My friend Linda is retiring from full-time teaching this year. To help celebrate, my friend Rachel and I made a digital story for Linda.

We were asked to create a video about Linda’s impact on the Australia/New Zealand Study Abroad program, which Linda and Rachel created as a result of their work with Digital Storytelling. Rachel and I realized the story could not just be about the international cultural exchange program, that it needed to encompass the power of storytelling as well. To get a look at the big picture, so we could distill it, we tried to map out, on a whiteboard, the entire series of events that culminated with an international exchange focused on indigenous culture. There were too many events, though, so we mapped what felt like the truly essential pieces.

We could easily have made an hour-long documentary film with all the material collected over the last ten years or so. Linda went on a sabbatical where she traveled the world interviewing storytellers. Linda and Rachel have taught Digital Storytelling classes for several years, impacting the lives of hundreds of students. They also teach the process to faculty, sometimes with my help. And the international exchange has been ongoing for the last four summers. We’ve also hosted at least four return visits. The metaphor of ripples helped us distill this material, and the impact of Linda in particular, to its utter essence, and into this 5-minute story.

We both felt it would be inappropriate to narrate, and instead we chose to let the stories do the talking. We excerpted them, but did not edit them, which means we left the voices and visuals intact. We added a bit of text, and some beautiful photos to accompany our words. We connected the dots of “aha” moments and experiences. We chose not to worry if anyone else “gets it.” This video is for Linda, and she gets it. If you feel it as a summation of years, instead of a linear narrative, you’ll get it.

Well guess what?! They’re here! Right here in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. They arrived Friday April 18, and have already kicked things off to a great start. On Sunday there was a pow wow at ASU. Two Navajo students from our travel group made sure our Maori friends could attend the pow wow. I didn’t get to go, but our friends were given the opportunity to perform at the pow wow after the opening ceremony. From what I hear, the pow wow community opened their hearts to our Maori friends, bestowed gifts during and after their performance, and really felt an instant connection. I wish I could have been there.

This video is from dinner after the pow wow, at the home of fellow traveler Nizhoni and her amazing chef husband Joseph. He fed us a four or five course meal that included a prickly pear cactus salad, his own version of surf and turf which included swordfish steak and buffalo burgers, and a custom dessert creation called “Chocolate Taranaki” in honor of the volcanic mountain dominating the landscape where our friends live. The meal was seriously amazing.

Between courses, our friends taught us a song. You can learn it too, here are the words:

He honore, he kororia
Maungarongo ki te whenua
Whakaro pai e
Ki nga tangata katoa
Ake ake, ake ake, amine
Te atua, te piringa, toku oranga (x2)
Toku oranga

Wendy Lewis is the woman teaching us the words to the song and what they mean. This song is an acknowledgment of ties to Parihaka, a Taranaki settlement whose two leaders drew on ancestral and Christian teachings to organize passive resistance to the colonizing army, and that is now is a manifestation of peace here on Earth.

Sorry for my crappy video & audio recording. I’m not good at both recording and experiencing moments at the same time, and I didn’t have my good mic with me either … so this is the best I and my poor little Xacti could do under the circumstances.

Finally, 12 posts later, we have reached the end of the videos depicting how I spent a few hours on June 28, 2006 at Puniho Pa Marae in the Taranaki region of Aotearoa (New Zealand). Understand that I left for this journey about three days after Vloggercon, and was all fired up to document my trip. To force myself to remain in the moment, I took only three miniDV tapes with me. I had to capture video every night, or lose the ability to record more. But after this particular night, I couldn’t keep up, so this has been sitting on a hard drive since 2006.

I’m so glad I could finally share it. You have no idea.

By the way, the woman in red on screen left is Mahinekura the way I will always remember her.

I should mention we were gently told later that women do not stick out their tongues when they pukana. This wasn’t mentioned during our learning because the evening was all in fun. But our Maori friends told us afterward so that, should we visit other marae, we would not do something that might be offensive or embarrassing.

So this is the final performance by one of the groups we split into. I think they did a great job! It’s not easy learning to twirl poi if you didn’t do it as a child. Your wrists just aren’t that flexible. But this group did a wonderful job, and performed with joy and enthusiasm.

