In week one, term two, 2019 finally Rm7 and Rm5 went to the Arahura Marae to learn about our local Marae. As I got out of the car I felt excited for the powhiri and everything else except my mihi; the one thing I felt nervous for!
The Wharenui
As soon as I walked in I could see the wonderful carved wharenui. At the top I could see the pounamu Tekoteko. It is the only one in New Zealand ! As I walked into the Wharenui I realised the glowing ribs and spine that lay above me and the protective carvings were all staring at me. I saw the little buttons on the carvings and the different colored patterns later on Jerry ( the person that knows a lot about the Arahura Marae ) told us the buttons meant that they had owned the land and the colors were the different strands of DNA from the different tribes/iwi.
The River
On the downhill walk to the rushing river I was thinking if I or anyone else would find pounamu. I was getting excited for the sand sculptures. Just before we got down to the river Jerry told us some tips, “ DON’T LOOK FOR GREEN “ ! I asked myself why would you not look for GREEN when you're looking for GREENstone. Sadly I didn’t find any greenstone. When we moved onto the sand sculptures we had no Idea what to do so we had to think hard and then we got it. The best idea ever! Two mountains , the Arahura Marae , the river and Waitaiki. We made the mountains out of leaves and sand. We made the Arahura Marae out of sticks and a flower. The river was made out of little white rocks and Waitaiki was made out of sticks , flowers and leaves.
The Evening Rotations
At night we did the evening rotations. We got to write down which ones we liked the most in order. For my first evening rotation I did soap carvings with Ms Barrow. We had to use a stick to carve through the soap that Ms Barrow gave us. I found the stick annoying because it kept going where I didn’t want it to go. But it smelt great. For my second rotation was the tukutuku panels with Ms Glue. Ms Glue gave us a needle and a sheet with squares on it. First you had to poke holes in the corners then thread wool into the holes. After the evening rotations we roasted Marshmallows then put them in a chocolate biscuit to make it a smore. YUMMY I thought as I was eating my smore and at the same time I was listening to the story that Ms Barrow told.
I am really thankful for all the parents and teachers that came because we couldn't of gone without them. I am also thankful that we were invited to the Marae and got taken down to the river. I could imagine all the hard work that Miriama and her staff put in to all the food that they gave us. I really enjoyed the experience.
