The New Millennium
In Auckland, New Zealand, a Maori warrior greets the first sunrise of the year 2000 with a traditional Maori trumpet.
News of New Zealanders via Global Media
Restitution Advance
The New Zealand Maori Council became the executors of the estate of a long-dead ancestor, enabling them to regain his head for burial, and opening a legal channel for other groups to claim remains from museums…
Leader Saluted
“They don’t make people like Bob Mahuta very often,” said former treaty negotiations minister Sir Douglas Graham, paying tribute to the Tainui leader who died early this month.
Lakeside Limerick Learning
The University of Limerick is lending “expertise” to assist Ngati Tuwharetoa and the Taupo District Council in setting up the Lake Taupo University College.
Robber Robbie
That’s “my intellectual property on his shoulder,” says leading haka specialist Pita Sharples, referring to the tattoo sported by Brit singer Robbie Williams.
Scots Bemused
“The strangeness of New Zealand is brought home to us the very first night of the tour. We’ve just bought our first round in a bar in Paihia, when this Maori guy rolls up to us…
Backwards Into the Future
“The past is not found in the days gone by, but in the days that sit in front of us,” says Moana Jackson, stating the Maori view of the past during the opening address…
Roaring Fun
“In Australia and New Zealand, long ago, it was called a ‘bull roarer’ and used to scare away evil spirits; Native Americans made it hum during rain ceremonies; South American fisherman swirled it over rivers to…
Robbie Not Guilty
Too guilty to keep a Ferrari sports car, but OK with flying his New Zealand tattoo artist to Glasgow to create his tenth tattoo…
Go Native?
A beer ad showing beach babes “going native”, (doing a haka), has been withdrawn from British TV after being branded insensitive and racist.
Moko on Film
Jillian White’s Moko, a short documentary featuring the first contemporary man to wear moko, included in Sundance 2001. Felicity Morgan-Rhind’s short Donuts for Breakfast, is also on the programme.
Maori Shakespeare
Te Tangata Whai Rawa O Weneti, (usually known as The Merchant of Venice), currently filming in New Zealand will “introduce the Maori language to the world,” as well as making Shakespeare more accessible to…
Edge Stories in Ireland
Rangimoana Taylor and a Ngati Ranana group are among the storytellers to be powhiried onto a marae recreated by Dublin school pupils for the ninth (festival of story-tellers), highlighting New Zealand and immigration.
Moko-Maori
“Ta moko exposes more than the revival of a tradition – it reveals the beauty of Maori past and the promise of Maori future.” – photographer Hans Neleman in Moko-Maori Tattoo.
Flaming Poi at Burning Man
Nevada’s Burning Man festival will have a distinct Kiwi heat. Flaming poi, dubbed an ‘emerging trend’ by Time, will feature in complicated and spectacular night-time routines.
Secret History
An Italian monk’s stinging criticism of British mistreatment of Maori has been published in New Zealand for the first time – more than 100 years after it was written. Written by Benedictine monk Dom Felice Vaggioli,…
Hitting Sex Criminals Where it Hurts
Maori activist Titewhai Harawira has recommended a traditional Maori punishment for sex criminals to ensure that they don’t re-offend: Her solution: tying flax around the offender’s penis and pulling until the penis drops off. “I’m sick of…
Te Rangi Hiroa/Sir Peter Buck Remembered
The Sunday Times remembers the birthday of Sir Peter Buck – a pioneering and internationally renowned anthropologist, the first Maori medical doctor, a politician, administrator, soldier, and leader of the Maori people. Born in…
Twin Poi: Fire Play With Me
Ultimate frisbee and hackeysack just don’t cut it anymore for the young and birkenstocked. Young Americans looking for the latest hip zen vibe have been inspired by Maori ritual: “Poi, an energetic twirling of a pair…
Maori Mystique
The Washington Post’s Kid’s Section “Web@tlas” spotlights Australia and New Zealand, inviting readers to “take a peek into the world of the Maori – including the intricate tattoos that “they’re known for” by linking…
“They Kiss With Their Noses in New Zealand”
In an exploration of social climbing etiquette the Philippine Star explores the kissing conventions around the globe, from the Latin influenced beso-beso, to hand kissing in France, to bowing in Japan to Maori hongi in New…
Maori Culture Previewed on USA Today
“The indigenous people of New Zealand are spotlighted at Maori Culture including historical background, portraits and even a cookbook.”
Oceania Merge the Edges With Log Drums and Electro Beats
Former leader of Killing Joke Jaz Coleman joins Maori singer Hinewehi Mohi in a high-tech fusion on their eponymous debut. “This isn’t a fashion record for me, or a passing flirtation with another culture,” says Coleman, recently…
Hyper-girl Lisa Reihana Weaves The Pacific Wave at Sydney Biennale
Along with fellow Kiwi Bill Hammond. Lisa Reihana, with the Pacific Sisters, has been honoured with a show at the prestigious Sydney Biennale 2000. Exploring Toi Maori, her works weave between the contemporary and…
Deep Forest Blends With Massive Attack in Oceanic Swirl
Oceania, with the release of its self-titled debut album and led by ex-Killing Joke frontman Jaz Coleman, makes a spirited and successful atempt to bring Maori music from New Zealand to a global stage. The result is…
Famous Kiwi Face-offs Remembered
Times anniversary page remembers the birth of Sir Archibald McIndoe, Plastic Surgeon born in Dunedin; and the beginning of the Maori uprising against the British in 1863. …
Aussie Museum to Return Maori Heads
The return of heads from the South Australian Museum in Adelaide later this month marks another milestone in an ongoing campaign to repatriate all the tattooed heads of Maori from museums and galleries all round the…
Gorgeous Genes
Mahara McKay, 19, who holds dual Swiss and New Zealand citizenship, has won the Miss Switzerland competition. “I’m very proud that I’m half Maori,” says Mahara, who lived in Auckland until she was 10….