Performances continue tomorrow – stay tuned!

I gave my camera to my Maori photographer friend, Jo Tito, who shot great footage of us learning to haka. I love that she also shot the crowd observing us – it looks like they had a good time! I had about ten minutes of great footage and only cut it down to 5:30 – mainly because I want anyone from our group to be able to use this video to re-learn this haka. If our Aotearoa friends visit the U.S. we can welcome them in proper style!

Don’t worry, I’ve got all the final performances coming up next, and then some!

You’ve go to hand it to this “Sharing Cultures, Connecting Communities” international travel course. Where else would you find this diverse group from the U.S. all playing together, cooperatively, in such a spirit of love and respect. There are over seven cultural groups represented, including Choctaw, Euchee-Creek, Navajo, Mexican, Spanish, European and Maori. And I know I’m forgetting Jim’s tribal heritage – one of the tribes whose lands straddles the Canadian/U.S. border if I recall correctly.

Mark does a great job as an orator. Though we do not understand the Maori language, the intent of his speech is crystal clear. He helps us with his gestural language and his facial expressions. A waiata (song) always follows such a speech. It means that the singers support what has been said.

This is something I love about the Maori people I met. They are committed to preserving their language and culture, which they do for their children by immersing them in it. That means no compromise with respect to te reo (the Maori language). The Maori have the utmost respect for their guests, but they do not pause to interpret for them during formal greetings like this one. They trust in themselves that the spirit of their intent will come through, and they trust in you to take it in, to get it.

You may think the video is too long at over four minutes, but I challenge you to value another culture and language enough to watch and really listen. There are ideas being expressed for which English has no words. Therefore this moment is a treasure beyond measure.

Ooh! I found the words to this song.

Ehara i te Mea

Ehara i te mea
Nō naianei te aroha
Nō ngā tūpuna
I tuku iho, i tuku iho
Te whenua, te whenua
He oranga mō te iwi
Nō ngā tūpuna
I tuku iho, i tuku iho

Anyway, my travel group was made part of the “home crowd,” and given shelter at Puniho Pa Marae, and the dance troupe is seen here entering as welcome guests. In this video they are performing, and the next video will show the traditional way Maori groups enter one another’s communities. Over the next few days I’ll be showing several more videos from this evening. The performers split us into 3 groups, taught us each a different skill, and then we all performed for our hosts. It was an evening of much laughter, sharing and love.

I spent time with this troupe in 2004 and was thrilled to see them again. They are amazing and very giving. I’m planning to start a little fund raiser to help them come to the U.S. and visit local tribal lands. I also hope to help them book some performance gigs – anyone engaging them will get more than their money’s worth.

You can see my friend Mahinekura in the background – she’s the woman wearing red. Going through footage from Puniho Pa brought so many great moments and feelings straight back into my heart. I’ll be sharing some of them with you on and off during the rest of December.

Ever.

Here is the scene. We have been called onto the Marae (if you’ve seen Whale Rider you know what this sounds like), and speeches have been made (in Maori) to introduce us to the place and its leaders. We have in turn all stood up individually and told the people of this place who we are, where we came from and why we are here. There were many more people waiting to greet us than we expected, and they’ve sung to us twice already, to support the words of the speakers. And we have reciprocated by singing for them in support of the words of our leaders. Our time in this sacred space of meeting has ended, and to come back to normal space and time, we will all share a meal together.

So imagine all of that. And then, these beautiful people who have spent all this time preparing for us, cooking, preparing the space and the table, none will eat until we all help ourselves. And while we help ourselves, this song.

They are singing about what it means to be Maori, their journey as a people from the beginning of time until now, all they have endured and accomplished. Listen to the enormous love and pride in their voices.

I tell you, I couldn’t eat. I sat there with tears streaming down my face and splashing into my plate. And it’s happening again, writing this. Because now, even watching this crappy video, I see at least fifteen people I made a direct heart connection with, and the love contained within the sound of their voices carries across time and distance.

