Matariki Celebration

Kia Ora! 

The day after we arrived Brad's stake had a Matariki Celebration and we went to watch. Matariki is a special occasion in New Zealand, marking the Maori new year, and it was the perfect introduction to the Maori culture for our family. Each ward did a number of some sort, and I think some wards did more than one. 

Of course our favorite numbers were ones that included a haka of some sort. They really are fantastic to watch. The evening got a little long for a couple of the kids, but I think everyone enjoyed themselves. Actual Matariki was on June 30th, and Brad got the day off work for it, you'll get to hear about what we did to celebrate on an upcoming post. For now, enjoy a few pictures from the Temple View Stake Matariki Celebration.

In Maori culture the women may have tattoos on their face, where men would have a beard. 


These are the elders from the ward Brad lived in singing.



This is my favorite song from the Matariki celebration. Somehow I've got to find out the name of this song.

I especially enjoy watching the American missionary doing the haka here.


And this guy was awesome to watch.



With Love from New Zealand,
Lyndsay

P.S. I don't know why, but when I tried to upload the video directly from my computer it said, "Not Available" so I had to upload to YouTube and then link from YouTube, so sorry if it makes you watch an ad or something stupid. If anyone knows how to directly upload a video please let me know what I am doing wrong!



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