Remembering Aotearoa!
Today was the beginning of autumn quarter, it brought back a lot of memories. It’s quite crazy to think a few weeks ago I attended a Stage 2 Kapahaka class in Waipapa Marae at Auckland University in New Zealand (Aotearoa). Kapahaka is Maori (Indigenous Peoples of Aotearoa) preforming arts, which include song, dance, poi and chants. A Marae is a scared house for Maori to meet. It holds immense amounts of traditional significance for the community, and can be compared to the importance of having a long house (The Intellectual House) on our campus.
Attending the Kapahaka class was very exciting. To take part in Maori People’s culture revitalization in a university setting was a huge privilege. I enjoyed being able to see the difference and similarities between our two approaches to decolonization. In the class, we
started by breaking the ice through Pukana (a game where you practice your own intimidating facial expression) before singing practice. Historically the Maori use intimidating facial expressions along with their booming voices to strike fear into their opponent before a physical contact. Before each song Poura Sharples, the incredible gracious and patient instructor, would translate the song’s meaning for us, it was like being told many stories. These stories highlighted and showcased the value of the Moari community at specific time periods and therefore weaving the past and present together. This method of teaching and sharing keeps the students engaged in their culture while keeping their history relevant and known.
The environment of the class held an intoxicating amount of energy: it cultivated the students to be proud and bold with their culture, by making engagement the norm. It was incredible to see students as living embodiment of what we are studying here. Seeing indigenous people representing themselves through breathing live into their culture was refreshing and reassuring as a native woman, passionate about indigenous expression. I excited about bringing and seeing this type of energy and passion in classroom setting at the University of Washington.