Mrs Liz Portas gives a personal perspective of the New Zealand Defence Force Maori Culture Group Te Ope Kaatua O Aotearoa’s participation in the 2007 Kuala Lumpur International Tattoo in celebration of Malaysia’s 50th year of independence over 1-12 September 2007.
Air Force women Mrs H. Morunga and Mrs L. Portas. WN-07-0036-96-tn.jpg.
The group comprised 27 Royal New Zealand Navy personnel from Te Kaha who were in Malaysia at the time, and the remaining personnel were complemented by four personnel from each of the Royal New Zealand Air Force (W/O G. Mana, Mrs H. Morunga, Mrs L. Portas and Mr Marshall Cook), and NZ Army. Managing and leading the group was W/O Mark Pirikahu of the Royal New Zealand Navy. The event was held at Kuala Lumpur’s Merdeka Stadium where 50 years ago on the 31 August 1957 Malaysia’s first Prime Minister the late Tunku Abdul Rahman, performed the nation’s declaration of independence. In 2003 Merdeka Stadium was named a national heritage building. Knowing the significance and importance of this stadium we truly felt honoured and privileged to represent the New Zealand Defence Force at such an historical venue and occasion.
The showcase for the event featured military bands from, Pakistan, India, Singapore, Jordan, Britain, USA, France, South Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Brunei and of course the NZ Defence Maori Culture Group, making this a very colourful and diverse mixture of many cultures.
A village was erected at the stadium for participants of the Tattoo. Each country had their own whare (house) and inside these whare were air conditioning units, water and coffee machines, tables, chairs and best of all a TV. The Malaysian Defence Force made sure that each country had all conveniences and amenities at their disposal as we came to find out later that we would spend close to 16 hours every day at the village practicing from early morning till late at night (we would normally finish at around 2300hrs).
Photo courtesy Chris Weissenborn: Group Photo of a 35-strong combined NZDF Maori cultural group perform on the opening night of the Kuala Lumpar International Tattoo, to mark the 50th anniversary of Malaysia's independence. The NZ group is one of 13 countries performing at the three-night tattoo, and are performing in front of crowd of around 10,000. MC-07-0405-07-tn.jpg.
Even though the days and nights were long it gave us the opportunity to meet and talk to other people from different countries and to share information with each other about our own country and culture. The camaraderie shared by all participants ensured new friendships were made.
The Official tattoo performances occurred over 3 nights. The event was spectacular, and every night it just kept on getting better. It was truly an honour to perform in front of dignitaries such as the Royal family. The NZDF Maori Culture Group was one of the main show catchers of the event, and also the most photographed group. As NZDF representatives the group performed to a very high standard, displayed professionalism and showed pride in the uniqueness of the New Zealand Maori culture the NZ Defence Force embraces.
The hospitality displayed by the people of Malaysia and personnel from the Malaysian Military Defence Force throughout our visit was exceptional. The Malaysian Liaison Officers and people organising the event made us feel welcome at all times. A big kia ora and terima kasih (Malaysian for thank you), to the people of Malaysia for hosting us in your beautiful country.