We ended April with a change of pace by earning the Guide Maoritanga Badge from Girlguiding New Zealand!As everyone arrived, each Patrol was given a sheet with words and pronunciations in Maori, and challenged to learn greetings, numbers and the cardinal points of the compass.
We had our usual opening ceremony and then played an active game, using the points of the compass in Maori. This was just a variation on the simple game where players start in the middle of the room and the four walls are used as north, south, east and west. By using the Maori words, we added a twist that meant everyone had to think as they played!
Our next activity was to learn a bit about Maori culture. As part of this, we learned about Matariki, a star cluster that appears in the night sky in mid-June. According to the Maori lunar calendar, the reappearance of Matariki brings the old lunar year to a close and marks the beginning of the new year. The new year was traditionally marked by lighting ritual fires, making offerings and celebrations to the dead, honouring ancestors, and celebrating life.
We then learned about a Powhiri, a welcoming ceremony traditional held in the Marae (meeting house). This ceremony was traditionally performed as a process to find out whether the visitors were friends or enemies. Once they were determined to be friends, the ceremony becomes a formal welcoming. We watched a YouTube video of a Powhiri performed at the Tamaki Maori Village, Rotorua, New Zealand.
Staying with the theme of welcoming ceremonies, we used an activity sheet found online and had each girl write a Mihi, which is a formal greeting where people introduce themselves and tell a bit about where they come from. A traditional Mihi would be performed at the Marae, and include both your connections to other people and to the land and water.
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After presenting our Mihis, we learned about Kapa Haka, a performance that includes songs, poi, dance and facial expressions. We watched a video of a performance by Tuku Iho Living Legacy.
Next we learned about Ti Ti Torea, the Maori Stick Game. The game was useful exercise for boys and young men, developing flexibility int he wrist, arm and shoulder in preparation for weaponry skills, but was also practiced by girls and young women as a form of physical activity to enhance coordination and agility. We watched a performance from the Polynesian Cultural Center before trying our hands at the game.
Ti Ti Torea is played with two or four players. Each person has a pair of wood sticks (Te Rakau). Players kneel on the floor across from each other, holding their sticks upright, ends touching the floor to begin. In unison, they perform a series of movements with their sticks, tapping the sticks together or against their partner's, progressing to throwing a stick to their partner while catching one being thrown to them. The aim is to keep going for as long as possible without any players dropping their sticks.
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Our final activity of the evening was to create Koru Designs. A koru is a type of fern with the same basic shape as a fat comma. Designs can be as basic or as complex as the creator wishes. Traditional colours are red, black and white.
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We finished off the evening with clean-up, reminders for next week, and closed with Taps.
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