The signs push tourists to all corners of Rotorua to experience Maori Culture.
This fishhook, located next to and sponsored by a local McDonalds, depicts the jawbone of the demigod Maui's grandmother. He used this to fish the North Island of New Zealand from the Pacific.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Thursday, April 3, 2008
A Maori vendor proudly wears his moko (tattoos). The moko tell the ancestral story of the wearer.
One vendor flies a flag with his logo as the NZ flag in the background.
A weekly market down in the town center gives local vendors a chance to sell their goods. Rows and rows of shirts and hats are adorned with Maori designs and words.
More Maori art in the city, the rough texture of the woodcarving is juxtaposed to the smooth tile facade of the flashy tourist building.
The AUT Marae under the iconic Aucklander Sky Tower.
A more traditional Marae outside the city, the Maori of Te Kiri believe that their ancestors walked to the North Island from their original home. This gives them a deep connection to the Moana (the ocean), symbolized by the whale skull.
