Powhiri – Day 2

Powhiri is one of the most interesting people I have ever met. She lives in a Maori village in the middle of “Yellowstone like” geothermal activity. She was our guide through her village where they utilize that geothermal activity to complete a variety of every day tasks. In front of her church, she said one of the sweetest things I have ever heard…that her people believed in one supreme God that does not live inside a church, but inside each and every one of us. A laid back attitude about religion and spirituality is something that I truly appreciate.

In her village, there is a tattoo parlor, where she explained that it is customary for the Maori to tattoo symbols representing their family tree on their bodies. Her husband is the tattoo artist in te whakarewarewatangaoteopetauaawahio, the village we toured. After the tour concluded, I asked her if she had any tattoos and she showed me all of them (I think:))…Each of them had very special meaning which she explained in great detail. She has given birth to seven children, her last two, she explained, were gifted to two of her siblings who have been unable to bear children, a custom common among her people. Talk about a gift…WOW!!!

I wish I could have stayed and talked with Powhiri forever. She is one of those people that kindness, generosity, and serenity overflow from (a little bit like my wife). She even made me want to tattoo something on my body that represented my family…but there were 37 pissed off Floridian/Montanan tourists waiting for me on the bus…and a beautiful wife who had to explain to several people that she was not her husband’s keeper…