August 01, 2013
Inauthentic pōwhiri irks Moon
Historian Paul Moon is calling for more authenticity in the use of Māori rituals.
With his new book Encounters: The creation of New Zealand about to hit the shelves, Professor Moon has attacked slick All Black haka, the depiction of Māori life presented to tourists in places such as Whakarewarewa village, and politically correct pōwhiri.
He says he cringed at a pōwhiri at a government agency where everyone involved was Pakeha who did not understand what they were doing.
"If you are going to do anything in life that has a cultural component, I think it's an obligation to understand the thinking behind that practice. You don't have to become a fluent speaker, you don't necessarily have to do this or that, but it's rather like when you go to a Catholic church and there are certain rituals there, you can go through the motions but there is an obligation there to understand why they have the ritual. That is showing real respect rather than having a bit of play acting before the meeting starts," Professor Moon says.
He says if taken seriously, pōwhiri become a proper part of a meeting rather than a ritual add-on.
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