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| | /ARTS WEEKLY/CULTURE: Maori 'Marae' Integral to New Zealand Tourism (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-05) |
 | | The essence of traditional Maori stories is manifested even in contemporary art, as carver and musician Darren Ward demonstrated to a keen group of tourists, explaining various kinds of wood instruments, their sounds and uses at celebrations and ceremonies to mark child birth, marriage, funerals and other events. |
 | | To early Maori the group of seven stars, Pleiades, was known as Matariki, and their appearance in the southern hemisphere signalled the New Year. |
 | | The revival of Matariki traditions reflects a more general renaissance in Maori culture, with tourism being used to preserve and promote the culture and create a more prosperous future for the Maori, their 'whanau' (family), and 'iwi' (tribes). |
| www.ipsnews.net /interna.asp?idnews=29346 (1207 words) |
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