Makirikiri. May 2009. Ajr
Makirikiri Marae, near Dannevirke in the lower North Island is home to three hapu of the Rangitane iwi – Ngati Mututahi, Ngati Hamua and Ngati Te Rangiwhakaewa. When I called in to see the marae it was mid-morning in May and my time was short. I stood awhile and admired the exterior carvings of the
wharenui,
Aotea, thinking how different they seemed to many I had seen on my North Island travels, yet not quite able to describe how exactly – darker I think, more heavily painted perhaps… if that doesn’t seem too superficial an observation.
It wasn’t until I got home many weeks later that I discovered
the marae has a long and intriguing history. For a start, the first
wharenui called Aotea was built by Ngati Te Rangiwhakaewa at Tawakeroa, near Tahoraiti, some miles from Makirikiri, about
fourteen generations ago. Much later, Ngati Mutuahi started building a carved house at Tahoraiti in 1880, working with carvers from the Te Arawa iwi and craftsmen from the Ngati Tu hapu of Whanganui to complete the tukutuku panels and the embellishment of rafters.
That house, named Aotea Tua-Toru, was completed in 1883.
During the 1950 and 1960s these Rangitane hapu areas were prone to the same population exodus as many others,
as Maori moved to urban areas for work. The Aotea
wharenui at Tahoriti was virtually abandoned and it fell into disrepair. Those hapu members remaining in the area decided to
dismantle it and reassemble it closer to populated areas where hapu members could make better use of it. Hence its shift to its current location at Makirikiri, where it opened afresh –
smaller but using the original carved wharenui barge boards from Tahoraiti – in 1967. A Tainui contingent led by
Te Arikinui Te Atairangikaahu attended the dawn opening ceremony of Aotea Tua-Toru; and then
Prime Minister, Sir Keith Holyoake gave an opening speech.
www.rangitane.co.nz
School was in session when I drove into the tiny North Island village of Makirikiri not too far from Dannevirke. Noting the signposts, I turned down a little side road and came to this very well kept school, just across the road from the Makirikiri Marae, which I've featured here previously. Throughout my April-May trip around New Zealand, I was always inspired by these little 'language nests' - especially in the Far North and around the Eastland area, where schools were often heavily decorated with carvings and Maori art.
