A cultural night out

Our last event in Rotorua was also one of the most entertaining. We went to a hangi, or what the Melanesians in Papua New Guinea call a mu-mu. Believe it or not, I once went to a mu-mu here in Armidale. In effect meat and maybe vegetables are cooked by (i) digging a deepish hole in the ground, (ii) putting combustible material- for example wood - in the bottom and setting light to it, (iii) putting your pig's carcass and other ingredients on top, (iv) covering the whole lot with earth or sand, and (v) slow cooking everything for maybe an hour or more. The hole we dug was outside the building where my office was, and in the countryside outside of Rotorua, the mechanism was similar as we saw for ourselves.

The large number of guests for the hangi were transported to the venue in a fleet of buses, and, en route, I had the honour of being appointed a tribal chief - the tribe being passengers in our bus. On arrival at the Maori village the various chiefs stood out in front of their tribal members for a ceremony in which we were confronted by warriors from the local community in a ritualised greeting / show of force. They wanted to know if we came in friendship or as enemies. Having confirmed the former, we were shown the hani in preparation, and guided on a tour through the village to demonstrate traditional Maori lifestyle and culture. Here's Bec playing a game akin to pass the pole.

This lady exhibited traditional woven goods - baskets and that kind of thing.

Here, Max is watching a game played by the men of the village - and I played another myself shortly after, along with the chiefs.

Then we were seated in a long-house to witness a haka, dancing and singing

Finally, we came to the meal, which was delicious.

All in all a lovely night out.

AS