https://www.facebook.com/TWOATamaki/videos/135866614392473/Today is Te Wananga o Aotearoa's Orientation day with a powhiri (Maori welcome) for new students and their families to the Wananga. It was good to be there with my husband in the haka powhiri lines with the women at the front and men's lines at the back.
Many students and their families gathered together at 10am to arrive and then be ushered in by the conch shell blowing and a karanga (Maori women's call) to invite the manuhiri (guests) into the compound.
Above is a video of the proceedings with whaikorero (speeches) all in te reo Maori (Maori language) supported by waiata (Maori songs) after each speech. It was then time to hongi (touch noses) or touch cheeks as an acknowledgment of sharing breath with light refreshments to end the formal proceedings from a place of tapu (sacred and restricted) to a space of noa - neutral.
Now the real fun begins with students starting their studies and making new friends. Learning new things and sharing their stories with others in their classes. I also look forward to teaching yet another group of students and learning along the way...
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