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I know it may not be the popular opinion (esp in NZ), but somehow this whole thing just feels wrong to me. Copyright infringement isn’t stealing and it shouldn’t be confused with stealing. It’s copyright infringement. (i.e. If you make a copy of my writing, I still have it… as opposed to if you steal my pen and paper then I no longer have either of them.) Copyright law was designed for a specific purpose to do with promoting creativity by giving creators a temporary monopoly, and it’s supposed to expire so that other people can continue to build on existing creative works for the benefit of everyone. It’s not supposed to protect information forever, though a few large media studios would love it if it did, and are happy to buy off as many lawmakers as they can to try and achieve this.

But what I’m very uncomfortable about is that some Maori people are doing this with the intent if preventing people from “mis-using” the haka. That’s not what the semantic idea of copyright is supposed to be for. Without even having had any sort of arrangement or contract or treaty with nearly anyone except the British Crown, the intent seems to be to somehow try and leverage a legal technicality throughout the world that has nothing to do with what Maori people actually want. I don’t think Maori people should be allowed to control how French people mock New Zealand any more than I think French people should be allowed to control how New Zealanders mock France. I can’t imagine how it’s actually going to work or reliably hold up in the long term. If it’s possible to protect the haka through copyright then I suppose there must be some kind of legal technicality, but by any copyright laws I understand, any copyright on Ka Mate should have expired well over 100 years ago!

I sympathize that some people may find it discomforting when others satirize or misrepresent their culture and beliefs, but I do think it’s important to be able to take it on the chin and just accept that not everyone will respect you. Outside NZ people get so riled up that they fight wars and kill each other over others satirizing their beliefs and ideals. We’re fortunate that we live in a relatively peaceful country and I’m certainly not trying to imply that any Maori people would ever go so far, but in my opinion trying to suppress satire shouldn’t be acceptable when it can simply be ignored. It’s part of free expression and it goes both ways for mutual benefit to everyone. Maori culture will always be what it is, no matter how many times ignorant people perform an embarrassing fake haka in stupid gingerbread costumes. Anyone who wants to learn about the real culture can always find out about it any time they want to.

My two cents.

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It was officially recognized that Ka Mate was composed by Maori leader Te Rauparaha in order to celebrate the rescue of a soldier from death in battle, which took place in 1820.

Obtaining the copyrights by Maori in many ways is merely symbolic, but it is very important for Maori leaders. Members of the tribe will not be able to claim any cash for violations of their copyrights, but from now on improper use of Haka for commercial purposes is prohibited.

The main purpose of this copyright is to prevent theft and «wrong» performance of Haka, as it happened, for example, in 2006.

Back then Fiat automotive company had issued a series of commercials in which Haka was performed by Italian wemen. While, according to Maori, this type of Haka dance is performed only by men.
Another scandal about the use of Haka took place in 2007. During the ceremony in which awards for the best bakery were given, Haka was performed by men, dressed in gingerbread comic outfits.

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photo by jakesmome

Personally, I don’t recommend this type of transportation, but some people who don’t mind wasting their time while waiting for a ride, or having a super limited budget may find it useful.

Remember that having a lot of baggage with you will reduce your chances to catch a ride. I should also point out that many people think that New Zealand is a very safe country. This is not exactly true. There is crime in NZ, so this also should be taken into consideration when you think of hitchhiking, especially if you are young woman traveling alone.

One more thing you should know before deciding on this type of transportation – hitchhiking on motorways is illegal, and it is also illegal for vehicles to stop on the side of the motorway, only for emergencies.

In any case, whether you decide to hitchhike or not, I am wishing you a joyful and safe journey!

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Zealand’s population (which stands now at 4,288,090). The forecast is that Maori population will reach 16.6% at year 2021.

Nowadays most of Maori people live in urban areas, with only small part living in rural areas, and also many live outside of New Zealand – about 70,000 live in Australia and about 10,000 live in Britain.

Language
The Maori language is an official language of New Zealand, but not many people can speak it even among Maori themselves. Nowadays effort is being made to revive the Maori language. Places are named with Maori names and original Maori names mostly aren’t being changed.

Problems
Maori are facing many problems in modern time – they have higher unemployment rates than other cultures living in New Zealand, and only about 47% of Maori school-leavers finish school with qualifications higher than NCEA Level One (compared to 74% European and 87% Asian). Maori also suffer more health, alcohol and drug related problems than any other culture living in New Zealand.

Maori youth always had a difficult time keeping connected with the traditional Maoritanga culture and thus “imported” mainstream cultural icons, identities, and lifestyles. Many Maori kids took after the African American hip hop culture. But in recent time many efforts are being made to bring Maori youth back to their roots and heritage.

Personally I had a very good experience with Maori people, all the Maoris I met in New Zealand were very friendly and nice.

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Mythical Monsters

Along with various gods Maori acknowledged additional various forces. Some of them were associated with different Maori tribes and territories, others were family keepers and held the guarding responsibilities (kaitiaki), warning about dangers. Most of the Maori tribes had things identified with mythical monsters, such as timber or sailing heap of grass. These things were untouchable and were avoided. According to Maori beliefs many monsters lived at the deep of rivers and lakes, some of them were considered good and some evil.
The spirits (wairua) could also be good or evil. The died person who wasn’t buried properly, and hence didn’t join his ancestors became a wandering spirit tormenting his living descendants until the proper ceremonies are performed. The spirits of miscarried babies were also considered troubled and evil.

The Creation of the World

Ancient Maori philosophers devoted a great deal of thought to the beginning of the world, and expressed their beliefs in songs. One of these songs tells about the time before the creation, the time of Nothingness – Te Kore, after which came the time of possible existence – Te Korekore, and the came the time of deep darkness – Te Po. Finally the darkness was defeated and the world of light was created – Te Aomarama. Maori sang this song long before first Europeans set foot on New Zealand. This song is among origins to Maori concept – trinity of the Universe: The Sky (Te Rangi), The Light (Te Ao-marama), and the deep darkness, the world of the dead (Te Po).

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