Sep 8, 2016

Editorial #2: What is culture?

It took a long time to write this. I needed to be as accurate and as sensitive as I could and to be honest, whatever I write will be challenged by one side or another. I watch and observe those young Maori who live on in my street. They seem to lack hope and direction. Yet I know many Maori who are complete and successful, both as Maori and New Zealanders. So I will also be as in your face about it as possible.

Maori 'culture' is something that is spoken of a lot lately. They have a vibrant and extraordinary culture that has changed and evolved over the years. When they first arrived in this land from Polynesia, their culture quickly shifted from where they had come from (my theory is that they were rebels where they once lived, developing a new religion if you like. Sort of like pilgrims, forced to leave to avoid further conflict and adapting some of which was already here when they arrived. Ra'iatea was once the spiritual hub of the Pacific and overnight it changed. See this article here......http://tangatawhenua16.wix.com/the-first-ones-blog#!SideStep-Hawaiki-The-Mecca-of-the-Pacific/cgla/56d0c4c60cf2836ff5d96316)

Over 350 years or so, the culture developed and changed. It was at it's creative peak when the first Europeans arrived. From 1800-1840 it changed again as they quickly adapted new tools, beliefs and abandoned many old practices such as the moko, stone tools, traditional dress, ininfanticide and eventually - slavery . From 1840-1900 Maori almost disappeared as a high death toll from diseases felled many within all the known tribes. As a result their culture changed for the worse. It also changed as the pure blood became diluted with intermarriage. However, cultural meaning was slowly revived from 1930-1960 as the population began to grow again. Since then their has been a massive swing, aided with millions and millions of tax dollars that has allowed many educational institutions to teach the youth the traditional 'cultural ways'. Now here is a question - have Maori got better or worse as a combined group since 1960? You ask yourself! Some have, those I know have done very well - but not from being brought up in traditional teaching, nor by government assistance.

So - the word culture...what does it mean? The dictionary describes it as this...

"The ideas, customs, and social behavior of a particular people or society."

Now that can only mean that New Zealanders of European descent also have a 'culture'. It means Chinese who come here to live also had a culture and collectively over time New Zealand developed a new combined culture. Maori of course want their culture to be distinct and it should be. They were not first, but they were here before European and had dominated the land and its previous inhabitants completely, in some case wiping out whole animal species we now wish still existed. They also burnt off much of the forests of the south. (Europeans also dramatically changed the landscape of forests and animal life, repeating the devastation only much quicker.) That changed the cultural life of the early Maori arrivals we call the Moa Hunters, because now there were no more Moa. But in all that, Maori still have a 'culture'. So what is it?

Maori say they want to preserve their traditional ways. Some I know ask why they won't go back to traditional and cultural means of gardening, fishing and living. I think the answer is obvious...who would want to be 'that' cultural when European luxuries like cars, houses, TV's and phones are available. And who could survive without money without returning 100% to the old ways? And if you did, (no one yet has) would be you be allowed to?

So that doesn't answer culture, because culture is obviously not the 'old ways' or Maori would simply return to them. So what is it?

A European website suggests this..."As a visitor to New Zealand, you can experience Māori culture by visiting a Marae with an organised tour, watching a carving or weaving demonstration or learning about fascinating myths and legends from passionate Māori guides."

A Maori website suggests this..."Contemporary Maori culture has been shaped by the traditions of its rich cultural heritage, with an outward view of the challenges faced by indigenous peoples in a global society. Defining aspects of Maori culture include art, legend, tattoo (moko), performances (notably kapa haka), customs, hospitality and community. Since the early 1980s Maori culture has undergone a renaissance. The regeneration of interest in Maori culture has extended to language, and Maori language programs (such as kohanga reo) are now flourishing."

I'll take the second one. It is 100% accurate. Maori culture has changed and adapted to live in the European world. Some Maori push for things like self governance and total control of their young (yet they show little control even within current whanau groupings now). Maori courses will not help either. It needs to start at home but it cannot because Maori men are mostly absent from the home. There are too many single mums. Do Maori leaders focus on that or even mention it? No they blame government, they ask for more handouts. I'd rather see hand ups. But they are not as lucrative. Ok, there is an article on that at another time.

