Verse 1: Back in 1988 All those talking politicians Words are easy, words are cheap Much cheaper than our priceless land But promises can disappear Just like writing in the sand. Verse 2: This land was never given up This land was never bought and sold The planting of the Union Jack Never changed our law at all. However, “Treaty” as James Jun Wu has suggested, did its part to mitigate the local and national tensions by offering a way of reconciliation (101). It explores the possibility of union between the indigenous and non-indigenous Australians by employing water metaphors that suggest a dynamic, vibrant future of Australia: Now two rivers run their course Separated for so long I’m dreaming of a brighter day When the waters will be one Treaty yeh! Treaty now.7 As clarified by Helen Chyrssides, “Music is a powerful instrument to bring about reconciliation and black and white unity...a cultural fusion of the contemporary elements of the 200 years and the traditional ones of 40,000 years. By combining the two, we can start to build a better future through music.” 8 Warumpi Band is another Aboriginal rock group that has facilitated the advancement of the land rights movement. The musical and textual readings of their place-related song, ‘Warumpinya’ delineates the socio-cultural discourses on Aboriginal rock group has used to construct a popular music statement about a regional indigenous area: Warumpi, situated along the north-western border of the Northern…
Migrants cannot be excluded strictly on the basis of race, gender or religion; Miller states that even tennis clubs are not entitled to exclude on such grounds. At first glance it may seem as though those features contribute to a common national identity, however those shallow attributes alone cannot flood a common life. Qualities such as a willingness to acquire local language competency and an interest in acquiring skills which translate into becoming an active and productive member of…
Whale Rider (2002) takes place in the present day, a small New Zealand coastal village. Movie begins with the birth of twins a boy and a girl, but the boy and his mother die in childbirth. The girl Paikea Apirana ("Pai") survives the ordeal just to be reprimanded by her grandpa Koro. Koro is the chief of coastal village and Maori claim to be descendent from Paikea. Twins father Porourangi who is chief’s eldest son and an artist leaves New Zealand as grief stricken. Due to these circumstances,…
925 A.D, all Maori people like my ancestor, Kupe, came from Hawaiki. As a talented fisherman, Kupe found out that the great octopus had been stealing all his fish and bait whenever he was fishing. Annoyed, Kupe tried to kill it, but all the chasing had come to a named island, by his wife, called Aotearoa (the long white cloud). After destroying the octopus, Kupe and his whanau explored Aotearoa, came back to his homeland to tell all his mates, and then returned to Aotearoa to emigrate there with…
These historical events include colonization and migration (Glover, 2005). Over 200 years ago the British colonized NZ and settlers brought with them tobacco and introduced it as a means of manipulating and controlling the Maori people (Glover, 2005). As British settlers confiscated the land, the Maori people lost their primary source of income therefore causing them to turn calming effects such as smoking. Over time tobacco became a source of stress relief and thus a behavioural norm amongst…
In the film Whale Rider the director Niki Caro shows how the cultural traditions can unite its people and create a sense of unity between the Maori people. The Maori people are a native culture that have been home to New Zealand for over three thousand years. They have a story that has been passed down generation after generation which is the story of Paikea. Paikea was a ancestor that left his homeland Hawaiki on the back of a whale. The filmmaker uses camera, sound and lighting techniques to…
called the native people or Maori in their language. Because of the isolation from the rest of the world, the Maori evolved a distinctive warrior culture and developed their own folklore and art forms. One of these art form is Pounamu carvings which are unique only to the Maori culture. Inspired by the exotic flora and a rich creation history, Pounamu carvings vary in design and use, one piece can represent an ancestor, another for can used for war. The Maori are one the youngest ethnic people…
New Zealand/Aotearoa smoking contributes to over 5,000 preventable deaths per year (Maori affairs committee 2010). To combat the high number of preventable deaths the New Zealand/ Aotearoa government has chosen to put into action different initiatives and programs to deal with the high number of smokers (Maori affairs committee 2010). The different initiatives and programs that the government implemented can be directly linked back to Foucault governmentality theory (Krasmann 2015). For…
During the film whale rider, we see the characters, Paka and Pai. Paka, growing up the way he did, follows every rule that their tradition has, whereas Pai, being born into the modern world, wants the Maori people to think more progressively. During childbirth, Pai’s mother dies, along with Pai’s twin brother, who was in line for the role of the chief. This is enough change for Paka as he decides that Pai cannot fulfil the role. At first, Paka is just blind to Pai’s ability to be the chief, he…
This paper examines the symbolic importance of Mukudj mask in the culture of Punu community of southern Gabon. The paper follows the historical research methodologies and examines what is the importance of the Mukudj mask to Punu community, how does viewer describe it, and understand the symbolism in the Mukudj mask. The Punu reside on the left bank of the Upper Ngoume River (Gabon), where villages are divided into clans and families, and society known as moukouji. Officiates of moukoudji…