Waitangi?

Today is Waitangi Day. It's sort of New Zealand's founding holiday. Today marks the day when the original inhabitants of New Zealand, the Maori, finally signed a treaty ending the war for the contested land. The Maori signed the treaty rather fast to avoid running out of food provisions. The terms appeared to be good but now the Maori feel duped. This is partly because of bad translations of the treaty and also because some of the terms of the treaty have been ignored by future generations of kiwis. Much like our Columbus Day celebrations the Waitangi Day celebrations are often a magnet to native protestors. In many past years the flagpoles on which the New Zealand flags have flown were cut down in protest. In 2004 the Maori managed to raise their flag on a close by tree higher then the New Zealand flag; this was seen as a very bold and disrespectful move. I think it was a rather tame reaction.

In New Zealand the celebrations for Waitangi day are very formal. They begin the previous day with political dignitaries being welcomed into the Maori meeting house to hear speeches from the local iwi, or tribes. Then they debate about the issues brought forth late into the night. The next day the Royal New Zealand Navy raises the New Zealand flag, Union Jack and White Ensign. Then there is a church service and some Maori singing and dancing. There's also a thrilling re-enactment of the first governor of New Zealand, General Hobson, being called ashore to sign the treaty. Finally the flags are lowered.

Recently kiwis who've relocated in London have been celebrating Waitangi day. In London the celebration is a lot more fun. Here, they've decided to have a pub crawl using the London Underground's Circle Line. They travel counter-clockwise from Paddington to Temple. The goal is to ingest one drink at each of the 27 stops on the Circle Line. The less hardcore participants only stop at a few of these stations. Participants wear costumes for the celebration and all gather at Westminster waiting for Big Ben to strike 4 p.m. A large scale haka, a traditional Maori dance, is performed and many sing their kiwi favorites.