One example of cultural change is Tā Moko. Once commonly used, it fell out of favour. Now it is being revived with pride of the ancient roots. Many wear it well.

The practice of preserving chiefs heads was once fundamentally cultural. That no longer happens and I ask why? It was traditional and cultural once, or does cultural in modern terms only mean what is acceptable in a modern world?

Travel was once by foot only. Water travel once by muscle power only. Flax and dog skins are no longer current cultural clothing. The point is - things change...but not all things. That means Maori culture (as with any culture) is always being redefined. I'm not one that likes the modern interpretations of carving, preferring the traditional, but things change. Who knows what 'traditional' carving will look like in 200 years time, it changed a lot in the last 300 years from before when Cook arrived and western tools enabled faster and more intricate styles to be created. Is culture now only tribal tattoos, art, dances, modern Marae and the original language? When you look around the 'culture' Maori talk about, it seems generally limited to stuff outside of day to day living, things which define who they were as a people. That sees accurate.

But is culture is more than external markings, dancing, art and language? Is culture is who you are inside. If you are proud and complete - it will show. If you are oppressed and depressed - it will show. And to make it clear - depression affects all races.

But oppression? Now there's a word. I hear that word often from Maori, in particular academic's with a chip on their shoulder. How exactly are you oppressed many ask? Do you have houses like the ones other coloured people live in? (John Key grew up in a state house). Do you drive similar cars to those of different coloured skin? Do you go to the same schools as Pakeha? Do you use the same transport systems? Do you eat the same food, bought from the same supermarkets? Do you swim in the same oceans and hunt game in the same forests? Do you have a TV? Can you walk freely in the parks and streets? Do you holiday overseas like others. "But we don't have the money to do some of those things" some say. True for some, not for others. But many white people can't do much either as they are just as poor - are they 'oppressed' as well? Oppression is a real thing, but if it captures your mind, will and emotions, then you are a victim of yourself, not oppression.

A refugee from the Sudan can come here with absolutely nothing but the clothes he wears on his back, access the same welfare system and schooling and move on to become successful within 5 years. Why? He's not white and therefore 'privileged'! He's different, has a different upbringing. He even looks different! He had a different culture and upbringing. Why then can he succeed? He's not just brown - he's black, yet he succeeds if he chooses to.

If there is an oppressor here's a quote - "The most potent weapon of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed." - Steven Biko

What about Nelson Mandella? He was in prison a long time. Some say he was oppressed. But they are wrong, he was only 'imprisoned' because while they had his body, they did not have his mind. That is a true human warrior. And who did he blame? Did he go anti-white when released? No - he was a true human being, one who did not perpetrate hate, although he had every reason to do so. He was not oppressed. His mind, will and emotions were fully intact.

In South Africa, Zulu culture has changed, they no longer live the way they once did. What remains unchanged is dance, songs, use of colour etc, but lifestyle? Nope - it's completely different! So is that of Maori. So lifestyle and culture are not the same thing then it seems. Culture seems to be a capturing of a unique part of history and keeping it alive. But it does not change or improve a human being...or does it?

Maori's biggest threat may simply be a lack of self belief. Only Maori strong enough to stop with the excuses and stop teaching hate can save their people. And don't expect the current batch of academics to do it, they are Maori's worst perpetrators of victimization if you actually hear what they mean behind the words.

And how does all this relate to culture? There is a current culture of victimization and a spirit of utu (not acted upon physically) still prevalent and I believe it demeans Maori. But that's just an opinion that is perpetrated through what I read and see. Observation reveals more than what others tell you they are.

So why can that Sudanese refugee I talked about succeed? The answer is self determination and lack of self victimization. I think there is a lesson there for those Maori that teach the younger generations. But who will do it? Who can stop being a victim enough to change the thinking of those they influence? .