The Maori way of Life
A tour of cultural institute Te Puia reveals artistry and ingenuity in New Zealand’s Indigenous people’s use of natural resources
ROTORUA, N.Z.— The concentration of the carvers at the Maori Arts and Crafts Institute is impressive.
They barely look up when a group of tourists wanders in to snap photos as their chisels notch out intricate Maori designs in the long panels of wood in front of them.
It’s the same story next door at the weaving studio, where two Maori women are using mussel shells to scrape off the tough outer surface of flax leaves, creating a striped pattern. When the leaves dry, they will curl up to create the rigid cords woven into many ceremonial Maori costumes.
Both the carving and weaving studios are housed at Te Puia, a highlight of any exploration of Maori culture on New Zealand’s North Island.
The institute was set up to help preserve the two traditional Maori art forms and to pass them on to younger generations through classes and apprenticeships.
You can even try your hand at plaiting a decorative flower from a flax leaf. It looks simple, but appearances can be deceiving — my effort looked like a kindergarten craft project compared to the intricate work turned out by the weaving studio.
Te Puia, on the outskirts of Rotorua, is also home to several examples of traditional Maori meeting houses, called marae, as well as daily cultural performances. Yet it’s the geothermal park (Te Puia is Maori for “the geysers”) that draws busloads of camera-toting visitors.
The steaming pools and spewing geysers are eye candy for tourists, but for the Maori who once lived here, they served another purpose — as a source of heat for their homes, as well as places to bathe and to cook their food.
And they are still used for cooking at Te Puia.
Book a tour that includes a steambox lunch and the meat and vegetables you select will be lowered into a traditional hangi, or underground pit, that’s naturally heated with steam.
It’s hard to argue with the results, which you get to dig into at the end of the tour — everything is cooked to tender perfection.
Te Puia is by no means the only place where you can explore the history and culture of the Maori, who make up about 15 per cent of New Zealand’s population and are thought to have come to New Zealand between 700 and 1,000 years ago.
Almost next door and sharing the same geothermal area is Whakarewarewa, which bills itself as a “living Maori village.”
About 25 Maori families still live in the village in much the same way they have for generations.
Steam rises from the ground between the streets lined with small, brightly painted wooden houses — there are 65 geyser vents and seven active geysers in the village.
Our guide, Paora Tapsell, grew up visiting his grandmother in the village, so he had no qualms about peeking into what he called the
Te Puia is by no means the only place where you can explore the history and culture of the Maori, who make up about 15 per cent of New Zealand’s population
“Maori microwave” — a communal hangi in the centre of the village — to see what was for dinner. He pointed out ham, chicken, potatoes and corn wrapped in cloth sacks and tin foil before closing the wooden lid to keep in the steam.
The communal bathing facilities, which residents use before and after daily tours of the village, are similarly low-tech. Thermally heated water flows from a natural pond into a row of man-made concrete pools; when they’re full, a plug stops the flow.
Paora says there was once a proposal to make Whakarewarewa part of Te Puia, but residents of the village rejected the idea because it would have required them to move out. Most did not want to give up their traditional way of life.
No hydro bills, a free steam oven and an outdoor spa — no wonder they elected to stay put. Joanne Blain was hosted on this trip by Tourism New Zealand, which did not review or approve this story.