August 02, 2013
Plastic performance a way to preserve culture
Māori Affairs Minister Pita Sharples is rejecting suggestions Māori culture is becoming plastic and stuck in the past.
In his latest book, AUT University professor Paul Moon has criticised the version of Māori culture presented by the tourism industry, and dismissed the use of haka in sport as a corrupted spectacle.
Dr Sharples, who has a lifetime involvement with Maori performing arts including winning Te Matatini with Te Roopu Manutaki, says entertaining tourists had long been a source of jobs for Māori.
"We’ve been plastic as a means of survival. Let’s look at what happened after colonisation. We had to fight to get ourselves back so we sing songs on the back of a truck to promote our culture way back in the 50s, 60s and 70s. We do concerts for groups overseas when we know that behind those items is a real deep authentic traditional culture of powhiri and makaaki," he says.
Dr Sharples says it’s a triumph that Māori have been able to retain their cultural traditions while also developing economically and socially.
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