Well what a fantastic experience this has been! I must first send my thanks to my last Helpx host, Candice, for inviting me down to celebrate with them. It may be true that she'd asked because she was hoping I'd do most of the driving, and alas I don't drive at all, but it turned out the Tuhois considered my presence not only welcome, but as it should be.
Candice and I drove first of all to Rotorua, about 3 hours away from the Urewera, where we stopped at a motel that had its own natural hot pools. We were due to meet Candice's friend Paul, and a few others that would be heading to the Marae (meeting house). When we got to the motel front desk and said Paul's name, the manager said to us that it had originally been booked as a room for 3, and that's all it could fit, and we were 5 already. Paul hadn't arrived yet so we said he'd explain all upon arrival. It turns out only 3 were indeed staying overnight at the motel, but about 10 of us were 'having a meeting' as Paul explained to the manager. A Maori meeting in the hot pools to discuss how everyone was! Apparently the manager had no problem with us all using the hot pools, so long as only 3 of us stayed overnight.
The rest of us went back to Huihana's house and had a great evening. I made really good friends with Huihana, Paul and Ceecee and was really pleased to know they'd be coming to the Marae as well (although Huihana wasn't coming).
We ate some great food and got a good night's sleep, all ready to head down to the Marae on the 24th so that we'd be there for the New Year celebration the next morning on the 25th.
It was a beautiful drive down through the Urewera, the magnificent scale of the forest was apparent within minutes of entering the narrow track road that lead for hours into it's heart. Wild horses roam free (although a little startled by Candice's dog, Maru who would bark at them out the window) and the river was so pure and clean it felt as though it had a real life of its own. It was explained to me later that some of the horses have a rope around them, which I had noticed, because some of the locals would catch them and ride them back into town, then let them go again. The high rock hills towered over us with immense prowess, guardians of this ancient place. Let there be no doubt, there is no other way into this forest but to take the narrow road. Only those who'd spent their lives here could find a natural way through the terrain, and even that would be most impressive. The lake centered in the middle was as calm as any water I've seen, and as blue as the sea.
We arrived at the Marae - Waikaremoana, at about 3pm only to discover there was no one else there. A caretaker told us we weren't supposed to arrive until 5pm. This was very strange, comment Paul, since the celebration was tomorrow, there should be a whole heap of people, including Rose, the spiritual leader. Dr Rose Pere, affectionately known by some as Mother, lives next to the Marae itself, so we went to her house and found that everyone was there. A whole hoard of a household, filled with joy and laughter and welcoming smiles. I was instantly welcomed as though I'd been expected and indeed anticipated. No one asked me why I was there or why I felt I should be celebrating a Maori New Year at a Maori marae. Rose herself indeed thanked me for coming and let me know that the fact that I had arrived meant I was welcomed and wanted at this celebration. I'm fortunate enough to come from a home filled with love, and so I know implicitly what a home like that feels like, and this home had been filled with love for so long it was genuinely hard to hold back the tears.
As it turns out, the celebration wasn't until the 26th, so we had plenty of time to get comfortable. A whole extra day to soak in the wonder and friendliness. Very quickly were given Kai, which is food, and this was the day when I first ate fish and like it! It was, I believe, a smoked Red Snapper, caught in the river. It tasted not just edible, but actually delicious. A first for me and a wonderful omen of things to come.
When it was time to retire, we went back over to the Marae and went through the rituals of prayer, song and hongi before entering, then settled down to sleep. I got pride of place at the head of the hall, since I had travelled the furthest in order to be there. It was a cold night's sleep, but a very comfortable one. We awoke to find it had started snowing! Some of our group had not seen snow for years, and some of the younger ones had never played in the snow. It was commented by Rose that this was the Papatuanuku - the Earth energy - welcoming me to their sacred space. I noticed during the as we stood out front paying our repects, that the snow fell completely flat and calm, but when we started singing, the snow blew first towards us, then to the left, then away from us and finally to the right, before settling back into still, flat falling. This was also seen as a sign of acknowledgement of the four directions, for which respect is also paid.
