My Marae recount

My Marae Recount


I tingled with excitement as we marched into the cold office with our school bags and our delicious lunch. We sat down in the hall so Ms Hansel could go over the rules. After that we set off on our journey. We all got welcomed into the marae. When I stepped into the marae my heart leaped...


I couldn't believe my eyes. I bowled my head down to show respect to some of the ancestors that had died. I knew each pattern and carving told a story. When my cold hands touched the ground, my stomach had the butterflies. Then kaumatua said a karakia and introduced himself. Then he said a speech about the patterns and the carvings. Then Arapeta stood up and said his Whikorero. After that, the whole senior syndicate sang a song to kaumatua William and the kids that went to the school there. After that it was time for our interval. I ate my lunch next to Ngatokurua. After that they separated the boys and the girls. Us girls had to go to the marae and the boys went down to the bottom of the hill.


The girls split up into three groups. The the first group was using the poi, the second line did the actions and the last line used the rakau. Whaea Celeste taught us. We each supported each other and didn’t laugh if someone done something wrong. After that it was time for lunch, we all finished our lunch and then went into the marae to show the boys what we had practised.
We showed the boys what we had learnt. I liked the boys haka. When we finished we sang some songs to the people and the kids.


After that we all left and went back to school.


That day I learnt that the most important thing to the Maori people is their knowledge. I also learnt that there are 5 parts in a Marae; the heart,spine,arms,ribs and the head.