Bob and Louise stopped us as we walked up the beach, waited for our barge to depart, then sang us a Maori welcome. They explained that they’d adapted the rituals used in the tribal gatherings to give structure to the day. On some days they had over thirty visitors, shared amongst the local families, so the structure was necessary. Today, it was just Fiona and me, which made for a more intimate experience. It certainly felt that way when we shook hands and pressed our noses together in the traditional greeting.
After a brief introduction, they sang another song to humble themselves and asked us to do the same. Unable to think of anything else, Fiona and I sang the Kookaburra song. By each humbling ourselves, we were offering apology for any offense we had accidentally caused or might cause throughout the day.
We sang again in the community Marae – this time we chose ‘The Piano Man’ – after an imaginary speech at a make-believe community meeting. They tell us that even the most heated argument would stop when a new person arrives so they could speak a greeting and sing for humility. We sang ‘You are my Sunshine’ as we said goodbye at the end of the day. Bob and Louise helped reduce our embarrassment at our poor singing by joining in with their beautiful voices. It’s clear that Maori enjoy singing and all the practice pays off.