A pōwhiri is a Māori welcoming ceremony involving speeches, dancing, singing and finally the hongi. It is used to both welcome guests onto a marae. The wero, an aggressive challenge of the visitor at the beginning of the ceremony, is the most spectacular part of the pōwhiri. During this part of the ceremony, Māori warrior will advance cautiously towards the guests with ceremonial weapons, and perform threatening gestures and grimaces, calling out battle screams, and generally giving an impression of being ready to explode into violence against the visitors at any moment.
