Māori Culture in the eyes of the Pōrangi

Ko Rāniera Kirōra taku ingoa. My name is Donny and my motto is "He Pōrangi Ahau" (I am crazy).As you will see, this motto usually manages to answer most of the questions about why I do some weird things in life.

Well, I am not psychologically pōrangi (at least no one has checked yet), but life is for enjoyment, and the more pōrangi you are, the more you can enjoy.

This all started when I was playing Texas Hold'em Poker on Facebook and I met a fun Māori young girl who later introduced me to her mother, Mere, who then introduced me to more of her extended family (BIG mistake!). Mere's next big mistake was to invite me to Aotearoa (New Zealand).

As a part of being pōrangi, I decided that I want to be a part of the Māori culture when I arrive and not to just watch the culture as a tourist. To do that, it was obvious that I needed to learn te reo (the language) and ngā waiata (the songs). So with that the fun journey began.

One of the biggest disappointments I had when I arrived in Aotearoa is that the Māori language is not really seen anywhere. Since the Māori language is an OFFICIAL language of Aotearoa, I had expected it to be on all street signs, store windows, menus, etc. Why is such an important part of the culture of the land hidden away like something to be ashamed of?

You can read my detailed complaint here.

Nevertheless, thanks to the warm hospitality of my Māori hosts during the 2+ weeks I was there, especially Mere and her whanau (family), I got to visit the tangata (people), some Marae, and sing some waiata (songs). I even got to appear on Māori television for a few seconds, probably since they aren't used to seeing pōrangi people learning te reo.

From then on I have tried to find Māori people wherever I went with no luck. The current search for the Māori people is in Atlanta, GA (USA)...

I always felt left out that I am not part of a Marae. Hopefully one day I will be able to construct a Marae of my own which will be known (obviously) as the Pōrangi Marae. All those who are not Māori, are seriously interested in the Māori culture, like the waiata, and are pōrangi and fun, will be welcome to join the Pōrangi Marae. Hey, I may even allow some pōrangi Māori to join...

Aroha nui ki ngā tangata Māori.