4931 This is the whole Maori dance troupe.
4939 The short poi ball dance. They swing the poi balls on short ropes in patterns and rhythms when the balls strike part of their bodies.
4956 This is the start of the Hakka. Their hands are quaking in place and the woman center right is doing the bug-eye look. I took a video of the Hakka so no stills after this one.
4969 The group was very friendly and posed for a group shot after the show was over. The man in the center and the ones on each end are doing the face. The man in the center is holding the long club. The man on the right was the guitarist and Hakka leader. The man in the center with the club was the best dancer from the viewpoint of style and the pale guy next to the leader was the most athletic. Of the women, the lady kneeling on the left was the best dancer. That is not to say that the others, male or female were in any way deficient. Those three just took it to another level above excellent.
Nov 17 - Auckland, New Zealand. I’m much better today but since our plans were to take a walk of a couple of miles down the trail from Mount Eden I opted not to go. It’s raining even more today and it’s colder than yesterday.
It was so wet that Diana opted not to take the camera with her. She’s seen what I go through to get pictures without getting the camera wet enough to short and she didn’t want to get that involved.
When she came back the combination of weather and her fellow travelers had made for a terrible trip. The information clearly says that you will take a 2-mile walk down from the summit of Mount Eden and through parts of the city that are traditionally Maori. Quite a few of the people who signed up for the trip were not really physically able to do it; that was dangerous for them and that cramped everyone’s style, including the guide. I’m not sure why Shorex lets people with obvious mobility challenges book that type of tour. I guess they’re afraid of AWDA lawsuits. I know that law has a noble purpose and does a lot of good for people with disabilities but it’s often abused, like most laws. One of the reasons I’m definitely for fewer laws and less government.
Cultural Note: I seem to be in the minority based on the results of the last election. Somewhere down the line some is going to ask, ‘What were we thinking?’ But by then it will be too late. Our country and our culture are nearing the tipping point and no one seems willing to stop the carnage. Truly sad. How did we get from the Democrat party of John Kennedy, “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country!” to this current mess where government is expected to step in and bail everyone out, even non-citizens and those who are responsible for their own mess. Meanwhile, those of us who have worked hard, saved, lived responsibly and can take care of ourselves, have to foot the bill for those who will not. It’s nuts! If I’ve offended anyone, GOOD!, at least you know who you are. It may not be a good attitude but it’s honest.
In the afternoon, just before sailing, we had a Maori cultural show. It was very good indeed! Four women and five men in traditional dress performed. Well, the dress was as traditional as current societal values would allow. The sole musician, a guitar player, wore a lava-lava the other four men, all dancers, wore the traditional breech cloth much like some of the North American tribes wore in hotter climates. However they had modesty briefs on under them. The women wore different types of palm and grass tops with sports bras underneath and knee length lava-lavas around their waists.
The dancing was energetic and unique to the Maori. They have a very stylized way of walking and turning that I haven’t seen in other Pacific Islander’s dances. Tonga and Samoa come close but it’s not the same. I mentioned the eye bulging and tongue display that are part of the Hakka what I didn’t say was that the women do it too. It could probably be taken as a sexist remark but I’m afraid that I find the women to attractive for the face to be very scary on them. On the men, however, it’s pretty intimidating. They also have a tradition of quaking hands. They constantly shake their hands while they are at their sides when not dancing and on quite a few poses they strike while they’re dancing. It’s sort of like the motion of ‘jazz hands’ without spreading the fingers, but not irritating. (For some unknown reason I have always found the ‘jazz hands’ motion very irritating)
The entire group performed a welcome dance. The women performed both a short and long poi ball dance. All the dancers demonstrated dances they do with the long stick and short stick as children to work on their dexterity and hand-eye coordination. The elders evaluate the kids while they play and based on what they see they give the children various civic duties. Of course the children don’t know they are being judged so hard workers naturally work hard and loafers are identified early.
The men demonstrated both offensive and defensive techniques with the short club and the long club. The long club looks like a spear but was not thrown. It was used as a combination of a medieval long staff, lance and halliburton. It has a sharp spear-like point at one end and is a little wide and flat at the other end. About 8 inches in from the spear-point sharp end is a small hook that can be used to slash while pulling the club back after a swing or jab. The demonstration was very reminiscent of some of the oriental martial arts, very kempo in style.
The Hakka was the finale. The guitar player put aside his guitar and became the Hakka leader and both the men and women danced. The women started out in the front row but as the dance really got going the men marched forward to extend the final challenge to the opponents. I have to admit that it’s very easy to be inspired and excited by Hakka and these dancers were excellent.
I’m feeling better and after the next two days at sea I should be ready to go in Fiji.
Nov 18 – At sea. Still a little plugged up but feeling much more energetic. Didn’t do much today. Went to the nondenominational church service and read a bit. Listened to a few lectures. Very low key.
Our evening entertainers were Graffiti Classics. It’s a classical string quartet that performs with some unusual choreography while playing and a very good sense of humor. The music is good enough to stand on its own and when you add the dance steps and poses it’s great. A nice closing to an easy day.
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