A “Day in the Life of a Ngati Manawa Community” is an OAT (Overseas Adventure Travel) time where we can interact with the local people for the day. This is one of New Zealand’s only landlocked tribes. Our local Māori guide was truly exceptional as we drove around and talked about the goals of the community. We entered a Marae (meeting place) in Murupara and were welcomed with a traditional greeting … forehead and nose touching our host… and then shoes off within the Marae. The inside of the Marae has beautifully carved wood and woven tapestry; no photos allowed.
For the afternoon, we spent time with a Māori family. They showed us their hangi pit where food is traditionally cooked underground for hours. Their pit is modified since they host so many people and would have too many pits in their ground. Food, meats and vegetables, is placed on racks with no oils. The fat from the meats help flavor all the food as everything cooks. Nadine Toetoe and her family are doing wonderful work sharing the Māori culture and they were enjoyable and informative people to spend time with. Unfortunately during Covid, 98% of their business ended. However, Nadine created a program for depressed young people to attend for 6 weeks. The goal was to help them learn to trust people and handle mental issues. Her work continues now as a cultural learning opportunity for travelers. She is a giving person. Leftover food is donated to local people, some profits buy school uniforms for students and her family is helpful with other projects for the community. Nadine has received national and international recognition. She’s a pleasant person and was sitting right with us as we learned some weaving and enjoyed our meal. It was a great visit and learning experience on a beautiful piece of property overlooking a lake.
Our other Māori experience during this trip was at a home-hosted dinner with Aroha, Darren and their 3 children. They each introduced themself, we had dinner, they danced and explained the moves since they are skills for future use with a weapon if needed. Aroha was a basketball player and had played in the USA and her daughter is well on her way to possibly follow those footsteps. Darren was a trucker driving logs with very long days. He has now retired from that job and is very happy working as a teacher’s aide at a local all-boys school.
We spoke about the continued challenge for the Māori people. Nothing I write here can express the wonderful time we had with this family! So I will leave it with one comment; it was one of the best interactions I have had with a local family. I especially chuckled when Aroha immediately asked me to put the Saguaro National Park magnet on their refrigerator and she loved the book regarding native Americans. Thank you to my family member suggesting I bring that book as a gift!
