# Talk:Pōwhiri

Can anybody explain why there is little or no reference to maori songs in this article?  — Preceding unsigned comment added by NZ Author (talk • contribs) 00:20, 26 May 2011 (UTC) 

The article is currently overly focused on the wero. I've been to about 20 pōwhiri and not one where a wero was performed. I think that, apart from those staged purely for tourists, the wero is largely reserved for visits foreign dignitaries and for Government representatives when the hosts do not feel overly friendly towards the Government.
Worth mentioning the different kawa - in some areas the speaking order (if more than one for each side) is all the hosts followed by all the visitors' speakers, in others they alternate. 
(typical) Structure of speeches: Hosts - prayer, honour the marae, ancestors, mountain/river etc. acknowledge visitors, welcome, waiata, prayer.
Visitors - mihi (declaration of who they are), honour the host marae, kaumatua, ancestors, mountain/river etc, explanation of the reason for the visit, thanks for welcome, waiata, prayer.
Mention the paepae - the area at the front of a marae (generally in front of the wharenui) in which the pōwhiri takes place.
Of note that at Parihaka, the hongi is performed at the door of the Wharenui immediately after the karanga, and the remainder of the powhiri takes place in the wharenui (sensible given the typical weather there). Might be hard to find an independent source, but i believe this reflects the Parihaka kaupapa of trust and peace. dramatic (talk) 02:22, 9 August 2018 (UTC)

Gave this article a bit of a rewrite, it's grown by something like 7x. I'm not an expert on tikanga so I would appreciate someone more familiar with the subject to take a look and make corrections if needed.
I am considering submitting the rewritten article for GA. David Palmer//cloventt (talk) 06:56, 31 May 2025 (UTC)

I noticed this on my watchlist today. Thank you for your work; I think this would easily pass a GA review. Alexeyevitch(talk) 09:18, 31 May 2025 (UTC)
Great work Cloventt. I've made some small (hopefully) improvements. Would be good to include something on the re-emergence of women as kaiwero, particularly in Ngāti Waewae – see here. Paora (talk) 03:41, 22 June 2025 (UTC)

... that some iwi ('tribes') permit women to whaikōrero (make speeches) during the pōwhiri?

ALT1 ... that in Māori culture a woman can end a speech during a pōwhiri by walking in front of the speaker?

Reviewed: Template:Did you know nominations/Cancelled!

David Palmer//cloventt (talk) 21:46, 31 October 2025 (UTC).

 It would be better if the hook made clear where in the world we're speaking, as I imagine most folks outside of New Zealand would not know the word iwi. I'm somewhat concerned about cultural sensitivity, as this hook seems to imply that most iwi are quite sexist? The article gives more context, which is difficult to distil in a hook. Is there something else you could use? Maybe the fact that women can cut off a speech by walking in front of men? Article is a recently promoted GA, so that's all fine. I don't see any problems with the article itself either. QPQ done. —Femke 🐦 (talk) 18:12, 8 November 2025 (UTC)
Great suggestion! I picked this as it seemed to fit with the #SheSpeaks event that was happening on Wikiquote, but I think that has ended. I'll propose an alt. David Palmer//cloventt (talk) 20:20, 8 November 2025 (UTC)
Brilliant. Is there a way to give a bit more context (in Maori culture, ... for instance). Just making sure that people understand the hook. —Femke 🐦 (talk) 20:37, 8 November 2025 (UTC)
 Done David Palmer//cloventt (talk) 22:14, 8 November 2025 (UTC)
 for ALT1. Also happy with an alt that only specifies Maori culture, rather than both New Zealand and Maori culture. —Femke 🐦 (talk) 22:17, 8 November 2025 (UTC)
 Done David Palmer//cloventt (talk) 23:23, 9 November 2025 (UTC)