stage
however there is not enough evidence to say this conclusively.

Maori political and social life, like that of other Polynesian cultures, became more complex
over time. In New Zealand this involved the creation of larger and larger political groupings
of people. The biggest political unit created was the so-called waka confederation that was
an amalgamation of iwi connected by whakapapa. It is likely that these did not form in pre-
European times and there was sometimes no clear leadership associated with these either. It
is also likely that waka confederations did not operate at a daily level in New Zealand and
only assembled occasionally for particular political purposes.
Maori Spirituality and the Environment
The regulation of daily activities in Maori communities was
achieved through the rangatira (chiefs) usingtohunga (ritual
experts) to apply and manipulate Maori customary
concepts. The concepts were underpinned by traditional
Maori religion to comprise what we now call customary
Maori law. Maori customary law was complex and varied
between hapu (subtribe) and iwi(tribe) but was mainly
comprised of traditional concepts such as tapu, noa,mana,
and rahui, to name only a few.

Both the rangatira and the tohungawere central to the well-
being of their community. The primary job of
the rangatira was to ensure the well-being of the whole
community, and it was recognized by the community that
he needed a particular set of skills to do this. While a
senior whakapapa(ancestry) was usually a requirement, other skills were also needed to go
with it. For example, it was expected that the rangatira be a good orator, so that he could
represent his hapu or iwi on formal occasions, and persuade the members of his group into
particular courses of action. He was also expected to be able to produce some kind of food
on a regular basis so that he could feed not only himself and his community but also
feed manuhiri (guests). There was also an expectation that he was an expert in some kind of
specialized economic activity, for example the ability to make canoes or stone tools. Fighting
or warrior skills were also highly valued, as was general intelligence. If the most senior
candidate to be therangatira was found to be wanting in any of these skills it was not
uncommon to replace him with a better candidate, even if the person'swhakapapa was not
considered to be as good as some other potential candidates. In the end what really
mattered was the ability to lead thehapu or the iwi effectively.

There were various sorts of tohunga within Maori communities. Tohungawas originally a
general term that applied to experts in most things that were considered to be important to
the communities. Today, most of the different types of tohunga are no longer seen, except
for the very important experts in religion and ritual. There is little doubt however that
traditionally the tohunga associated with religion and its rituals were the most powerful of all
the different types of tohunga, because of the integration of religious dimensions into most
aspects of life. The tohungawere often called on to regulate and appease gods over most
daily activities.

The most important, and perhaps most difficult customary concept to understand fully
is tapu. The usual translation for tapu is "sacred" or "restricted" but neither of these really
captures its full meaning. At one level tapu was something that applied to everything in the
Maori world, because everything had whakapapa back to a particular atua (god). The trees in
the forest, for example, had whakapapa back to Tane, the fish hadwhakapapa back
to Tangaroa and so on. Everything therefore was considered to be at least
partially tapu because of this association with anatua. This was the normal or "noa" state. At
certain times however, anything could become especially tapu, either because people wanted
it to be especially considered tapu for some reason, or because certain events might have
inadvertently caused it to be considered tapu. When things were in this state, with this extra
dimension of tapu associated with them, they had to be treated very carefully. Failure to do
this, either deliberately or accidentally, was considered to be very foolish or unfortunate
because people believed that they would at the very least become ill or perhaps even die as
a result of "transgressing" the tapu.

Maori
man,
moko,
feathers
in hair,
with a
feather
cloak.

The ability to remove or applytapu in
this context was the domain of
thetohunga. Tohungaused ritual to do
this. The usual ritual
involvedkarakia(incantation) to
communicate with and
appease atua.Tohunga were specially
trained in the art of karakia and were
held in very high esteem in
communities as a result of
this. Tohunga therefore had the ability
to remove tapu when it had affected
things or people accidentally, and as
well, they could apply it when
the rangatira requested that they do so. The ability to do this allowed the rangatira and
the tohunga to exert huge influence over the daily lives of people who were essentially afraid
of the potential that tapuhad to affect them.

A practical example of the power of tapu to regulate group behavior was in relation to the
management of food resources. When certain foods, such as shellfish were starting to run
out, the rangatira would close off the resource to the community by asking the tohunga to
place a tapu on the area of the beach where the shellfish were found. The name for this type
of tapu is rahui. The tohunga would do this in a very public ceremony that was dominated by
rituals and karakia in particular. He was in effect placing that part of the beach under the
protection of the relevant atua. The whole community knew that the rahui was in place as a
result of being present at the ceremony and often a marker post would also be placed in
some prominent location as a sign that a rahui restriction had been imposed. The people of
the community that were not present at the ceremony thus knew that a rahui restriction had
been applied somewhere in the vicinity and they ought to make efforts to found out where it
was. Failure to do so of course could mean an inadvertent brush with tapu and that was
something that needed to be avoided.



Unidentified
Rotorua
meeting
house
(wharenui),
North
Island, Bay
of Plenty
For those few individuals that were not necessarily bothered by the
"power of tapu," another factor to consider was the challenge to
the mana of both therangatira and the tohunga in any potential breach
oftapu. Any attempt to ignore a rahui was in effect a direct challenge
to the authority of the rangatira and the tohunga who had applied it in
the first place. It took a brave individual to make these challenges,
because most rangatira and tohunga had the support of the wider
community, which had an interest in maintaining the influence of these
leaders.

