Comments on: He waka eke noa.

He waka eke noa.

spaceburglar — Fri, 20 Apr 2018 22:51:45 -0800

He aha te mea nui o te ao. He tangata, he tangata, he tangata.

By: ActingTheGoat

ActingTheGoat — Fri, 20 Apr 2018 23:50:32 -0800

I'm no expert in Maori feathered cloaks, but that's pretty awesome.

By: Samizdata

Samizdata — Sat, 21 Apr 2018 00:07:35 -0800

I am no linguist, but I knew that had to be Maori on the main page. Then I clicked, reveled in the awesomeness of the cloak, and patted myself on the back for being right. (Then I massaged my bad shoulder because I was dumb and used THAT arm for back-patting.)

By: drewbage1847

drewbage1847 — Sat, 21 Apr 2018 00:12:49 -0800

Must be nice to live in a world where a woman, let alone a pregnant and possibly maternally inclined woman is a respected leader of the country. *grumble*

By: kafziel

kafziel — Sat, 21 Apr 2018 00:39:03 -0800

This is a neat article, and I love seeing traditional dress, particularly of an oppressed minority, thrown in the face of the ruling body like that. But I really kinda wish the FPP gave any information to an English-speaking reader about what the contents of the link would be.

By: ambrosen

ambrosen — Sat, 21 Apr 2018 00:55:14 -0800

Must be nice to live in a world where a woman...is respected I mean, I know Aotearoa is a pretty isolated country, but it's still in the same world. Especially as you live close to it, as far as cities in the Anglosphere go.

By: hawthorne

hawthorne — Sat, 21 Apr 2018 01:17:15 -0800

[...] thrown in the face of the ruling body like that. I saw her much more as saying, "Of course".

By: supercrayon

supercrayon — Sat, 21 Apr 2018 01:19:17 -0800

If you want to learn a bit more about cloaks this twitter thread is a good place to start.

By: phigmov

phigmov — Sat, 21 Apr 2018 01:20:49 -0800

Some interesting background - the cloak was loaned to the PM (she is awesome!) by the Ngāti Rānana London Māori Club (& facebook). Was a little debate about cultural appropriation from a few people on Twitter (mostly outside NZ) but I'm not sure that they had an appreciation for the background on the cloak (eg a loaner to be worn as a sign of respect and also a great honour for the wearer). Also some lovely background on Korowai and other cloaks from a weaver. Awesome stuff. Aotearoa has a lot of problems. But sometimes its lovely to have nice things that are just nice. The PM makes me proud and gives me the warm-fuzzies to be a Kiwi.

By: GenjiandProust

GenjiandProust — Sat, 21 Apr 2018 06:39:53 -0800

But I really kinda wish the FPP gave any information to an English-speaking reader about what the contents of the link would be. I dunno. I get the sentiment, but I'm ok withnon-English content on the site, too. I'll probably get less views, but one can always click and see the comments to judge if it's for you. Also: beautiful cloak.

By: Athanassiel

Athanassiel — Sat, 21 Apr 2018 07:48:56 -0800

Yeah, there's been other non-English content on the site before. I don't speak Maori either, but it's not like it's particularly difficult to google (or just click on the link and then you know exactly what it's about). Google translate kinda gets it (and at least correctly identifies the language) but just copying the phrases gets you a better sense of what the Maori proverbs mean. I think my politician crush on Jacinda Arden has eclipsed even my politician crush on Penny Wong. She is great.

By: rpfields

rpfields — Sat, 21 Apr 2018 07:58:36 -0800

Very cool.

By: Nelson

Nelson — Sat, 21 Apr 2018 08:36:00 -0800

I just visited New Zealand. One of the best things I did there was take the guided tour of Parliament. The buildings are interesting enough but what was really fun was hearing how the system of government was explained. Coming from the US it seemed so orderly and polite and non-corrupt! Also very open. I'm sure the politics has its problems but governing a country of just 5 million people seems like it must be a bit more straightforward and accountable. Part of why I was in NZ was for a tech unconference. The best thing I did there was go to various sessions on Māori themes; one basic pronunciation class, one discussion of what "Māori tech" might mean, how Māori cultural values inform user interfaces and web site design and the like. I was struck by how open and welcoming folks were, with everyone from total outsiders like me, pakeha New Zealanders doing their best to learn something about Māori, and a few folks who grew up in Māori communities. It felt like everyone was on board with mixing the dominant European culture in NZ with native Māori culture in a respectful and fluid way. Ardern showing up at Buckingham Palace wearing a Māori cloak makes perfect sense in this context.

