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The New Zealand Maori Arts and Crafts Institute is a place which represents the Maori culture in a comprehensive package. The Institute at Te Puia was established in the year 1963 with an intention to preserve the Maori culture , tradition and to carry on the skills of Maori art and crafts. What one gets to see in the institute are the following:
- The history of Maori Migration
- The Arts and Crafts Gallery
- Communication with the Carvers, weavers and sculptors at work
- The Rotowhio Marae or the sacred meeting house
- The Kiwi House
- The Whakarewarewa Geo thermal Valley The hottest event of the museum is the forty five minutes singing and dancing show offered at the museum premises featuring the Maori cult, which includes traditional music, dance, weaponry and hakapoi. In the summers a special three hours evening performance is arranged which includes
Powhiri and wero and a cultural performance where audience participation is the best part. The show ends with a hangi or a traditional feast. The most exotic feature of the institute is the Entrance Arch depicting the legend of Hinemoa and Tutanekai. The torists are awestruck after having a look at this exquisite arch with intricate carvings on it. The visitors are also taken about the carving school and the weaving school of the New Zealand Maori Arts and Crafts Institute. You will simply admire the wat these artisans are struggling to hold back their ethnicity. The guides taking you around will continually keep on relating the ancient myths, lifestyles, culture and traditions of the Maori people. The Whakarewarewa Geo thermal valley is just beside the Maori Arts and Craft Institute , and is considered to be the biggest thermal area having natural geysers in the southern hemisphere. The Pohutu Geyser or the Big Splash is an eminent crowdpuller.
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