Over the day we listened to Rose talk about various issues, she is a fantastic lady who speaks with real honesty and power. I laughed so many times at her stories and anecdotes. It seems anyone can come to her house and she will welcome them in for Kai and a bed. Some people come just to pay respects, others come on their own personal mission. As she said at one point, a gentleman had turned up once proclaiming to have been her master in a past life, she said all she saw was a honky looking for a bed, and put him to work in the garden! But jokes aside, it must be noted that her knowledge is full and her heart overflows with love and compassion. She spends her life in the pursuit of a better world where all are one, and love pervades everything. It wasn't until emerging from the Urewera that I realised she is in fact famous in New Zealand and was even awarded a CBE by the Queen for her contribution to education. I've barely met a person since who hasn't at least heard of her, most ask me how on earth I managed to meet her, let alone be welcomed into her home and celebrate not only New Year, but as it turned out, also her birthday (the 25th)! We ate endless Kai, it seemed that the plates and dishes from the one meal had only just been cleared away when more plates of food would emerge for the next meal. It was always Kai time, and I was grateful for it!
That night the sky cleared and revealed the Southern Hemisphere's stars for me in full. Never in my life have I seen a sky so clear and bright. The Milkyway was so bright that I could barely make out Orion. I stood and stared at the sky for a very long time, I got my flute and played to the stars, I think if I had been alone I would have slept outside. Upon waking, the star Sirius was the first thing I saw, and it was the star we were celebrating the ascension of - Takaroa.
Over the 24 hours of the New Years Eve and Day, we experienced a full four seasons worth of weather. One thing I've noticed having celebrated New Years on the 31st Dec/1st Jan is that the 1st Jan doesn't ever feel any different than the 31st Dec. It's just another day really. What I discovered in the Urewera, is that the 25th July actually felt like a crescendo, a real end of all that had been building, and that the 26th actually felt like a new beginning. A new day, a new year. The day felt young like a baby, and I could actually feel the difference between the 25th and the 26th. I may well continue to celebrate New Year at this time.
As the Sun came up we sang and sang, Rose lead the Haka with full body symbols, despite being in her 70's. One girl in particular who sang was incredible, she could make the trees themselves vibrate with her voice. I felt my bones through to my teeth and back into my blood and my vision shaking and vibrating as she sang her song of love for the world and Papatuanuku. I will never forget that feeling.
I won't go into detail of all the happenings and workings, the rituals and the sharing of energies and stories, as it was something special to be beheld by those who were there, but take it from me, it really was something special, and I hope to see them all again one day.
Candice and I drove first of all to Rotorua, about 3 hours away from the Urewera, where we stopped at a motel that had its own natural hot pools. We were due to meet Candice's friend Paul, and a few others that would be heading to the Marae (meeting house). When we got to the motel front desk and said Paul's name, the manager said to us that it had originally been booked as a room for 3, and that's all it could fit, and we were 5 already. Paul hadn't arrived yet so we said he'd explain all upon arrival. It turns out only 3 were indeed staying overnight at the motel, but about 10 of us were 'having a meeting' as Paul explained to the manager. A Maori meeting in the hot pools to discuss how everyone was! Apparently the manager had no problem with us all using the hot pools, so long as only 3 of us stayed overnight.
The rest of us went back to Huihana's house and had a great evening. I made really good friends with Huihana, Paul and Ceecee and was really pleased to know they'd be coming to the Marae as well (although Huihana wasn't coming).
We ate some great food and got a good night's sleep, all ready to head down to the Marae on the 24th so that we'd be there for the New Year celebration the next morning on the 25th.
It was a beautiful drive down through the Urewera, the magnificent scale of the forest was apparent within minutes of entering the narrow track road that lead for hours into it's heart. Wild horses roam free (although a little startled by Candice's dog, Maru who would bark at them out the window) and the river was so pure and clean it felt as though it had a real life of its own. It was explained to me later that some of the horses have a rope around them, which I had noticed, because some of the locals would catch them and ride them back into town, then let them go again. The high rock hills towered over us with immense prowess, guardians of this ancient place. Let there be no doubt, there is no other way into this forest but to take the narrow road. Only those who'd spent their lives here could find a natural way through the terrain, and even that would be most impressive. The lake centered in the middle was as calm as any water I've seen, and as blue as the sea.
