Day 1 - Thursday Sept. 6, 2007 These are picture of the first day which happened to be the same day as that we arrived in New Zealand. Our first stop was to Te Wananga o Aotearoa Manukau Campus where we participated in the our first Powhiri (welcoming ceremony). Unfortunately I could not take pictures of the ceremony so I would have to explain. The Wero (ceremonial challenge) is not often seen and is only accorded to very distinguished visitors or undertaken at special events. The Wero consisted of a male warrior in traditional clothing who approached us (manuwhiri - visitors) and issued a challenge by displaying their ability with weaponry. After the display, the warrior layed a sumbolic dart known as a Taki, at the feet of the male leader of our group). The leader would then pick up the Taki as a gesture of coming in peace at which the Karanga (welcome call) would begin. The Karanga is issued by the female leader of the haukainga (host people) to the manuwhiri (visitors) and is the first voice to be heard in a Powhiri. This custom is to clear the way spiritually for the manuwhirir. The woman then lead the procession into the Marae (ceremonial or sacred house or location). Once everyone is in and seated (across from each other), we begin the next stage of the ceremony called the whaikorero (formal speeches) that start with one of the leaders of the haukainga followed by one of the leaders of the manuwhiri. After each speech is given, then a waiata tautoko (support song) is sung. So we go through 2 or 3 speeches on each side and a song after each speech. Once this is complete, then we go to the next stage of the powhiri which is similar to shaking hands with everyone, called the Hongi. The Hongi is a traditional form of greeting which is literally a face to face greeting. It is a light handshake and a gentle pressing of nose to nose and in some cases, followed by a kiss on the cheek. It is not the nose rubbing tradition commonly associated with the Eskimo kiss. The meaning of this signifies the intermingling of two breaths as one and is a great spiritual and historical significance for the Maori. FINALLY, the last stage of the Powhiri is the sharing of cooked food. This is where the Tapu (sacredness) of the visitors is removed. Only after this process, the host people and visitors are considered as one and is welcomed by the Maori. BTW, the food was great!!! | 