By: Samizdata

Samizdata — Sat, 21 Apr 2018 09:20:02 -0800

> GenjiandProust: "But I really kinda wish the FPP gave any information to an English-speaking reader about what the contents of the link would be. I dunno. I get the sentiment, but I'm ok withnon-English content on the site, too. I'll probably get less views, but one can always click and see the comments to judge if it's for you. Also: beautiful cloak." Actually, seeing the post in Maori made me click on it when I probably wouldn't have otherwise. I was "Maori WHAT?"

By: dazed_one

dazed_one — Sat, 21 Apr 2018 09:47:38 -0800

Yes, please, seeing non English, non American content on the front page is refreshing. I think it goes some way to encouraging metafilter to be more multicultural.

By: atoxyl

atoxyl — Sat, 21 Apr 2018 13:31:43 -0800

It felt like everyone was on board with mixing the dominant European culture in NZ with native Māori culture in a respectful and fluid way. I'm aware that the experience of indigenous people in NZ has not actually been all roses but it does seem remarkably different culturally from a U.S. perspective - I suppose as a result of the Māori generally having been in a stronger position in negotiations than native peoples in other colonies? Yes, please, seeing non English, non American content on the front page is refreshing. I think it goes some way to encouraging metafilter to be more multicultural. Yeah and I thought it was a perfectly good hook for a post.

By: FirstMateKate

FirstMateKate — Sat, 21 Apr 2018 15:23:48 -0800

I couldn't find it, is Ardern herself Maori, or is she just repping (a subset of) her nation where they usually don't get much airtime?

By: Sebmojo

Sebmojo — Sat, 21 Apr 2018 15:30:31 -0800

I'm aware that the experience of indigenous people in NZ has not actually been all roses but it does seem remarkably different culturally from a U.S. perspective - I suppose as a result of the Māori generally having been in a stronger position in negotiations than native peoples in other colonies? Also they came right at the end of the colonisation goldrush so English attitudes were shifting, and New Zealand is a long way away. Even with that, there was a long period where the Treaty (between the Crown and the Maori) was viewed as a laughable oddity, it took a lot of effort from a lot of people to get to where we are now, which is still a fairly poopy zone for a lot of maori socioeconomically.

By: Sebmojo

Sebmojo — Sat, 21 Apr 2018 15:32:17 -0800

Jacinda is pakeha. There's a fair bit of Maori protocol in government, so this is cool but not unusual (e.g. the process for gaining appropriate approval is well-established).

By: New England Cultist

New England Cultist — Sat, 21 Apr 2018 16:23:35 -0800

My first time being proud of my president was when Nelson Mandela was elected. I'm now a New Zealand citizen , having moved here just over 10 years ago. It's now happened for the second time. Jacinda Ardern for the win, bro.

By: mbo

mbo — Sat, 21 Apr 2018 17:20:36 -0800

A post in Maori is even more refreshing given the recent push back against the public use of Maori (by a bunch of old pakeha guys, of course), in particular on national radio (our NPR/BBC). Nelson: I didn't get a Kiwifoo invite this year, I hope you enjoyed it, I've met Jacinda there twice in previous years, before her sudden rise to power, I hope she can find the time to return as a participant, not just to lecture as our previous PM once did

By: falcon

falcon — Thu, 26 Apr 2018 09:11:00 -0800

Must be nice to live in a world where a woman, let alone a pregnant and possibly maternally inclined woman is a respected leader of the country. She's meeting a Queen. In a country with a woman Prime Minister. Bordering another (Scotland) with a woman First Minister. Just across the water from another (Northern Ireland) who's most recent First Minister was a woman. Attached to a continent who's economically most powerful country (Germany) has a woman Chancellor.