Hongi great levelling experience for archbishop

Posted by karere under Maori News

The hongi has captivated the Archbishop of York, who is visiting Taranaki for the consecration of St Mary’s Cathedral on Saturday. John Sentamu, the former Ugandan churchman who has risen to the second highest position in the Anglican church worldwide, has been swept away with the warmth of his welcome to Taranaki. Visits to marae at both Owae, in Waitara, and Parihaka have been overwhelming for the humble churchman, who was once a prisoner of dictator Idi Amin – particularly the Maori welcome of rubbing noses. “All that hongi business really blows your mind,” the archbishop told the Taranaki Daily News in a rare interview.

“There were quite a lot of children, little toddlers lined up,” he said of his visit to Owae on Tuesday. “The only way to do it was kneeling, because you lift them up, that’s never right, so you get to their level, which is most lovely. “It doesn’t matter how good, how great you are, you are all on the same level. That kind of levelling is amazing.”

[full article]

Read all the news [here]