When something gives you goose pimples from watching a short film clip on the tourism site you know the real thing must be phenomenal! That’s what happened just now as I searched through the New Zealand tourism website to find something interesting. Not that it’s ever too tough to find something cool happening over in the lush green country, but I was looking for something to blow me away. Something aside from the numerous movie-like tours that have probably taken the place over by traveling movie buffs and fans of films like Narnia. The portion that caught my eye was this one on the Powhiri, welcoming spirit and/or ceremony of New Zealand’s Maori people. You’ll want to check it out yourself if New Zealand is on your travel radar this year. Today’s word comes from that page.
Today’s word is a Maori word used in New Zealand:
Po – a venture into the “unknown” or new experience
Maori (or Te Reo) is a Polynesian language spoken in New Zealand and is closely related to Rarotongan, Tahitian, and slightly less closely to Hawaiian and Marquesan. The lang arrived in New Zealand by way of the Polynesians coming over by canoe most likely from the Cook Islands or Tahiti many years ago and maintained official status in the country until the 1860’s when it became a minority language. Use this Wiki information to get you started on the background and history of the language, but worry not about there being few great resources online for furthering your knowledge of the Maori. There is also an online language commission (Te Taura Whiri I te Reo Maori) that regulates the lingo and has one of the exhaustive list of links to learning within the country as well as outside. Maori.org has an awesome area to practice with quizzes on common words, phrases and proverbs.
Past Maori words: tapu