Visiting Murihiku

A few weeks ago, I flew down to Invercargill to interview one of the kaumatua at Murihiku Marae.

It was a perfect day and the marae looked a picture, perched on its rise, overlooking the surrounding countryside on the outskirts of Invercargill city.

For a long time, there was no marae here, but in 1983, local Maori were delighted to open their new Whare Kai, Hine o te Iwi. A few years later, in 1990, they opened their new Wharenui, Te Rakitauneke, which features beautiful carvings inside and out.

The marae sits on ten acres of land.

From the Kete Files

Kete = Basket

The House That Came Home

Every so often I come upon a story so wonderful, it gives me goose bumps. That's what I felt when I discovered a small news clipping about the return of the historic Mataatua Wharenui to the Ngati Awa people of the Whakatane area in New Zealand's North Island..

This is a Maori wharenui (meeting house) with a fascinating history. When it opened in 1875, it measured 79 feet (24 metres) in length, 41 feet (12.5 metres) in width and 24 feet (7.5 metres) high, which would have made it a colossal wharenui, even by today's standards. It was and still is, the only wharenui in existence with two sets of twins depicted in the two carved, upright supports (amo) on the front gable of the house.

In 1879 however, the wharenui was seized by Europeans for a Bristish Empire exhibition in Sydney. It was dismantled and sent across the Tasman on the steamship,  SS Staffa, where it was rebuilt inside-out (top image), exposing the precious carvings of iwi tupuna to the elements. Incidentally, the steamship it travelled on was of smaller dimension than the house itself and could have fitted inside the fully erect Mataatua.

From Sydney, the house travelled on to London in 1883. King George V and Queen Mary (second and thrid image from top) visited the wharenui during the 1924 British Empire Exhibition; and it was finally returned to New Zealand in 1925 - to the Otago Museum in Dunedin - but not before it had been 'repaired' by Auckland (European) carver, T Chappe Hall, who took it upon himself to add a sequence of carvings depicting Phar Lap's winning of the 1930 Melbourne Cup. The wharenui then spent 70 years in Otago Museum.

The 1996 Waitangi Tribunal Special Deed of Settlement finally saw Mataatua returned to the Ngati Awa people and over the last 15 years, a dedicated team of artists, originally led by the late Ngati Awa Master Carver, Te Hau O Te Rangi Tutua,  has been restoring it to its original magnificence.

And on September 17th, 2011, 130 years after it first left new Zealand shores, Ngati Awa and the Mataatua confederation of tribers will celebrate its return and reopen 'the house that came home.' It will stand once again as the icon of a united, strong and resilient Ngati Awa, who have waited a long time to share their wharenui with the pride it deserves.

Three above images - restored wharenui carvings

The September reopening of Mataatua Wharenui with provide a rare opportunity to see a contemporary application of ancient Maori traditions.  The rarely witnessed ceremony - known as Kawanga Whare, or Te Tai I Te Kawa - begins at dawn, before the rising of the sun and was traditionally undertaken to lift the tapu (sacredness, spiritual restriction), of a house so that it could be used socially in comfort and confidence. It is a long process that follows strict traditional protocols and customs.

I was lucky enough last year, to experience this traditional dawn ritual at the opening of the new Ngai Tahu wharenui at Rapaki Marae in Governor's Bay, near Christchurch.

The future for Mataatua looks bright.

Te Runanga o Ngati Awa have worked closely with a number of design and architectural partners to create a new tourism venture based around the Mataatua experience. The latest interactive digital technology has been employed to help tell the traditions and histories of Ngati Awa, beginning with the epic voyage of the Mataatua Waka, the ancestral canoe that brought the Eastern Bay of Plenty tribe's forebears to New Zealand more than a thousand years ago. Visitors will have the opportunity to visit the wharenui and to interact with the descendants of those early Ngati Awa chiefs.

http://www.mataatua.com/

http://www.ngatiawa.iwi.nz/

A Country Church

I drove out to Tuahiwi Marae just north of Christchurch last week, to interview one of the kaumatua. I arrived late afternoon, just in time to see the sun scurrying across the pretty facade of the local church,  Te Whare Tipene - St Stephens Church. I've never had the chance to step inside it yet but I'm always taken with its attractive form rising out of the flat paddock and surrounded by large cabbage trees.

A Day at Onuku Marae

I've visited Onuku Marae, near Akaroa many times and every time I roll down the hill to the shoreline, I'm struck again by the beauty of the divine little church that sits on a small rise, overlooking Akaroa Harbour. Te Whare Karakia o Onuku was built in 1876 and had its opening in 1878. It sits across the road from the main marae buildings and the cluster of kaik houses that snuggle under giant walnut trees.

