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Ben Hana

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Ariki Ashby, aka Ben Hana, who prefers to be called Brother but is more widely known as Blanket Man as headlined by the local media is an infamous character in Wellington, New Zealand. Wearing only a loincloth and blanket and sporting dreadlocks, Hana worships the Māori sun god.

1 History
2 Sociology
3 Te Whaka
4 Kiwicon 2k7 Incident
5 Media exposure
6 Art versus politics
7 References
8 See also
9 External links

History

Ben at home in Courtenay Place

Ben Hana first arrived in Wellington from the south-east coast in the summer of 2001 at which time he began living on the streets of the central city, notably Cuba Mall and Courtenay Place. Before Ben became a feature of Wellington, he lived in front of the court house in Tokoroa _{[apparent conflict - Tokoroa not south-east coast]}, and in fact caused controversy in the town when he was convicted of stealing and selling the Court house's copper guttering for scrap. He could frequently be seen in the streets dancing to the music of his boombox. Known for sitting or lying on traffic islands during his period of sun worship, there were calls for his removal from the street. In 2002 he was arrested for vagrancy and held in prison for seven weeks. Charges were eventually dropped, but he was later arrested again, this time for smoking a peace pipe in Cuba Mall. He was released on condition that he not return to the Mall, although how this was intended to be enforced was unclear. After his removal from the Mall he spent several weeks living with other vagrants on the base of the Wellington cenotaph. This abode was visible from the offices of many Members of Parliament, and before long New Zealand First leader Winston Peters complained about Hana's presence to police, saying that the vagrants were desecrating an important monument. They were subsequently moved on. In mid 2004, Ben was spotted walking down Ponsonby Road in Auckland. By December 2005, the neighbouring businesses had employed security guards in order to keep Hana and his colleagues away from his normal abode in Courtenay Place. Although he used to wear a pair of khaki trousers, they rotted away into ripped shreds, and so he just retained a loincloth to satisfy the letter of the law. The only other item of clothing he's been seen to wear recently is a red t-shirt. In August 2006 his purple blanket was stolen and he has been donated a new blanket with red and white koru on. He developed a taste for Jelly tips in July 2006. He is also a fan of Fanta. Ben has been seen drinking a Bulleit brand. Contrary to popular belief, Ben does not have an iPod, just a small FM radio. When asked about and his taste in music, Ben's response was "Rock, and I listen to a pirate station. I can listen to rock all day, and all night". Ben is constantly seen mumbling to himself, some people think he is mad.^[1] Ben Hana actually has been seen recently sporting a tie around his neck which has been said to be of black and yellow colour. When asked about the tie he said that on "Tuesday night, about a week ago" (17/11/07) a group of young Pākehā gave it to him, as they were leaving school. Ben Hana also has been delving into his musical side quite recently, often being seen joining in with fellow street performers on a Friday or Saturday night playing drums or singing. Ben is also a little crazy, but the other homeless people look after him. ^[2]

Sociology

The existence of Ben and the surrounding debate has provoked several works that both question the existing information and attitudes, and deliver even more for digestion and comment:

"A Different Way of Life" by Marcelina Mastalerz interview with "Brother" (also known as "Blanket Man")^[1] Media Studies, Victoria University, Te Whare Wananga o te Upoko o te Ika a Maui.
"Perceiving homelessness in Wellington" by Nyree Barrett^[3] Media Studies, Victoria University, Te Whare Wananga o te Upoko o te Ika a Maui.
Te Whanau o Aotearoa, a New Zealand documentary film by Errol Wright and Abi King-Jones. The New Zealand Film Archive, Nga Kaitiaki O Nga Taonga Whitiahua.
Fans of Ben Hana, a website by Paul Moss. An eclectic collection of related images, thoughts, charts, and links.
Aunt Jemima Prophecy: Cobra Sign is a novel by Steve Kenya. It is loosely based on the life of Ben Hana.
Facebook Group [Appreciation Society for Blanket Man - the world's greatest hobo!h http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2388943112] has 758 members.
Myspace [Blanketmannz http://www.myspace.com/blanketmannz] has 108 friends.
In 2007 Victoria University sociology lecturer Mike Lloyd and PhD student Bronwyn McGovern's delivered a presentation titled "World Famous in Wellington: Blanket Man as contemporary celebrity" to the New Zealand Folklore Symposium^[4]

Te Whaka

In August 2005, Hana was also observed to be in possession of a motor vehicle apparently signaling that he had joined the property-owning classes. The vehicle was unregistered, and boasted no license plates after Hana forcibly removed them using a hammer still in its plastic wrapper. He then painted the words "Te Whaka" in large white letters where the number plates had previously been. After spending a few days illegally parked, the car was towed on 2005-08-05 and Hana was arrested. Te Whaka is probably translated as "the Waka", the Māori word for "canoe", which is also used to refer to cars, however could also be a pun as "wh" in Māori is pronounced "f". In September 2006, Hana appealed a drunk-driving conviction, again claiming the Toyota he was driving was not a car but a "waka".^[5] In appealing against the sentence, Hana's lawyer, Maxine Dixon, said he had reported for community work but it required the wearing of shoes and Hana had not worn shoes for seven years. He was assessed as unsuitable for community work and has applied for a sentence review. The appeal was dismissed.

Kiwicon 2k7 Incident

On November 16th 2007 during the inaugural kiwicon, a drunk and abusive Ben Hana attacked 2 visiting "security experts".

Media exposure

An article, "[Academic unravels Blanket Man]" appeared on the http://stuff.co.nz news website and also in the Dominion Post newspaper on December 5 2007. It described a lecture presented by a Victoria University of Wellington lecturer and PhD student which was based on Ben for the New Zealand Folklore Symposium at the National Library of New Zealand.
One group of fans dressed in his likeness for the 2006 Rugby Sevens, received national television coverage for their creativity.
An article, "Going Global: First Courtenay Place, now the world", appeared in the Wellington Dominion Post newspaper about Ben Hana and his Wikipedia article, on March 4, 2006.
Ben appeared on National Television News (TV3) at 6pm NZST on June 25, 2006 in an article about the issues facing homeless people in Wellington, New Zealand.
In late 2005, coverage in the Dominion Post noted Hana among a group of vagrants who are causing considerable concern for retailers and shoppers in the Cuba Mall/Manners Mall district.
Te Whānau O Aotearoa – Caretakers of The Land is a 2003 documentary about Ben Hana.

Ben

Ben at home

Ben Hana with his flowery blanket

Art versus politics

Film reviewer Bill Gosden said about Ben:

His project lends itself to art more readily than to politics. The picture of a pure, disinherited man whose very disconnection from the world that swirls around him is a critique of that world, is essentially a poetic one. What makes the picture compelling in this film is that it’s so grounded in the realities of life on the streets.^[6]