We arrived at the Marae - Waikaremoana, at about 3pm only to discover there was no one else there. A caretaker told us we weren't supposed to arrive until 5pm. This was very strange, comment Paul, since the celebration was tomorrow, there should be a whole heap of people, including Rose, the spiritual leader. Dr Rose Pere, affectionately known by some as Mother, lives next to the Marae itself, so we went to her house and found that everyone was there. A whole hoard of a household, filled with joy and laughter and welcoming smiles. I was instantly welcomed as though I'd been expected and indeed anticipated. No one asked me why I was there or why I felt I should be celebrating a Maori New Year at a Maori marae. Rose herself indeed thanked me for coming and let me know that the fact that I had arrived meant I was welcomed and wanted at this celebration. I'm fortunate enough to come from a home filled with love, and so I know implicitly what a home like that feels like, and this home had been filled with love for so long it was genuinely hard to hold back the tears.
As it turns out, the celebration wasn't until the 26th, so we had plenty of time to get comfortable. A whole extra day to soak in the wonder and friendliness. Very quickly were given Kai, which is food, and this was the day when I first ate fish and like it! It was, I believe, a smoked Red Snapper, caught in the river. It tasted not just edible, but actually delicious. A first for me and a wonderful omen of things to come.
When it was time to retire, we went back over to the Marae and went through the rituals of prayer, song and hongi before entering, then settled down to sleep. I got pride of place at the head of the hall, since I had travelled the furthest in order to be there. It was a cold night's sleep, but a very comfortable one. We awoke to find it had started snowing! Some of our group had not seen snow for years, and some of the younger ones had never played in the snow. It was commented by Rose that this was the Papatuanuku - the Earth energy - welcoming me to their sacred space. I noticed during the as we stood out front paying our repects, that the snow fell completely flat and calm, but when we started singing, the snow blew first towards us, then to the left, then away from us and finally to the right, before settling back into still, flat falling. This was also seen as a sign of acknowledgement of the four directions, for which respect is also paid.
Over the day we listened to Rose talk about various issues, she is a fantastic lady who speaks with real honesty and power. I laughed so many times at her stories and anecdotes. It seems anyone can come to her house and she will welcome them in for Kai and a bed. Some people come just to pay respects, others come on their own personal mission. As she said at one point, a gentleman had turned up once proclaiming to have been her master in a past life, she said all she saw was a honky looking for a bed, and put him to work in the garden! But jokes aside, it must be noted that her knowledge is full and her heart overflows with love and compassion. She spends her life in the pursuit of a better world where all are one, and love pervades everything. It wasn't until emerging from the Urewera that I realised she is in fact famous in New Zealand and was even awarded a CBE by the Queen for her contribution to education. I've barely met a person since who hasn't at least heard of her, most ask me how on earth I managed to meet her, let alone be welcomed into her home and celebrate not only New Year, but as it turned out, also her birthday (the 25th)! We ate endless Kai, it seemed that the plates and dishes from the one meal had only just been cleared away when more plates of food would emerge for the next meal. It was always Kai time, and I was grateful for it!
That night the sky cleared and revealed the Southern Hemisphere's stars for me in full. Never in my life have I seen a sky so clear and bright. The Milkyway was so bright that I could barely make out Orion. I stood and stared at the sky for a very long time, I got my flute and played to the stars, I think if I had been alone I would have slept outside. Upon waking, the star Sirius was the first thing I saw, and it was the star we were celebrating the ascension of - Takaroa.
Over the 24 hours of the New Years Eve and Day, we experienced a full four seasons worth of weather. One thing I've noticed having celebrated New Years on the 31st Dec/1st Jan is that the 1st Jan doesn't ever feel any different than the 31st Dec. It's just another day really. What I discovered in the Urewera, is that the 25th July actually felt like a crescendo, a real end of all that had been building, and that the 26th actually felt like a new beginning. A new day, a new year. The day felt young like a baby, and I could actually feel the difference between the 25th and the 26th. I may well continue to celebrate New Year at this time.
As the Sun came up we sang and sang, Rose lead the Haka with full body symbols, despite being in her 70's. One girl in particular who sang was incredible, she could make the trees themselves vibrate with her voice. I felt my bones through to my teeth and back into my blood and my vision shaking and vibrating as she sang her song of love for the world and Papatuanuku. I will never forget that feeling.
I won't go into detail of all the happenings and workings, the rituals and the sharing of energies and stories, as it was something special to be beheld by those who were there, but take it from me, it really was something special, and I hope to see them all again one day.
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