Thanks, David, for the video you shared, and for reminding me to unearth this and share it. It’s way too beautiful to sit on a hard drive, spinning.

It’s video from when I received my moko in June of 2006. I was in the Taranaki region Aotearoa as part of an intercultural exchange. I handed my good friend Wendy my video camera and she captured the experience for me.

This was a very personal experience that’s hard to put into words. I have been interested in ta moko for a long time. I have a couple of tattoos, but never felt they were a true and deep expression of myself.

Mahinekura Reinfeld arranged for us to meet the artist who designed her moko, Rangi Kipa. Mahinekura explained that instead of picking out something pre-designed, Rangi works by listening to you tell a story about yourself, which he translates into Maori iconography, and that he aligns his artwork with the muscle and skeleton structure of your body. She believes he channels from the spiritual realm as he works. (So do I.) She told us about her own preparations for receiving her moko, including spending three days fasting and purifying herself in a sacred place.

Since I knew I would have the opportunity to receive moko I decided to fast for three days and meditate as much as I could during our busy schedule. With the exception of Wendy, I didn’t tell my travel-mates I was doing this. I didn’t want to dramatize it. I wanted to honor this tradition. And it’s a good thing I did. I waffled about what story I would tell, but on the third day, a mere hour before we were to meet Rangi, the story came to me, and I knew it was right. I’m not sure that would have happened without my fast.

For those tattoo artists and aficionados who copy Maori designs, all I can say is don’t. Ta moko is a highly personal, spiritual process. Stealing a design is akin to crass identity theft, and totally inappropriate. It is more than worth your time, resources and energy to do it properly by working with a Maori artist.

Speaking of which, Rangi Kipa will be in the U.S. during May. At least I hope he will. Keep your eyes open for his visit, and come support his art.

More about Rangi:

• http://www.maoriart.org.nz/profiles/rangi_kipa
• http://www.whenua04.com/artists/rangi_kipa.htm

Did you ever loop a string through a big button and spin it? It’s like that. My grandma taught me how to make this toy. I was delighted to see that the Maori use it, though they don’t use a button. They use wood or bone, and smooth or carve it to shape the sound it will make. My parents played with these, and when Riki demonstrated it there was the noisy joy of remembrance in the room.

But watch how quickly everyone goes silent, unwilling to break the magic of the mesmerizing sound.

Riki says the Maori use these for:

• children’s toys (like Grandma!)
• healing respiratory problems
• musical instruments

Get a 640X480 version over at Blip.tv.

This video was shot on June 26, 2006. The building in the background is part of Puniho Pa in the Taranaki region of Aotearoa (New Zealand). The mountain you will see is Taranaki himself. Enjoy the view!

Today we visited our friends at the Western Institute of Technology at Taranaki, and had a lot of fun singing and having a nice meal together. I didn’t have permission to videotape there, so I will share our weaving tutorial instead.

This video depicts Ruapounamou’s patience as a teacher, and Sue’s beautiful voice. There are enough closeups that if you have access to a flax plant, you can figure out how to make a flower, too.

Second, let me express my regret that I did not get the name of the woman who is speaking. I have sent a few inquiries back to friends in New Zealand, so I will update this entry once I find out her name.

Update: her name is Aunty Mandy Robinson.

That said, let me present this video, shot on the evening of 22 June 2006. It is a priveleged look inside Aotearoa marae, one of only two carved marae in the Taranaki region. The building we are inside was completed in 2005, and one of the kuia (matron, old woman) of the community is telling us about a tukutuku (woven panel) that she made for the project.

The audio is not perfect, but you can hear and understand if you listen. This is important stuff. Listen well.

Look for an interview later about some of the artwork inside the wharenui (meeting house) called “Ngakaunui,” where we slept the night of June 22.

This video shows some of the drive from Wellington to Otaki, and a few photos of what we saw there. Jo Tito, who drove the van for us, took the photos, not me. The music is from a CD Noah bought called New Zealand in Song, but I don’t know who the artists are. I picked it because the length was right, and because we felt very welcome at Te Wānanga-o-Raukawa.