Mana therefore was another critically important concept to Maori
people. This word is used in every day English language in New
Zealand today and it usually translates as reputation, power, authority
or prestige. Traditionally, both the personal mana of people and of
communities was also critical to their well-being. Mana was also
particularly important to chiefs, who spent a great deal of energy and
time to ensure that their mana was at least maintained, and if at all
possible, enhanced. Mana was a quality that could also be diminished
however, and people went out of their way to ensure that this did not
happen or if it did to ensure that actions were carried out to
restore it.

Mana manifested in different ways in communities and in individuals.
When Captain Cook traveled around New Zealand in 1769, he noticed
that for the most part it was the men, and particularly chiefs, that
wore most of the jewelry and fine clothes. Some anthropologists have
interpreted this to mean that these things were so-called "insignias of
rank." In other words the fine clothes were a reflection of the mana or
importance of that person in the community. The community for its
part valued a rangatira who had a lot of mana, because having a
significant rangatira with a lot of mana as part of its community was
also a reflection of the community's importance.
There was also a very close link between mana andtapu. Generally,
anything that was very tapu was also described as
having mana because it had "power" to effect people. Conversely,
people and things withmana were usually very tapu as well because
they were important. Paradoxically, in this context, this type
of tapu was dangerous but also highly valued. Communities went out
of their way to make sure that this type of tapu was not damaged.
Older rangatirawith prestigious whakapapa were quite often
considered to be in this category and it meant that they had to be
treated very carefully. For example, they could not be allowed to come
into contact with anything that might damage their tapu, such as food.
Cooked food was considered to be a very powerful agent used for the
removal of tapu by tohunga. Even accidental contact with cooked food
was considered harmful to very tapu people. Therefore, to enable a
very tapu rangatira to eat safely, their food was specially prepared so
that it could be fed to them through specially carved funnels. This
ensured that they did not touch it with their hands.

If the mana of a person or individual was affected so that it was seen
to be diminished, it was important that steps were taken to return
the mana to its previous level. In this sense mana was a bit like the
idea of a sliding scale, and a person's or community's actions could
affect the position of mana on that scale. Failure to correct
diminished mana was seen by Maori as a sign of weakness. Therefore people and
communities sometimes went to extraordinary lengths to correct even the most insignificant
changes to their mana or reputation. This was especially important for rangatira who needed
to maintain their reputation in order to have influence over communities.
Maori Language and Chanting

A Taiaha.
The
pointed
end and
the flat
bladed end
are both
used by
the fighter
in combat
with
devastating
effect.

At one end, the taiaha is
decorated with a stuck-
out tongue the
traditional sign of Maori
defiance used before
one's enemies.
The Maori language is one of the thirty-odd Polynesian languages. As such, it is very similar
to Tahitian, Tuamotuan and Rarotongan, but it is not mutually intelligible with them. The
linguistic similarities between these languages parallel similarities between artifacts from
New Zealand and these islands from about 800 years ago. Together, these provide a very
compelling argument to suggest that the original ancestors of the Maori more than likely
came from one, or perhaps all, of these places.

Like other Polynesian cultures, Maori was an oral culture. There was no writing system of any
kind and this meant that various verbal techniques were developed to record and transmit
history, traditions and information that was important to maintaining hierarchies and
relationships between communities, and also between people and their resources. The ability
to accurately memorize and transmit this information therefore became a crucial and highly
valued skill in all Maori communities. People who possessed these attributes were selected
and trained from a young age to be the repositories of these records, and consequently they
were considered to havemana and tapu within their respective communities.

The historical records of Maori groups were kept and transmitted in a number of different
formats. These included whakapapa(genealogy), waiata (song), karakia(incantation)
and korero stories. Typically, these were brought out and performed when different
communities interacted with each other. Inter-group encounters tended, and still do tend, to
be very formal affairs that are characterized by highly ritualized welcome ceremonies
(powhiri) and feasting (hakari).

Powhiri are still a very important part of Maori cultural life today. For the most part these
take place on the many marae (community meeting spaces) across the country. A
typical powhiri consists initially of a karanga(call) performed by the senior women of the
group to invite a visiting party to move onto the marae. The karanga consists of a high-
pitched cry that is responded to with karanga from the visiting group as they move across
themarae space to their seats. Once seated, this is followed by speeches (whaikorero) from
the male orators of each group. The orators have turns at speaking about the purpose and
nature of their visit and the relationship that the two groups have with each other.

Generally the orators attempt to establish connections and relationships with the other group
through discussing whakapapa connections and shared history with them. Through the
skillful manipulation of whakapapamost groups can establish that they are in fact kin
relations, even if the relationships are distant. Each whaikorero speech is followed by
a waiatathat either the orator or other members of his group will sing. Songs that are well
known and identified with each group tend to be selected. Following these formalities, the
people of each group will shake hands (hariru) and rub noses (hongi). The final part of the
process consists of sharing food between the parties as a final act of removing
any tapuassociated with the visiting group. This leaves the groups free to interact with each
other.