STRATFORD, NEW ZEALAND — New Zealand’s indigenous Maori people have erupted with anger after a Playboy model posed naked at the top of a sacred volcano.
Kiwi glamour girl Jaylene Cook uploaded a photo to Instagram earlier this week that shows her standing more than 8,000 meters above sea level at the peak of Mount Taranaki on New Zealand’s North Island.
Aside from a few items covering most — but certainly not all — of her extremities, Cook posed butt naked for the picture.
Cook has over 300,000 followers on Instagram and the photo has received more than 17,000 likes — but not everyone is happy.
The peak of Mount Taranaki is considered sacred by the Maori people and members of the local community said the photo was culturally insensitive.
The photo was the equivalent of someone posing for a photo in their birthday suit at St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, Dennis Ngawhare, a spokesman for the local Maori tribe, told BBC News.
The volcano is the burial ground of the local Maori tribe’s ancestors and they even consider the mountain itself as an ancestor. So it’s no wonder they’re blowing their tops.
In her defense, Cook said she did some research and didn’t think the photo would be offensive.
But the Maori people disagree, and said this is the latest example of people not showing respect on Mount Taranaki.
The local tribe expressed outrage in the past when people scrawled graffiti on the mountain, and when some hikers cooked up a barbecue at the summit.
In the local tribe’s culture, even climbing the volcano was traditionally seen as a no-no, unless it was for ceremonial purposes.
Spokesman Ngawhare said the photo was a clash between Western assumptions and indigenous values and beliefs.
Kiwi glamour girl Jaylene Cook uploaded a photo to Instagram earlier this week that shows her standing more than 8,000 meters above sea level at the peak of Mount Taranaki on New Zealand’s North Island.
Aside from a few items covering most — but certainly not all — of her extremities, Cook posed butt naked for the picture.
Cook has over 300,000 followers on Instagram and the photo has received more than 17,000 likes — but not everyone is happy.
The peak of Mount Taranaki is considered sacred by the Maori people and members of the local community said the photo was culturally insensitive.
The photo was the equivalent of someone posing for a photo in their birthday suit at St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, Dennis Ngawhare, a spokesman for the local Maori tribe, told BBC News.
The volcano is the burial ground of the local Maori tribe’s ancestors and they even consider the mountain itself as an ancestor. So it’s no wonder they’re blowing their tops.
In her defense, Cook said she did some research and didn’t think the photo would be offensive.
But the Maori people disagree, and said this is the latest example of people not showing respect on Mount Taranaki.
The local tribe expressed outrage in the past when people scrawled graffiti on the mountain, and when some hikers cooked up a barbecue at the summit.
In the local tribe’s culture, even climbing the volcano was traditionally seen as a no-no, unless it was for ceremonial purposes.
Spokesman Ngawhare said the photo was a clash between Western assumptions and indigenous values and beliefs.
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