Māori TV presenter outraged by Canadian craft brewery’s pubic hair beer
A brewery in Canada has raised eyebrows across the world after unwittingly using the te reo Māori word for ‘pubic hair’ to name a New Zealand pale ale.
Canada’s Hell’s Basement sells a 5% ABV pale ale made with New Zealand hops, which is called Huruhuru.
But the name, which the brewers originally thought was a Māori word for feather and meant to be a nod to the beer’s light body, has very different connotations.
The brewery, along with a Wellington leather shop named Huruhuru, were both called out on Facebook by reo Māori exponent and TV personality Te Hamua Nikora
According to Nikora said he was alerted to the beer this week in a Facebook video.
“You need to know when the Māori look at the name…they’re going to see pubes…that’s what they’re going to see, pubes.”
Nikora said the mistake is a case of cultural appropriation.
“I’ve got to ask huruhuru do you think you are using our language like that?”
“When I’m drinking will it get stuck in my teeth? Do I need a breath freshener afterwards?”
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Some call it appreciation, I call it appropriation. They hear about us, the coolest people on earth…then they want a piece of that ass so they just help themselves because of their entitlement. ”
“I’m sick of this appropriation carry-on, just stop it.”
He also had some sage advice for future projects.
“Don’t call it pubic pairs unless you make it out of pubic hairs, that’s my advice.”
In response, the co-founder of the Canadian brewery, Mike Patriquin, said his team did not realise the full implications of the name, and would consider re-branding the beer in furture.
“We did not realise the potential to offend through our artistic interpretation, and given the response we will attempt to do better in the future,” he said.
“We wish to make especially clear that it was not our intent to infringe upon, appropriate, or offend the Māori culture or people in any way; to those who feel disrespected, we apologise.”
“We also do not think pubic hair is shameful, though we admit it may not go well with beer. We are all human after all!”
Certainly the error in the meaning of the word needs to be called out and the brewery should have checked this out more thoroughly. But I have never understood this business of so-called cultural appropriation! Surely this is the essence of human progression and cultural advance. Every culture borrows from others the advances and discoveries, the cultural beauties and even traditions. If a white person plays jazz or blues music is that appropriation? If a person who is not a Highland Gael plays the Highland pipes, is that appropriation? Gunpowder came from China. Mathematics was advanced through Arabic nations. If other cultures have borrowed from their learning, is that a bad thing? What if gewurtztraminer is grown outside of Alsace, is that appropriation? The answers are yes, yes and yes; and yes, appropriation is a positive not a negative and those “offended” by so called appropriation should rather see it as a recognition of their society’s advance and the admiration that other cultures have of a skill, art, science or language they have developed.
Stop being offended at everyone and everything! Celebrate!