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. <br /> <br />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. <br /> <br />Aside from a few items covering most — but certainly not all — of her extremities, Cook posed butt naked for the picture. <br /> <br />Cook has over 300,000 followers on Instagram and the photo has received more than 17,000 likes — but not everyone is happy. <br /> <br />The peak of Mount Taranaki is considered sacred by the Maori people and members of the local community said the photo was culturally insensitive. <br /> <br />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. <br /> <br />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. <br /> <br />In her defense, Cook said she did some research and didn’t think the photo would be offensive. <br /> <br />But the Maori people disagree, and said this is the latest example of people not showing respect on Mount Taranaki. <br /> <br />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. <br /> <br />In the local tribe’s culture, even climbing the volcano was traditionally seen as a no-no, unless it was for ceremonial purposes. <br /> <br />Spokesman Ngawhare said the photo was a clash between Western assumptions and indigenous values and beliefs.
