A Matter Of Life & Death

Steeped in legends, kauri trees are an integral part of Maori culture and faith. On a visit to New Zealand’s Northland, Phorum Dalal understands the urgency of the fight for their conservation.

A MALE HAKA WARRIOR, dressed in a black, white, and red taniko kilt, comes out of the meeting house on Waitangi Treaty Grounds in Bay of Islands, New Zealand, pointing a Maori spear at us. Each move is made in caution and defiance, ready for war. After a dramatic presentation of aggressive moves that include manoeuvring the spear and stamping the feet to loud chanting, he places a green leaf on the ground. Dan, a volunteer ‘tribe chief’ from our group, accepts it—a sign that we come in peace.

We are welcomed into the meeting room and take our seats on wooden benches before a stage where a group of eight ceremonial dancers present the haka, a Maori war dance as well as social performance. The rhythmic stomping, amplified by the sharp thud of their wooden spears on the ground, generates an adrenaline rush—completely different from the one I experienced while skydiving a few hours ago.

The dancers move in a synchronised rhythm, their palms tremble like leaves, eyes glare to evoke fear, and tongues stick out. The men slap their intricately tattooed bodies while the women show their power with widened eyes and chin tattoos. It is extremely special to observe haka on the very grounds where the Maori and the British first formed a relationship— signing the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840.

The Maori folk have their traditions deeply rooted in nature—fine patterns seen in ocean waves and fern fronds find a place in their carvings, weaves, jewellery, and face tattoos. In worship, too, they turn to 150 elemental nature gods. The most popular is the 2,000-year-old kauri tree Tane Mahuta, the God of the Forest, in Waipoua Forest on the Northland, which is home to 75 per cent of the country’s kauri trees.