Marae Visit- Recount

We were all glad the weather held out for us so that we could walk to Ruapotaka Marae. We were all very excited to experience something we haven’t experienced before. We followed all the Protocols/Rules of the Marae which is known as Tikanga, the protocols we followed at the Marae was to take our shoes off before entering the wharenui.

When we got inside the wharenui we started it off with a short ceremony. Matua Jim had welcomed us and spoke in Maori and me and Motu had replied, I replied in Maori and Motu had translated it in English. To conclude our very special ceremony we all sang He Honore and E Toru Nga Mea (two very well known Maori songs in our school)

After our morning tea we were split into two groups and we did separate activities. The two activities was learning a song and using flax to make a flower. The most difficult task was making the flower because the flax was so fragile and we had to ensure we didn’t tear it apart. Luckily I was able to form a flower. Our last activity was to learn a basic Maori song with Matua Jim. We learnt Heads Shoulders Knees and Toes yet it was in Maori. As we learnt it and started to get better we started to sing it faster and faster.

After we finished our song with Matua Jim my class (Room 7) had left the Marae because we had to catch the bus to go to our technology class at Selwyn College. The Marae visit was a great experience for all of us. I hope to go there again another time.