Behind the Silence – Maori Community Healing · by Christine Hibbard
Thirteen women and I arrived in Auckland in October of 1998. New Zealand was magical. The fresh air was crisp and clean. Everywhere we looked from the bus windows were beautiful green hills, magnificent mountains, thousand-year-old kauri tree forests, and fields of purple flowers. The Maori people of those beautiful islands captured our imagination, and we wanted to learn more. I couldn’t wait to talk to them about their way of healing.
The Maori are Polynesian settlers of New Zealand who migrated there from islands of the South Pacific around AD 800. I had learned about the Maoris from Rangimarie “Rose” Turuki Pere, a well-known Maori leader, on her visit to Boulder, where she had greeted me with hongi, the traditional greeting of pressing noses. Her presence and wisdom in the Maori culture inspired all.
“We headed south through amazingly green and beautiful land. Looking at hundreds of sheep grazing the hillsides filled me with peace. Nestled alongside nature’s breathtaking vistas was an unusual and unique marae, a sacred village where Maoris live. We were given special permission to visit.
Marae villages enable Maoris to continue with their own way of life: to pray to a higher power, to have their feasts and festivals, to weep for their dead, to have weddings, to dance and sing, to know their own inherited culture. Indigenous world cultures have always inspired me with their belief in the sacredness of the earth and all beings.
We climbed out of the bus feeling respect and gratitude for the opportunity to visit. Waiting outside the entrance, we heard the karangu, or welcome call. A middle-aged man dressed in blue jeans and a white, flowing shirt approached and said, “Welcome. We appreciate your visit.” [...]
“It is the quality of our listening, not so much the wisdom of our words, that is able to effect the most profound change in the people around us.”
A large man named Kaiko explained that the marae was a highly balanced feminine and masculine village. “We work to achieve the inner and outer balance within ourselves, holding each aspect in equal esteem,” he said.
“Like many American women, I have recognized and experienced how out of balance our Western culture is with its emphasis on patriarchal control. We, as women, are still learning that we don’t need to be like men to be powerful, courageous, or intelligent. In the Maori culture, the values of compassion, connectedness, and empathy—what Western culture sees as “female” characteristics—are seen as necessary components of balance.
As we followed Kaiko on a tour of the village, he told us that it was laid out architecturally to follow the form of a woman. At the head was the library; the breasts held the nursery for children; the stomach was the kitchen; etc. As we finished the tour, I asked him what medicines they used for healing and how they healed emotional trauma.
I was fascinated by his reply. “We use very little medicine for illness,” he said. “For emotional issues, indeed, if a person is sick in any way, including stress-related disorders, we start by calling the entire community, children included, to come together in the main hall. The person who is ill is placed in the center, and the rest of the community gathers around them. The healer asks one question, ‘What is it that you are not saying?’”
“That’s it?” I asked incredulously. He smiled, seeming somewhat amused with my question.
“Yes, we all wait until the person says what he or she had not revealed to anyone. Sometimes we wait for days until the person reveals all of what he or she is keeping to herself or himself. We believe that when we keep disturbing thoughts or experiences secret, we get sick.”
“What is your cure rate with this procedure?” I asked.
“Around 90 percent,” he replied. “When we hold our authentic feelings and thoughts inside of us, it can make us sick. It is also the quality of our listening, not so much the wisdom of our words, that is able to effect the most profound change in the people around us.” [...]
The Maori were using their own innate wisdom and inner guidance, the power of full self-expression, and interconnectedness: the heart of both the feminine and masculine values. The heart of healing was to be still enough to hear (not to make themselves heard) and to give thanks to those who voice their deepest truths. How different our American culture is, in which we try to be so independent and private, surely hindering our healing process.
