‘Kia Ora’ and ‘Namaste’ were the two salutations I was greeted with as soon as Tane Singh-Lagah answered my video call on what sounded like an eventful Tuesday night at his house.
Though he was in Rotorua, the sound of kids running around and a baby crying in the background were reminiscent of a bond that many families share in India.
Tane’s Maori and Indian heritage seemed to symbolise the unity between the two communities, which made the festival of Raksha Bandhan special for him. He was in a fond reverie when he recalled his experience at an Indian cultural festival he had visited over a decade ago.
“The day and the festival were awesome. I hadn’t been to one like that before. I learnt a lot and it was fun learning, and I noticed similarities between Maori and Indian culture,” he says.
Tane carved ‘Ekta Shankh’ (conch of unity), on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan in 2010, a festival celebrating the bond between brothers and sisters, which was unveiled at Mahatma Gandhi Centre in August that year. The artwork currently resides with NZ Hindu Council in Auckland.
Tane’s voice filled with pride and joy as he talked about the conch he had carved.
“My grandfather was from Punjab, and getting to do the carving for Raksha Bandhan…that was awesome and a bit more special,” Tane says.
Though Raksha Bandhan is a celebration of the bond between brothers and sisters, Tane spoke of a bond between families to highlight the similarities between Indian and Maori cultures.
“There’s a thing that we call the whakawhanaungatanga, which is family ties or connections, and that can go for any person and that goes into whakapapa or genealogies as well,” he says.
He also spoke of a belief within Maori culture about the bond humans share through gods. “In Maori, we say that Tane is the creator of all humans, so, this [person] who isn’t Maori is a relative to us through the creator, through Tane.”
The conch carved by Tane for Raksha Bandhan did indeed symbolise the bond of unity between the two communities. Perhaps the bond runs deeper than just cultural practices. The two communities seem to be united through their beliefs and worldviews too, says Tane.
“The main thing would be making another connection or bond between the two communities through the Taonga (treasured possession) and maybe being of Maori and Indian descent too, and me doing it, we are adding a new layer or a new bond [between the two communities],” Tane says.
The President of the Wellington branch of NZ Hindu Council, Vijeshni Rattan, says the bond between the Indian and Maori communities is also shared through worship.
“The Maori worship the sun god just like Hindus do,” she told The Indian Weekender.
The President of Hindu Youth New Zealand, Murali Magesan, has also highlighted the shared values of collective responsibility for sustainability, as well as the understanding of the cosmos between the Indian and Maori communities.
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