Rugby World Cup Indigenous spectacle

The New Zealand rugby world cup opening ceremony was an exotic spectacle. It showcased a unique mixture of Polynesian and Maori culture through exoticism. The New Zealand Pakeha people tended not to see themselves as part of the exoticism of New Zealand. Pakeha communities tended to see themselves as outside of ethnicity and outside of race. “This maintains the position of white people at the top of the racial hierarchy which was constructed in nineteenth-century” (Bell 148-49). White culture is thought as the national culture as it dominates the New Zealand social way of life (Bell 148-49). The Pakeha way of life in New Zealand is thought as a universally shared lifestyle. However Maori culture becomes part of the national culture when “distinctiveness and ethnic exoticism is called for” (Bell 148-49).

It seems in New Zealand the Pakeha way of life has been considered as the custom but the Maori culture is put on display when ethnic exoticism is needed. In a sense Maori culture seems to be exploited to provide an indigenous exotic image of New Zealand to the rest of the world. This is what seemed to be happening during the rugby world cup opening in October this year. Aspects of Maori and Polynesian exoticism in the opening showcased something unique and unseen to the rest of the world, this sort of displays exoticism in a positive light but it also compromised an indigenous culture (Maori and Polynesia) to fit into a Pakeha context.

Sue discusses the idea of appropriation and the way the colonizer or the dominant group take over aspects of indigenous groups for its own benefit (Sue 2011). In this case Maori and Polynesian performance seems to be taken over to benefit a wider audience-the rest of the world. The Maori and Polynesian performances would arouse the curiosity of many spectators and provide an indigenous spectacle. The Maori haka performed was shown with flashy dazzlingly visual effects which created an atmosphere of cultural and ethnic richness. The displaying of the Maori haka had fit into the Pakehas’ fictive idea of a Maori mythical past of spirits and rituals.

Bell, Avrill (1996). ‘We’re Just New Zealanders’: Pakeha Identity Politics. In Spoonley, Paul MacPherson, Cluny and Pearson, David (eds.), Nga Pati: Racism and Ethnic Relations in Aotearoa/New Zealand. (pp. 144-58). Palmerston North: The Dunmore Press.