Travelsmartplanet

We were lucky enough to be invited to a Maori cultural group to mingle with women and children. We learned the craft of making instruments. And then we enjoyed singing along (with song sheets) with everyone from kids to their grandparents. All ages joined together to sing – and the kids knew all the words! People are wonderfully inviting all over the world.

Just like all over the world, people of similar backgrounds form social circles to keep their heritage intact. In Cambridge, NZ, we were invited to this Maori gathering to make our own poi balls. The balls are attached to long strings and swung rhythmically, one in each hand. Today, the women dancers perform the Maori poi. Men used it for strength and coordination and they were also used as a weapon during a battle. It is really hard to spin those balls.

Tupuna Whare, the Meeting House, is the center of the Maori community. Gatherings of all kinds including entertainment, teaching, meetings, and funerals all took place (and still take place) here. 

In the eighteenth century at Fortress Louisbourg, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, the lower class diet included locally prepared bread, spruce beer, meat or fish. Staples like butter, cheese, and rum were imported. Here I dined on pea soup and an apple tart for dessert. They ate with spoons. Gathering for a meal was not only for sustenance but also for news, companionship and games of chance.