How lovely to be kissed hallo in the inviting throes of a warm greeting. So continental! Well, its also a deeply held Polynesian custom which is wonderfully enacted everywhere the traveller turns while in New Zealand. The traditional Maori welcome is called a powhiri. This involves a hongi which is a greeting that admits to the pressing noses as opposed to a kiss. But I like to think of it as noses kissing hallo!
Maori Kiss – Matakana, New Zealand f/2.8; Exposure 1/500sec
But truth be told, it’s not a kiss, it’s a greeting: acknowledgment of each other as equals and brothers. In the hongi, the ha or breath of life is exchanged and intermingled.
Prince William back in 2010 received a traditional Maori greeting reserved for a chief as he opened New Zealand’s new £38 million Supreme Court building. Elders from Wellington’s Maori community honoured the royal with a hongi. The crowds cheered and the Prince was introduced to four elders representing Maori groups – amongst them was Sir Paul Reeves, New Zealand’s first Maori Governor General – and pressed noses with each of them. “Prince William is a chief and we welcomed him as a chief!” they exclaimed.
Nose to nose, cheek to cheek, equal among equals. What a way to say hi.
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