March 19 – Maori Cultural Event

March 19, 2016 – Maori Cultural Event
We got picked up at 6pm. A Maori woman was on the bus to explain the nights events. She was 17 years old and a member of the family that owns the sacred land where the event takes place. We were seated at a table and there were 150 to 200 others in the tent. The MC asked what countries were represented and the final count was 20. There was one person from Mongolia!
We saw how the dinner is cooked in a pit in the earth. Next we saw warriors in an ancient Maori canoe row down a stream. The final thing before dinner was a performance to explain ancient customs and traditions. Many of the Maori had what appeared to be face tattoos but they admitted it was just paint. The ancient way was to deeply scar the skin to put the stains in and they probably don’t want to do that.
Finally we returned to the tent for dinner. They had lamb, chicken, kumara (native sweet potato), white potato, vegetables, and salad.
After dinner, a guide took us through the woods to see glow worms and their sacred spring.