Fulbright Orientation

Kiwi cape detail with woven flax fringe. Cape on display at Hetet Gallery.

Bow of a waka in the museum next to the Waiwhetū Marae in Lower Hutt.

Fulbright New Zealand hosts a five-day orientation in Wellington at the beginning of the award period for six scholars, ten graduate students, and three Axford fellows. We started the week with a welcome to country ceremony at Waiwhetū Marae in Lower Hutt, across the harbor from downtown Wellington. A marae serves a similar purpose as a church and a community center for the hapu (subtribe) of Māori living nearby.  In preparation for the pōwhiri (welcoming ceremony) and spending 24 hours at the marae, we learned how to pronounce Māori vowels, diphthongs, and common words (e.g. Waiwhetū sounds like why-fetoo: wh=f). No one expected us to understand the extensive greetings and speeches in Māori, but at least we could better appreciate the flow of the words we heard and pick up a few tidbits of meaning. The marae is named after the nearby creek, Waiwhetū, meaning water reflecting starlight. Such a beautiful image and one I could imagine later in the week when the Milky Way was visible but not the night we stayed when we had torrential downpours, promoting the creek to a river.

Marae used to have only carvings to remember ancestors but now they also have pictures of ancestors (right) and Queen Elizabeth II, the Queen of many countries including New Zealand.

Everything on the waka was carved so intricately, including these paddle blades.

About 35 beds lined the walls of the marae. Mine has the red cover. Definitely provided a sense of community!

The rising Waiwhetū creek is visible behind this pou whenua.

The sound of rain on the metal roof of the marae appropriately symbolized the solemnity of the ceremony when Māori remember their ancestors with pride and sadness. Although I felt like I was out of place and external to the Māori culture during extended greetings in a language I don’t understand and with remembrances of ancestors whose accomplishments and personalities remain sacred to their descendants, I did feel privileged to be part of the community if only for a couple of days. During our first entry to the marae, we were greeted with the hongi, a surprisingly intimate way to greet visitors with touching of noses. I was relieved it seemed so natural and easy with our hosts, similar to a cheek kiss greeting in many countries. During our practice of the hongi with each other at the Fulbright office, it felt awkward and halting. We also prepared at the office for our ceremonial songs. We practiced two Māori songs and two American songs: This Land is Your Land and The Star-Spangled Banner.

Can you spot the hongi in my favorite ad? The soundtrack is by Of Monsters and Men. I played their album all cruise long last month.

Several years ago, my Tropical Ecology class was asked to sing a song or two in response to the many songs and dances performed for us by a school group on the big island of Savai’i, Samoa. This was a difficult request for us to fulfill. It’s just not part of secular American culture to have common songs and dances that we all know well enough to perform in front of 100s of people (this was pre Gangnam Style). Our performance was forgettable, akin to a Glee number with no one trained in singing or dancing performing Row Your Boat. I’m cringing at the thought even now. Thankfully, our practice for the marae performances paid off and we were pretty good.

Wellington embraces its well-deserved windy reputation.

Nancy, Jon, Mary, and Graham. Former Fulbrighter to Vancouver, WA Graham and Nancy Cochrane hosted Jon and Mary Bray and me at their house for an overnight stay during the orientation. Jon is studying liquefaction during earthquakes for his Fulbright at the Univ. of Canterbury in Christchurch.

Graham and Jon in the cable car we took up to Graham and Nancy's house on a steep hill overlooking Wellington Harbour.

Our wonderful hosts took us to Weta Cave.

Gandalf

Leather and chainmail

Helmets

Hobbit feet

Uruk-hai

Our hotel was on the hip Cuba Street so we went to Fidel's Cafe for coffee in the morning and Havana Cafe for dinner in the evening.

One of the many species of ferns at Otari-Wilton's Bush.

The Fulbright orientation week always includes the national holiday celebrating the Treaty of Waitangi. We had the opportunity to see some of the celebrations on the waterfront, including waka (canoe) races and flax weaving demonstrations. The treaty was signed at Waitangi (in the Bay of Islands, North Island) on February 6, 1840 by representatives of the British Crown and heads of many iwi (tribes) of indigenous Māori  Not all iwi were signatories to the treaty as it was taken to parts of the country. The treaty has English and Māori versions, which differ in wording in several significant instances. Currently, a court case involving water rights is being decided and the differences between the two versions of the treaty are playing an important role.

Photo on the wall of the museum by the Waiwhetū Marae taken at a special event in 1990.

One of two waka used for ceremonial races. This waka is featured in the race above.

One of the exercises we did at the marae illustrated the injustices suffered by many iwi after British rule was established with the Treaty of Waitangi. New Zealand doesn’t have a constitution, so the treaty is the founding legal document. Our group was split into two. I was in the group that left the meeting room while the other group stayed. Both groups learned Māori songs to sing to each other and did a couple of other activities. When we came back into the room, our group lined up facing the other group and our group was instructed to “go shopping” and tear the blank piece of paper at the feet of the other group members in half. Then do it again. And again. And again, until finally only a slip of paper was left. What most of the “shoppers” didn’t realize until it was too late was that on the other side of the blank paper was a drawing each person had made of a natural place back home with special significance to them. We were callously ripping up something they owned, sacred in their hearts and produced by their hands. As I reassembled the now nearly complete picture at my feet after I finished “shopping” I felt so badly for the person whose drawing I had destroyed, a woman with Lakota Indian heritage. Our apologies after the exercise helped soothe all of us who were a bit shaken by the unexpected emotions we felt. Of course, losing a drawing and losing land and resources your family has owned for as long as anyone can remember are two very different things. I can’t begin to imagine how deep the pain must be for indigenous people everywhere who have lost so much.

Notice the small pieces of paper at the feet of the people on the left, representing the Māori and the large pieces of paper at the feet of the people on the right, representing the British. This was a surprisingly emotional exercise for both groups. Photo by Andy Williams, Fulbright New Zealand.