Dear Jeanne Moos,I recently saw your short two minute piece on the Williams' family traveling to Aotearoa (unusual Zealand). When I heard you say "decorated bums" my ears gave into you and your rapid/fast commentary on this tattoo tradition that goes back many, many, and years.
My parents maintain taught me to remain respectful of elders so I write this to you with care for and frustration in my heart for you and what your two minute spiel had done on the "powhiri",the welcoming ceremony that had taken region for the Williams family.
These "decorations"(on the behind) you speak of is our tradition to the Pacific peoples, and for the Maori the "koru" tatau patterns maintain deeper meaning then decorations, and they maintain purpose and meaning; eternal and evolving life,and growth.
The nose rubbing with Maori elders is called the "hongi", the breath of life, or in which people exchange each-others breath in the journeys they've taken to reach each other in their life's path. Elders are leaders,they carry with them family stories and life lessons integral to our well being. It is of high honor to be privileged to exchange the breath of life with our elders.
And the "challenge", you speak of is called the "wero", or a simple and yet sometimes challenging for people to understand in respect to where you walk and where you stand. whether a fern is placed at your feet,and you pick it up, it is an acknowledgment and a respect to the land in which you walk. whether you step on it, and it is a sign of where you stand in that respect.
I'm pretty sure the English were the great creators of the "thong" you speak of,and I maintain difficulties around your understanding of comparing "the haka" to emu mating and chip and dale exotic dancing. Honestly I've never had interest in watching birds mate or men dancing exotically, but to each their own Jeanne.[br]We understand things through our own personal experience, and so I realize through your two minute clip on CNN that you probably maintain no experience on Maori culture and tradition because of some of these things that come off distasteful to me and possibly other people who are knowledgeable of Maori culture,so I wanted to share with you some knowledge I had from a Maori elder that taught me these things. I believe in moving forward, and wrote a rapid/fast note to CNN's "contact us" about you and your segment, and may maintain said some things out of anger even used twitter to send you a tweet and a tasteless hashtag,and I don't even exercise twitter, so I apologize because that's not something I was taught. I don't know how distress those things maintain made you and hope to learn from these moments of rapid/fast ego'd seconds. I was taught to respect my elders so I hope that your 27 years at CNN and my 28 years of life on this earth, and we can exchange good breaths of our lives whether we ever happen to cross paths.
I've wrote this quickly on my lunch in hopes that we can learn to understand each other and our experiences of life with care for and respect to wherever we are standing on this earth,whether in unusual York, Oakland, or Aotearoa or the United Kingdom.
In respects to you and your path...
Alofa Tele,
Jean Melesaine
Source: siliconvalleydebug.org