It was great to begin this first ever SBL in New Zealand in a culturally appropriate way with the visitors being welcomed to the University Marae, to the University and to the country. As so often though my delight in powwhiri was tinged with saddness, of only Māori custom could unbend enough to produce a geniuinely bicultural powhiri one for example in which the speeches were tailored to the presence of 90% of the participants who are not fluent in Te Reo (the Māori language) so shorter and accompanied by brief summary statements in English (like subtitles) so that the 90% could understand and appreciate the ceremony. Such a powhiri if regularly adopted for bicultural occasions, would I suspect take NZ by storm and become the only appropriate way to formally welcome visitors. Instead too often what we have is a mere cultural show - which ends up turning Māori into museum exhibits, rather than partners in a bicultural society.
Labels: culture, nz, sbl, video
¶ 7:57 AM
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Yes, Tim. I was right up the front of the crowd waiting to go through the arch onto the marae, so I heard the two Maori explaining to the SBL president what was going to happen and what his role was in it all, so I had some idea what was happening. There are also some similarities between the function of the powhiri and the function of an Aboriginal Australian message stick, which is carried by visitors into the country of other peoples, so I had some 'hooks' to hang the experience on, but it was still a bit odd not hearing what had happened until after it had happened. I do hope our hosts were right about the ability of the powhiri to improve the standard of our conference presentations!! :-)
By 
Judy Redman, at
July 7, 2008 9:35 PM
Well, they are all doing it, first (I think) in "our" circles AKMA, then JPS both of whom run genius level blogs! Susanne gave us a brief round up, though the best anyone except John (who, I am reliably informed, cheats by pasting lots of Hebrew into every post) could achieve on her tests was Postgraduate Level. So I gave in to the temptation (I blame it on the marking it makes me go all light-headed) and tested Sansblogue. You can see the result on the right...So, for those whose heads are aching from reading all those Genius-level posts, just come over here for a rest!
In the meantime, I have four exegeses and about thirty blog assignments to mark, so you'll be on a diet of pictures for another few days yet, which will probably lower the reading age required even further ;-) but should encourage some of you to book for SBL International in this beautiful land next July!
Today's "wish I was there" photo is of Kaikoura (where we went whale watching and saw loads, but were very sick, they said the sea was "very lumpy", they were right :(
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I'm strongly inclined to think it's random. . . .
By AKMA, at
November 9, 2007 9:25 AM
It has to be random. There is no way my blog rates a real genius level :)
James
By jps, at
November 10, 2007 10:50 AM
No post today either :( I'm still marking, and tomorrow there are meetings instead! Oh, joy and bliss...So, for anyone who fails to follow my audio blog, and so will miss out on my thoughts on "Ezra and the foreign wives" (one I prepared earlier as the cookery shows say) here is a consolation, still at Okarito, this time the sea: ¶ 12:54 PM
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Okarito Lagoon, just before our nature tour on the flat bottomed boat!
Labels: nz
¶ 3:26 PM
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