The Waitangi Treaty

There are a lot of similarities between our civilization now and the Ancient Roman culture. We've got great art, architecture, the Olympics and much more, but something that I found really interesting was how Alexander the Great was successful in maintaining the cultures of the places he took over, while incorporating new ideas from his own culture. 

In my home country of New Zealand, we celebrate Waitangi day; A national holiday that reminds us of a peace treaty the Maori Chieftains signed with the British Government in 1840. In short, they promised to provide the Maori people with greater education, imported goods and higher status, if they could establish themselves and share their goods. Eventually the British crossed the seas and began to establish themselves among the people. There were a few big cultural roadblocks, like not understanding each other properly about what was who's and who was in charge, but eventually the Maori people began to take to the English language and British culture. They could now be represented as a strong individual nation across the world. Luckily the Wairua, or the deeply sacred culture still remains intact, just like Alexander the Great tried to maintain. 

Even though at the time it was a bit of a struggle for the New Zealand people to share their land with these new white strangers, this integration of cultures provided us with greater opportunities to succeed not just in New Zealand, but all over the world. This development of cultures enabled my father to eventually meet my mother in Hawaii. If it weren't for the way history had played out, who knows if I would be where I am today! 

KA MATE! KA MATE! KA ORA! KA ORA!

Kia Ora. I was fortunate enough to serve a mission for the Latter-day Saint church in New Zealand back in 2009-2011. I knew nothing about the place when I first got there, and didn't know how I was going to adapt over a two year period. They say going on a mission turns you from a boy to a man. Well my mission did even more for me. It allowed me to find a culture that I had been searching for. 

The Maori people have been in New Zealand since sometime between 1250 and 1300 CE. When the English settlers arrived in the land in the 17^th century, things changed and the Maori warriors created a war chant called the haka. This would scare off the white settlers who wanted to settle in their land. On my mission, I was fortunate to learn this haka, and for some reason, it came very easy for me to learn it. In fact, I learned to pray, share beliefs, and everyday phrases in the Maori language, although everyone spoke English. This unique culture became a huge part of me, and I almost wondered if I had been born in the wrong culture to begin with! Today I still embody that same culture I picked up while I was in New Zealand. I participated in the BYU luau, and somehow connected with most of the Polynesians living in Provo.

The Maori language is almost considered a dying language because many schools stopped teaching it. It has been my goal to spread this culture like wildfire, and keep the old traditions and history of the Maori people going for ages to come.