"WHAT WE'RE REALLY LIKE"

Lytton High School Gisborne The native culture is Maori. We do things called waiata and waiata-a-ringa. We also do a "HAKA". Sometimes we sing a waiata tangi and a Oriori which is a Lullabye. Yes the All Blacks do a haka before the rugby match. We wear clothing just like everyone else, normal western clothing. For action songs and kapahaka groups we wear a Maori costume. We do kapahaka for certain actions like Pohiri (a pohiri is a Maori Welcome). In most kapahaka groups we do something called the Poi. The Poi is made out of wool and cotton, one end is a soft ball with cotton and the other end is wool with a pompom. In the old days they used Flax. We do action songs and HAKA. We also use the Mere and the Patu which are made out of green stone or wood. The Patu is like a thin flat club the size of your face. The Wero is a form of greeting and a form of battle. We use what is called a Taiaha which is a long wooden stick and a Patu. The traditional costume for the ladies are piupiu which are skirts made out of strands of dried curled harakeke (flax) dyed and placed in places to make a design. They use special mud as dye. The pari is something that the women wear when they perform, it is made out of many different materials and different designs. The designs are usually made to represent different groups. The tipare is a type of head-band that the Maori people use to perform for Maori Culture. We wear it on our foreheads. It has lots of designs on it made from wool stitched in to the tapestry. When Maori people perform and do their maori culture they sometimes wear something that is called a "korowai." Korowai are made from muka. Muka is white stuff from out of flax. They make a big cloak and decorate them with bird feathers, from many different Native birds. The boys have piupiu, tipare and a tapeka. That is also tapestry. Some people draw designs on their faces called moko and tamoko. These days we just draw it on with a black pen but in the olden days they used to put them on permanent so they couldn't come off - like a tattoo. Check out Lytton's research - "Comparing Where We Live".