Land Rich in Sports

[steiny]

good to see the interest in Maori, I'm pakeha and also have a great interest in the amazing Maori people, so much so that I have come to the country of Aotearoa to learn more. My interest is strong in native sports that have been subjugated by the pakeha system. You know that Maori were SURFING, had snowboard-type TABOGGANS, had their own self defense art called MAUMAU, used 20ft long poi called POI TOA in warrior training, had their traditional-type football game called KI-O-RAHI,have their own intricate boardgame called MU TORERE, had a boeling game using wheel shaped sandstones, had hula-hoops made from keikei vines, FLEW by using kites called MANU TANGATA!! ALL BEGORE PAKEHA ARRIVED HERE!!!there are heaps more and this country is so rich in this area I love! The people I have met have been really helpful, I hope to compile them in a book for the N.Z. 'tamariki' because not much has been written for them by the pakeha dominated education dept. here - they dont want Maori playing their traditional sports instead they have been brainwashed to favour rugby, league, soccer, touch. cricket,hockey etc aiding my journey are sites that you may wish to checkout like MAORI.ORG.NZ plugged in KI-O-RAHI (the maori football version) and got some info that I followed up on - its a long journey but a richly rewarding one! ka kite ano Steiny

[Kimba]

This is true. Te Reo is no.1 but the sports I also feel have an important part to play in the revival of Maoridom as proposed by Apirana Ngata so long ago. It is important for Maori kids in mainstream classes to see Maori sports in their lessons. How many teachers teach them though? I would say not many therefore i don't believe most teachers are honouring the Treaty of Waitangi. It is so true that there were so many sports here that were traditional so i tau toko this discussion entry, kia ora.

[BjornAgain]

Yes it seems like most teachers do choose to ignore what is said about honoring the treaty and that is why I think they are paid as they. Another pointis that with the Maori culture struggling to survive with the attitudes prevalent of most of pakeha society it is needed to promote more of the great variety of Maori traditional sports in schools. I have heard that the Hamilton Fraser High gym that was arsoned had not even been blessed on opening! even thouh there is a high Maori student population there. The Maori content at that school is also not mainstreaned but taught at a separate Rumaki on the school grounds - this separatist attitude i feel is typical of pakeha wanting not to honour the Treaty which is by law our founding document!.Apparently at Fraser also as the sport of ki-o-rahi was mentioned as an ancient sport the only sports gear to survive the Fraser gym fire was the ki-o-rahi gear! The word that we have heard is that the kaiako didnt want to store it with the pakeha sports gear, something to do with the mauri of the sports ..so it was stored in a room annexed to the gym. did the gear save that room from destruction being the only Maori sports gear there, maybe that holistic approach will save other school buildings, all gyms in aotearoa should store traditional gear and teach these sports , better than fire insurance! I bet the new Fraser gym will be blessed! what do you think? The principal there < Elliot Martin I feel has supreessed much of what and why happened surrounding the blaze as it was a reflection of his some would say rascist and bigoted action toward Maori mainstreaming and recognition.

[ManuRuka]

kapai this isvery true I played many of our native gammes when I was youngr it is sad the young maori of today feel ashammed to play these great maori sports it is true they are being taught all the pakeha sports because educators are not bothering to find out more about them which is great pity. I to have heard at our hui of the sad state of afairs at the Hamilton school where the fire occured and about the sad teaching for our children , it is true about the only soprts gear to survive the fire was the kiorahi maori sports gear I have heard that in many of the marae I have visited and spoken to people who have things to do with our maori youth there, very sad!

[BjornAgain]

thankyou ManuRuka for reinforcing that aspect again.

[hiri28]

Kia ora to you all, it is so nice to come upon gems of Maori knowledge here, thankyou all. All of our old games are coming to the fore again and it will be a pleasure when i see them supercede the introduced games, we dont have to follow the globalisation trends, we can keep our unique identity with our Maori language AND oour games, all we need now is for more Maori to play their traditional games and yes this will only happen when schools permit Maori games to be mainstreamed so that all children can share in them.

Diversity is something we shoukd celebrate. Rugby is not for the grassroots person now, so now is the chance for Maori to start playing their own games. All rugby chiefs want is that globalised trend where a few people are the players and the huge majority pay out of their noses for the privilege of watching sport, of being spectators. So I say yes bring on our own sports like the full contact game of kiorahi and many of our other games and by the postings can see there are heaps. Where are the kaiako? if we all embrace our games they will come!