The Maori Tapu or The Meaning of a Fence!

Each morning during the cycling trip of New Zealand our guides would give us a rundown of the terrain (telling us whether we would be riding over "rolling hills" or "mountain passes") and point out some of the "don't miss" scenic spots. My brother, sister in law and I liked to catch them all (the scenic spots, not necessarily the mountain passes), sort of a challenge, like a bird watcher spotting every available warbler, and watching his list grow!

One day I somehow missed the Pioneer Cemetery. I don't know how, I had even found the "Kiwi Crossing" sign and a giant sandfly! Well, the next day we had a Maori cemetery on the agenda. I wasn't going to miss this one.

Well to make a potentially long story short, the fence around the Maori cemetery looked like it had been borrowed from the set of King Kong, miniaturized, but still serious stuff. This wasn't a picket style fence, there were real points, they were more like stakes than pickets. And when you go to the bother of putting a not too friendly head on the top of the gate, you are really trying to send a message. I have to admit that I acted like an ignorant, ugly American, took some pictures, opened the gate and walked right in. I did have a slight moment of doubt when I realized that the grass had probably never been cut...this wasn't your typical "manicured" Western cemetery. Sadly that moment of doubt didn't lead to enlightenment.

Several weeks later, while in the air over the Pacific, I was reading about Maori culture (Taonga Maori: A Spiritual Journey Expressed Through Maori Art). I came to a passage about Tapu, which are spiritual restrictions or implied prohibitions. A Tapu could make a person, place or object sacred for a period of time. Rivers may be made Tapu during the fishing season, gardens during the planting or harvest seasons. This way, only those individuals responsible for the various functions would be allowed in the area. A high chief (ariki) or priestly expert (tohunga) became tapu as a direct result of his status (mana). A person could also become tapu by touching a dead body, coming into direct contact with places or objects polluted by death or being very ill. The duration of the tapu depended on the person who imposed it or the reason for the imposition. The tapu of cemeteries and other places polluted by death (wahi tapu) was everlasting. A special protective fence had to be built around the area or object ("dah" Jack!). Anyone transgressing a tapu committed a violation (hara). This (the hara) demanded payment (utu), which nearly always took the form of disaster whether individual or communal. The punishment meted out to the transgressor is inflicted not by the fellow tribe members, but the gods. Sometimes many years pass before the gods were appeased.

The book, "Taonga Maori: A Spiritual Journey Expressed Through Maori Art", did not discuss any remedies. I turned to my brother and said, "I'm cursed, and I think you are too!. I grew up a Catholic, I had several relatives who had joined religious orders. I also spent several years in the Peace Corps in Zaire, Africa. During my Peace Corps days I had many instances of lightning striking near my house, various snakes of various sizes and dubious natures on my doorsteps (actually once came home to the site of two cobra snakes on my front porch). Most of these events were attributed to disgruntled students! As a Catholic you had remedies for your sins: you could go out and buy various medals to various saints: Saint Christopher medals were extremely popular among teenage drivers. In Africa, every time lightning struck or snakes appeared I'd be surrounded by friends and neighbors offering me various carved objects (fetishes) for protection: ironically a wooden doll with a nail in it could both be used to bring lightning down on your enemies and as protection for yourself....I never figured out how that worked!

As of now I have no remedies for my foolishness. I violated a Tapu, I committed a Hara and I am now awaiting my payment (Utu). I sincerely hope it is NOT disaster! After committing the hara and before reading about the significance of tapu I went bungy jumping. I jumped off of the Kawarau Bridge in Queenstown, New Zealand. I believe the bridge is the site where commercial bungy jumping began. I jumped from 143 feet (44 meters). I am terrified of heights, my feet and other parts of my body turned to jelly, I froze when I finally looked down and actually believe I was "nudged" off of the bridge by the large dude in the picture.

Does the fact that I survived my experience bungy jumping mean that the gods have forgiven my transgression at the cemetery? I don't know. The Maori I met on the North Island of New Zealand were proud of their heritage. They encouraged picture taking of both themselves during reenactments of traditional dances, and allowed picture taking of contemporary carvings. I have included some of the pictures I took of the cemetery. I don't believe I am compounding my transgression by including the pictures. I do hope that the pictures will help reinforce my message to fellow travelers:

"Fences have a language of their own. Respect the message!"