Te Whanau Raukura Performance

This week we had a special performance from Te Whanau Raukura who performed some elements of the Maori culture. Te Whanau Raukura performs at the Auckland Museum and practices there. They made an entrance by blowing in to a shell which was used back in the day to let others know that visitors have arrived. As they were making their way into the hall the caller spoke a whaikorero. They then made their way to the stage and began their performance. Whilst they were performing they used some traditional things that were used back in the day to go to war. They first showed us a poi which is a string that has a ball at the end, which was used to improve their strength and flexibility and also help improve their coordination. They then showed us the Te Rakau which helped improve their skill in performing tasks. Lastly they showed us the Taiaha which was used as a weapon for battle. The neck has feathers that distracts the opponent and was used for short, sharp attacks and you can use a thrusting motion to injure the other whilst using efficient footwork. Something I found interesting about this performance was how they could boom their voices across the room but left a lovely sound, that left me amazed. I also enjoyed watching how they explained what every item did and the history behind it. When the performance ended they did the haka and ended it off with a pukana. When everyone left to go to their classes Bekah, from Te Whanau Raukura showed us how to play Pukana. I really enjoyed playing this game as everyone participated and it looked like they were enjoying their time. Overall I loved watching their performance and learning how to play a new game.