A night on the Marae

Many Maori people are active in trying to keep their culture and traditions alive. We were given the chance to spend a night with a family in their communal meeting house, the Marae. We learnt a lot about Maori life and they described that their heritage is very important, they define themselves through their ancestors, by their iwi (their tribe), maunga (mountain) and awa (river).  We learnt about the symbols behind the carvings, th shapes used, the colours, the relevance of the paua shell and the shape of the meeting house. I loved the fact that their was so much representation of previous family members, tribes and beliefs of an after life. I was also really interested in the art of tattooing within the culture. Each tattoo represents that persons story, where they have been, where they are headed. Different parts of the body symbolise different ideas, the shapes and locations help to tell of an event or a memory. I had carved a beautiful piece of green stone into a tail fluke and the man of the marae told me the whale represents strength and speed and protection in the modern world when traveling. I could've listened to him all night! The building was covered in beautiful patterns and colour, red to represent blood and family, black to represent the 'god', the universe and white to represent purity and light, i guess the sun and the importance of nature and the elements.

After our discussions one of the family asked if i was a teacher, i said yup! he said he could tell because of the way i was asking questions and the types of questions i was asking. I then explained that i felt i hadn't asked enough questions when i was younger, i just assumed things or thought i knew it all, or embarrassed, i have learnt to never assume as it could make an 'ass' out of 'u' and 'me'. Keep asking questions, even the experts ask questions, no one knows everything!

we learnt some Maori dances and the boys entertained us with a Hakka performance, pecks out, tongues out and eyeballs almost popping out! we all slept in the main sleeping area after listening to beautiful song and guitar. A fabulous experience.