Ready for a weekend of national pride? It’s Waitangi Day

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weekend at the end of the week, meaning three days off for every New Zealander and a vast array of cultural activities happening around the country.

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The Ministry of Culture and Heritage has allocated $276,500 of Government funding for Waitangi Day events throughout New Zealand. These grants, given to encourage Kiwis to participate in our national day, will fund 63 official events throughout the country.

Ranging from multicultural community festivals to formal dawn karakia, the full list of events can be found at the Ministry of Culture and Heritage website.

The biggest event as always will be the official Waitangi Commemorations Committee ceremony in the namesake Northland location, with a program of events including dawn karakia, flag raising, waka karakia, sports events, 21 gun salute, waka ki uta and a sunset ceremony. This programme received the most funding of all Waitangi Day events with $82,000 allocated to it.

Image from Flickr.

Did you know that searches for Maori tattoos are quite a popular directory query on NZS.com? While many may want a Maori design on their arm, how many Kiwis actually speak the language? The last census revealed it is just 4% of the country – so what can you do to learn a little Te Reo Maori?

It’s Maori Language Week in New Zealand, and NZS.com has an extensive directory of Maori related listings to keep you culturally informed.

Maori culture is an important part of New Zealand’s history – we are a nation very proud of our indigenous culture and national support is actively increasing through promotional festivals and arts funding every the year.

Are you interested in learning some phrases from the Maori language this week? Many resources are available online via NZS.com which strive to make learning Te Reo fun, easy and accessible for all.

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It seems 2,174 people agree: that record-breaking number performed the haka at Kaiapoi yesterday, during Waitangi Day celebrations in North Canterbury. Despite many giving up in frustration at the long queue to join the haka performance, the number of participants broke the existing record – set in Auckland in 2006 by 1,400 people.

Incidentally, the New Zealand haka is an ancient Maori dance, made famous today around the world by our boys in black: the All Blacks. It’s fair to say the haka has become a cultural phenonmenon in its own right, performed with pride by Maori and non-Maori alike.

The event was organised by the Te Roopu O Tane Mahuta Trust and featured the launch of a waka on the Kaiapoi River, hip hop music entertainment and performers from other cultures.

Find out more about Maori culture in the NZS.com directory.

Image from Flickr.

Every year on 6 February, New Zealand celebrates its national day and the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840. More than 150 years ago, a contingent from Britain signed our nation’s founding document with over 500 Maori chiefs, making New Zealand part of the British Empire and establishing formally what would become a problematic relationship between European settlers and native Maori.

So, what meaning does the Treaty have in a modern, multicultural New Zealand?

While we celebrate as a nation, we also reflect on what the Treaty means in the 21st century – and how we live together in New Zealand, as Maori and Pakeha. With disagreement over the terms of the Treaty, and even the original translation from English to Maori, tensions have run high for many years. Waitangi Day may be a public holiday and our national day, but it continues to raise important issues: Maori land rights, sovereignty and race relations in New Zealand, to name just a few.

What do

you know about Waitangi Day? Do you celebrate our national day? Find out more about about Waitangi Day celebrations in our Articles section.

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There are a few websites that have explanations of the cultural background of Ta Moko and also a few with some practitioners of the art form.

You can find out more about our unique Maori culture in the NZS.com directory.