Marae+Visit

Thusday 24 February 2011

Wednesday 9 March

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What a Powhiri is? A Māori welcome on to a marae is a pōwhiri (or pōhiri). Marae are not the only places where pōwhiri take place - pōwhiri can happen anywhere that hosts (tangata whenua) wish to formally greet a group of visitors.

what not to do there? You must wait to be welcomed on to the marae if you are a visitor. This will involve speeches, prayer and waiata (song). Take your shoes off before you go into the meeting house. (It might pay to make sure you've got good socks on!) Make sure you're on your best behaviour - you're not allowed to fight or argue when you're there. You're not allowed to eat food or have drinks - but sometimes you might be allowed lollies, and if you're a baby, your bottle would probably be okay. If you've been invited to sleep on the marae then, as a visitor, you would sleep on the right-hand side as you enter the room, while any locals would sleep on the left.

What is there? There are nice carvings around the **marae**, but also many, MANY boring speeches and songs that are a necessary ritual of letting people in to the **marae**





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