From Eagles to Kiwis

"Welcome to our home...this is our museum, our land, our country." Not an overly surprising statement to be an audience for, given the circumstances of arriving in a foreign country and being greeted by a local Maori man. However, the "our" this silver-haired Maori spoke of included us, the group of twelve Americans visiting New Zealand for a limited amount of time. Rangimoana, our captivating and engaging tour guide for Te Papa museum, allowed us the privilege of a little insight into Maori culture and customs, one that does not involve the phrase, "make yourself at home." To offer a guest to make oneself at home in your own house would imply that you are above your visitor, something that the Maori simply do not believe in.

 Throughout our time in this beautiful country, we have begun to learn the importance of community. There is a lack of an individualistic thought process to the people from the South Pacific that arrived here about 800-1,000 years ago. This has been prevalent in different avenues of our learning already, including Whalerider, the eye-opening experience of listening to Rangimoana and other texts we have come across.

Wellington waterfront

This idea of the whole is greater than the parts is not new to me, it is just hard to wrap my head around. The Maori concept of mana, a term related to authority or personal character, relates to the community as well. Individuals can and do participate for the good of the community, but single deeds are not really seen as such. I really like this way of thinking and everything it encompasses. Individual beliefs are put aside so the group can come together and move on. I would say it is not so much of a stretch as to liken the political system here in New Zealand to a similar process.

 On our first day in Wellington, our tour guide Gerald discussed at length the political system while looking at “The Beehive” parliament building, as well as other government buildings. Gerald’s knowledge of the political system here, albeit made more difficult to understand than necessary due to a gruff whisper, was welcomed and was the first time I really learned anything about the politics here in Aotearoa. I especially found it interesting and pleasing that the government’s political officials do not spend all of the time arguing over social issues that are not the heart of problems. I find that in America, there is a large amount of politicians who simply make public statements regarding abortion, religion, gun laws, etc., and that thankfully stops when you enter the land of the Kiwis.

Entrance to the government buildings estate

For someone that will readily admit to a minimal, almost infantile, understanding of politics, I actually really enjoyed our trip to the American embassy in Wellington, where we were treated to delicious biscuits and coffee (although contrary to popular belief I enjoyed the trip for reasons other than edible pleasure). Being able to meet, listen and talk to officials who work with both governments (USA and New Zealand) allowed me to get a grasp of what it is like to engage in proceedings between not only two countries but also two cultures. There will always be differences when two parties from different parts of the world deal in negotiations, and as soon as these differences are discovered and worked around in a mutually beneficial way, both sides will profit.

  Looking at these cross-cultural negotiations, now I can easily transition to discuss the Maori-European sailors contact points that we discussed in Christina Thompson’s memoir and other historical texts. The explorers that discovered and attempted to understand the Maori, most famously in how the concept of gift giving was treated in Maori culture, fared better than those that didn’t. Gifts are given to people that then possess them for their lifetime, or until they no longer have a use for them. Afterwards, the gift should be returned to the giver. Naturally, this is in stark contrast to a more Western definition of offering gifts, as in, they’re given forever. Understanding not only that there will be differences but also how those dissimilarities work is crucial for anyone in another country and in New Zealand, there are examples everywhere you look.