A pōwhiri (called a pōhiri in eastern dialects, and pronounced [ˈpɔːʔwiɾi] in the Taranaki-Whanganui area) is a Māori welcoming ceremony involving speeches, cultural performance, singing and finally the hongi.
By accepting the rautapu, a leaf or carved effigy, that the lead warrior will place on the ground before the visitors as a symbolic offering of peace, this part of the ceremony is concluded.
The ceremonial tapu is lifted when tangata whenua and manuhiri make physical contact with hongi or shaking hands.
[4] In April 2013 Danish Marie Krarup MP who visited New Zealand called a traditional Māori greeting "grotesque".
[5] Colin Craig, the-then leader of the Conservative Party, sided with her statement by saying no visitors should have to face a "bare-bottomed native making threatening gestures" if they didn't want to.