In the clip Maori Poi @ Te Papa, POI's are used to accentuate graceful dancing. They were developed many years ago by the indigenous Maori people of New Zealand to increase the flexibility and strength in their hands and arms as well as improving coordination.
In the Maori culture, female dancers are called Wahine, and they dance in a synchronized manner to perform the Maori POI. They dance swinging these balls which are attached to flax strings. The poi they swing rhythmically can have short or long cords. Sometimes the dancers will be grouped so that dancing can be performed with both short and long cords swinging in harmony.
How the Poi Originated
Originally the poi was used as a means of training and developing strength, accuracy, flexibility and poise.
It is said that Maori women developed their skill with the poi so that this ability kept their hands flexible for weaving. On the other hand, the men practiced the skill to develop their strength and coordination which would be required during battle. A versatile training aide the POI was also used as a training activity for other ancient weapons like the Mere or Patu, which means short club.
Viewers will see, from the clip of dancers fluently dancing with pois featured above, that the Maori dance is a community based exchange which is very traditional in nature.
The Traditional Context of the Poi
The indigenous people of New Zealand are called the Maori people. These Polynesian people comprise about 10% of New Zealand’s population. Maoritanga is the native language and it is related to the Tahitian and Hawaiian languages. It is believed that the Maori migrated from Polynesia in canoes around the 9th century to 13th century AD.
A Maori lady called Daisy Hemana who lives in Wellington NZ, and who is of Ngati Whatua descent primarily, has been kind to pass on tribal knowledge of poi from traditional sources based from Auckland and further north.
Daisy Hemana Shares Her Knowledge
On the Home of Poi website, she says that whilst not all of the tribal stories are the same, the history she has read about the Poi has been similar to the history passed on from her tribe. She calls passing on stories and historical knowledge oure korero, which means talk. She says that; “the poi genealogy started with our god’s creation, then through the use of flax made bags to carry a moa egg.”
The bags used to carry the egg were called kii, and later they were used “by our fighting warriors in training.”
By putting a large stone in the kii bag and swinging this around. warriors and boys were able strengthen their arms and to train their wrists to be supple and strong. They could also test their reactions. “The kii bags made of flax had short ropes but when the warriors and boys trained with them they would put on extra lengths of rope,” continues Ms. Hemana.
Later on the poitoa was used in action songs and this has become simply POI,as it evolved the kiitoa became POI that are seen much today.
Keeping Cultural Traditions Alive
Daisy Hemana says that this is a tribal view of the development of the POI. She draws our attention to the idea that historically the Maori people are not the same across the whole country. Each group has its own unique genealogy. This is not only in relation to their lives but also the development of implements and poi.
It is important to history and culture that women like Daisy Hemana pass on this knowledge, both for the younger people growing up in the culture and to those who like to know more by asking questions and listening. Keeping the traditional dance customs alive and vital is an important aspect of the arts curriculum in schools today.
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