Explanation Writing: Pōwhiri

What is a Pōwhiri? July 2017

WALHT - write an explanation writing about a Pōwhiri

Success Criteria:

• I must double check my work
• I must use the correct pronunciation
• I must make sure everything is grammatically correct
• I must explain what the topic is and give relevant facts

A Pōwhiri is a Maori welcoming ceremony that Maori people use to welcome people into  families, schools, funerals and maraes. Recently it has been used in more situations like a new role in a new workplace or welcoming someone important from another place.

The welcoming ceremony involves speeches that are given from people who are related to the cause or the people who are hosting it. The person or people who get welcomed also give a speech. A Pōwhiri also includes lots of singing and dancing. People would perform popular Maori songs that are appropriate for the cause and dance according to the song.

At the very start of the Pōwhiri people who would host it would perform a “Call of Welcome”. This is where an older women from the hosts would perform a call and lead the person or people they are welcoming into the marae or hall. They would walk very slowly and pause every now and then to remember the ancestors who have passed.

People are also to be respectful and sit down in a special seating order, they would also have to stand up when they are told. Males would have to sit on the outer side of the group and females would sit in the inside.

At the end of the Pōwhiri the guests and people would do a Hongi. A Hongi is a traditional maori greeting were people press their noses together. The Hongi is very popular in Maori culture and especially in Pōwhiri’s.

To conclude, the Pōwhiri is a very important and popular welcoming ceremony in the Maori culture, and the people who are attend whether they are Maori or not should respect and adapt to the Maori culture and their ways.