WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT YOUR OWN FAMILY HISTORY – the languages and practices of your forbears, foods and traditions of your lands of origin? It can be an interesting journey to develop a map of the places bearing the footprints of your ancestors! Whether you have Ma-ori tı-puna who arrived on our shores in the first waka … trace your roots to an ancient tribe or dynasty from other parts of the globe … or know little about your heritage beyond a couple of generations in the ‘new world’ … making some cultural connections will add spice and colour to your life.
Finding out more about the heritage and culture of others in your sphere can also be an enriching thing, as experienced by the families below. They’ve discovered some awesome ways to both celebrate their own and appreciate the beautiful mosaic of other cultures here in Godzone …
The Brunners: The Brunner family emigrated from Switzerland 10 years ago, and they’ve made their home in Auckland. Dad Alexander explains the special relationship they have with their neighbours:
“Over the fence on one side, we have a Chinese family: a primary-school-aged boy and a girl in intermediate, their parents, and the father’s elderly parents. On the other side, we have a retired Kiwi couple whose children all live overseas. They’ve become sort of surrogate grandparents for my children.
“We’ve developed these special traditions of celebrating each other’s festivals – so for Chinese New Year, it’s red envelopes with some spending money for the kids; and for Mid-Autumn Festival, there are moon cakes for everyone; at Christmastime, we exchange baking and chocolates and cards …
“Our New Zealander neighbours have travelled extensively, including to China and Switzerland, so they’ve been really interested to hear more about where we’re from and our lives there. And they even – so kindly – took the trouble to find a recipe for a typical Swiss apple tart, which they baked for us last Christmas. It was so authentic, and such a lovely gesture!”
Korrine’s Story: Wellington Mum Korinne’s made it a priority to help her two adopted children (now 12 and 15) remain connected to their African roots:
“We’ve made three trips back to Nigeria to visit with their extended birth families and participate in cultural festivals and rituals. On our first visit, when our daughter was 3, I had the opportunity to learn some recipes from her Nne Nne (grandmother) – and I now prepare those dishes for special occasions.
“We’ve made sure to teach our children about the traditional ways of life, dress, and foods of Nigeria. They’re proud to share those things with friends, and they enjoy dressing in traditional clothes and bringing in foods to represent Nigeria for cultural days and things like that. They both feel more Kiwi than anything else these days, but having that connection to their people of origin and their extended African family is really important.”
Tania & Jono: Tania and her partner Jono both have iwi connections in different parts of the country. In Tauranga, where they live, they’ve become good friends with others who whakapapa Māori:
“These connections have helped both of us develop a deeper sense of whanaungatanga (kinship). It’s also made us keen to share more of our culture and traditions with others who may not have that experience of attachment to whānau and whenua (land). So we represent that at events and celebrations open to the wider community (through kapa haka for Jono and hangi for me, usually) …
“Participating in some international festivals here in Aotearoa has given us a cool taste of other cultures and their dances, foods, and traditional outfits, too. I haven’t travelled much, but now we make a point of getting to a night market or food festival on the regular, just so we can try new things from other countries. We’ve added more variety to our cooking at home, as well – with all sorts of flavours!”
