To hongi or not to hongi that is the question

Do I or don't I kiss this one, or hongi that one, or dare I say even shake hands with that one over there. Do I have to speak to this one or be nice to that one? Every day we are faced with issues that make us question whether or not we are Maori or not, are we teachers or not, responsible adults or not. Do we let our teenagers go to that party or take alcohol when we know they are under age?

Human rights are not the norm for all of us, every day many of us are challenged and denied the basics of life. To be Maori is to be allowed to practise these norms, to tangi for our whanau on our marae, to gather and say prayer, to sing, laugh and share jokes, to pass on to our children the values handed down form nanny to moko, uncle to niece, auntie to nephew, father to son and mother to daughter.