AY Honors/Māori Lore/Answer Key

Taputapuātea, an ancient marae at Ra'iātea in the Society Islands, restored in 1994.

A marae (in New Zealand Māori, Cook Islands Maori, Tahitian) malaTemplate:Okinae (in Tongan), malae (in Samoan and Hawaiian), is a sacred place which served both religious and social purposes in pre-Christian Polynesian societies. In all these languages, the word also means "cleared, free of weeds, trees, etc." It generally consists of an area of cleared land roughly rectangular (the marae itself), bordered with stones or wooden posts (called au in Tahitian and Cook Islands Māori) perhaps with terraces (paepae) which were used in olden times for ceremonial purposes; and with a central stone ahu or a'u (sometimes as in the Rapanui culture's ahu on Easter Island "ahu" becomes a synonym for the whole marae complex).

In some modern Polynesian societies, notably that of the Māori of New Zealand, the marae is still a vital part of everyday life. However, in tropical Polynesia, most marae were destroyed or abandoned with the arrival of Christianity in the 19th Century and some of them have become an attraction for tourists or archaeologists. Nevertheless, the place where the marae were built are still considered as tapu in most islands and nobody would dare build anything on it. In the Cook Islands, a few marae (Arai-te-Tonga, Vaerota, Taputapuātea^&) are still maintained, and are quickly tidied up before the investiture of a new ariki.

Marae in New Zealand

A marae beneath Taupiri mountain, Waikato district, 19th century

In Māori society, the marae is a place where the culture can be celebrated, where the Māori language can be spoken, where intertribal obligations can be met, where customs can be explored and debated, where family occasions such as weddings and birthdays can be held, and where important ceremonies, such as welcoming visitors or farewelling the dead (tangihanga), can be performed. Like the related institutions of old Polynesia, the marae is a wāhi tapu, a 'sacred place' which carries great cultural meaning.

In Māori usage, marae is technically the enclosed space in front of a wharenui or meeting house (literally "big house"). However, it is generally used to refer to the whole complex, including the buildings and the open space.^& An unambiguous term for the area in front of the wharenui is marae ātea. This area is used for pōwhiri - welcome ceremonies featuring oratory. Some marae do not allow women to perform oratory there. The meeting house is the locale for important meetings, sleepovers, and craft and other cultural activities. The wharekai (dining hall) is used primarily for communal meals, but other activities may be carried out there. Many of the words associated with marae in tropical Polynesia are retained in the Māori context. For example, the word paepae refers to the bench where the speakers sit; this means it retains its sacred and ceremonial associations.

Legal status

A marae is a meeting place registered as a reserve under the Te Ture Whenua Maori Act of 1993 ('The Māori Land Act'). Each marae has a group of trustees who are responsible for the operations of the marae. The act governs the regulation of marae as reservations and sets out the responsibilities of the trustees in relation to the beneficiaries. Generally each marae has a charter which the trustees have negotiated with the b ding fries aare done eneficiaries of the marae. The charter details matters such as:

the name of the marae, and a description of it;
a list of the beneficiaries: usually iwi (tribes), hapū (sub-tribes) or whānau (families); in some cases, the marae is dedicated to the common good of the people of New Zealand.
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Tribal, church, and educational uses

Waipapa marae, University of Auckland, New Zealand. The grassed area in front of the meeting house is the marae ātea

Most tribes and subtribes and even many small settlements have their own marae. An example of such a small settlement with its own marae is at Hongoeka Bay, Plimmerton, the home of renowned writer Patricia Grace. Since the second half of the 20th century, Māori in urban areas have been establishing intertribal marae such as Maraeroa in eastern Porirua. For many Māori, the marae is just as important to them as their own homes.

Some New Zealand churches also operate marae of their own, in which all of the functions of a traditional marae are carried out. Churches operating marae include the Anglican, Presbyterian, and Catholic churches. In recent years, it has become common for educational institutions, including primary and secondary schools, technical colleges, and universities, to build marae for the use of the students and for the teaching of Māori culture. These marae may also serve as a venue for the performance of official ceremonies relating to the school. The marae of the University of Auckland, for instance, is used for graduation ceremonies of the Māori Department, as well as welcoming ceremonies for new staff of the University as a whole. Its primary function is to serve as a venue for the teaching of whaikōrero (oratory), Māori language and culture, and important ceremonies for distinguished guests of the University.

Rapa Nui/Easter Island

In the remote southeastern corner of the Polynesian Triangle elements of the traditional Polynesian marae evolved into the Rapa Nui/Easter Island Ahu & their iconic Moai (giant forms of Polynesian statues). See:

Tahiti

During the 1994 restoration of Taputapuātea marae at Ra'iātea by archaeologists from the Tahiti Museum, human bones were discovered under some of the structures; apparently, the remains of sacrifices to Template:OkinaOro.

External links

Notes

↑ Rarotongan tradition holds that Taputapuātea marae at Rarotonga, which archaeologists have dated to the 13th century, was built by Tangi'ia who brought the central stone with him from the ancient marae of the same name at Ra'iātea.Indeed, it seems that it was quite usual in ancient times to take a stone from this marae. The son of Tetupaia and Teu had not only the right to a seat in the great Marae of Taputapuatea in Raiatea, but he could take his stone from Taputapuatea and set it up in his own district of Pare Arue (Tahiti), so founding a Marae Taputapuatea of his own to wear the Maro-'ura (red waist girdle of the ariki)in. Ta'aroa Marau, "Memoirs of Arii Tamai e marama of Eimo Teriirere of Tooarai Terinui of Tahiti Tauraatua i Amo"
↑ This sense of the word is now common in New Zealand English. Like most Māori words, it is unchanged in the plural.

References

Hirini Moko Mead, 2003. Tikanga Māori: Living by Māori Values. Huia Publishers: Wellington.

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[1] Rarotongan tradition holds that Taputapuātea marae at Rarotonga, which archaeologists have dated to the 13th century, was built by Tangi'ia who brought the central stone with him from the ancient marae of the same name at Ra'iātea.Indeed, it seems that it was quite usual in ancient times to take a stone from this marae. The son of Tetupaia and Teu had not only the right to a seat in the great Marae of Taputapuatea in Raiatea, but he could take his stone from Taputapuatea and set it up in his own district of Pare Arue (Tahiti), so founding a Marae Taputapuatea of his own to wear the Maro-'ura (red waist girdle of the ariki)in. Ta'aroa Marau, "Memoirs of Arii Tamai e marama of Eimo Teriirere of Tooarai Terinui of Tahiti Tauraatua i Amo"

[2] This sense of the word is now common in New Zealand English. Like most Māori words, it is unchanged in the plural.

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