Hongi party to greet Pope

Press, 18 June 1986, Page 6

Hongi party to greet Pope

PA Wellington Selected Maoris will rub noses with Pope John Paul. The greeting — in Maori a hongi, signifying openness and peace — will be part of an official welcome for the Pope in Auckland on November 22, organisers said yesterday. National Maori committee organisers were calling nationally for people to form the hongi group. Mr Monty Morrison, secretary of the Maori organisers, Te Runanga o Te Hahi Katorika ki Aotearoa, said the chosen group would be small. As a distinguished visitor travelling a great distance, the Pope would be honoured as a legendary white heron of one flight on behalf of everyone living in New Zealand, Mr Morrison said. The hongi would be near the end of the welcome, at the time of the traditional feast of celebration to be fulfilled in an open-air Mass at the Auckland Domain, Mr Morrison said. Visit organisers term the 45-minute welcome the rituals of encounter. It is centred on Maori mythology, which por-

trays tne white heron as guiding the first man, Tane, to God to pick up baskets of knowledge. The heron stayed in God’s kingdom and, according to the legend, will return only once. About 10,000 Maoris from throughout New Zealand are expected to attend the welcome. The official party will be about 4000. Pope John Paul will visit Fiji before landing in New Zealand. He will leave for Canberra from Christchurch on November 24.