When it opened in 1878, it was the first non-denominational church in New Zealand and the opening ceremony was attended by Maori from iwi all over the country. In 1939, it was restored to its original state in time for Akaroa's 1940 Centenary service, which was attened by over a thousand people. As the number of families on the kaik diminished, it closed for services in 1963 and is now primarily used for baptisms, weddings and funerals. The poupou standing to one side of the front of the church is Tumuki, a gift from Te Wai Pounamu Old Girls Association in 19978. It was carved by Pere Tainui.

Across the road from the church, the marae buildings huddle under a backdrop of bush-clad hills. There are two main structures - the Whare kai, Amiria Puhirere, which was opened in 1990. It was named after Amiria Puhirere, who  lived on the kaik and was admired and loved by generations of Onuku whanau. She was the daughter of Mere Whariu and Karaweko and was over 100 years old when she died in 1944. The second building is the handsome wharenui, Karaweko, pictured above.

In the early planning stages of the wharenui, a carving committee led by Pere Tainui, was set up to research the whakapapa and history that would be represented in the house. Master Ngapuhi carver, Eric Korewha was commissioned and he was helped by a group of carvers that included Simon Rogers, Hono Fleming, Hone Taiapa and Carl Wards. They spent four years carving West Coast totara.  Ngai Tahu paramount chief Te Maiharanui is represented in the tekoteko, which stands on the top of the wharenui.

Inside, a series of beautiful tukutuku panels in olive green, gold and black mirror the colours of the Onuku landscape. these were produced by Ngai Tahu weaver, the late Cath Brown of Taumutu, working with a group of Ngai Tahu weavers.

The wharenui was officially opened and blessed at dawn on February 5, 1997.

It was the first carved house to be built on Banks peninsula for over a hundred years.
The marae is homebase for the Ngai Tahu hapu of Ngai Tarewa and Ngati Irakehu and Onuku is a place of historical significance for the fact that it was the first of three South Island locations where the Treaty of Waitangi was signed.
http://www.ngaitahu.iwi.nz/

Portrait - 42

Maori Performer

Whakarewarewa Thermal Village

Rotorua

2009 Ajr

www.whakarewarewa.com

A Carved Guardian

Guarding the Entrance

Takahanga Marae

Kaikoura

Ajr 2009

From the Kete Files

Three Kete

Te Rau Aroha Marae

Bluff

Feb.2011, AJR

Welcoming Visitors

Photo Courtesy Tamaki Maori Village, Rotorua

Performing the Haka to welcome visitors to Tamaki Maori Village

Rotorua

May 2010, AJR

Maori Place Names - 98

Waipounamu Street

Ratana Village, Wanganui

North Island.

May 2010, Ajr

A Portrait - 37

Photographing a Photographer

Ngai Tahu Hui-a-Tau

Puketeraki

Nov. 2010. Ajr

Maori Place Names - 97

Craigmore Valley

South Canterbury.

Feb. 2011, Ajr

To Dog Rock

It was a dull, overcast day in South Canterbury back in February, when I went visiting rock art sites with the team from Timaru's Te Ana Ngai Tahu Rock Art Centre. I'd been wanting to do this for years and as I wandered across the long, grassy slope in silence, lagging behind the others, I couldn't help imagining what the landscape might have looked like, 500-700 years ago, when Maori ancestors first came this way and sheltered under Dog Rock - so named for its snout-like appearance.

Bird-men, taniwha, insects, fish, waka, eagles and human figures float across limestone rock faces throughout Te Waipounamu (the South Island), especially in South Canterbury and North Otago. They've been there for hundreds of years and around 300 significant rock drawing sites dating back to at least the 16th century, lie within a 70km radius of Timaru.

It felt quite momentous to finally stand before them but I had mixed feelings. At first there was a flutter of disappointment that there were so few and that they seemed pale and barely recognisable; but after a few minutes of concentration, with Ngai Tahu Rock Art Trust curator, Amanda Symon showing us what to look for, the rocks came to life.

The Ngai Tahu Rock Art Trust was established in 2002 to support runanga and landowners in the care and management of the rock sites. Very little oral tradition about rock art has survived and the motivation of early peoples for creating them, has been a matter of debate for over 150 years. "We don't know much about the drawings - they're very enigmatic," says Amanda. "A lot of sites like this one, are well known so we decided to move away to lesser explored areas, checking every likely boulder, every outcrop from Kaikoura to Firodland."

That process has paid off with some exciting discoveries.

"It takes experience to recognise rock art," Amanda continues.

"Most people would walk right past it. But just a few months ago we discovered so figures on greywacke rock up the Ahuriri River, which we hadn't known about before. And close to here, at another known site, we also found a large face with a moko."
Few of the known sites are open to the public, and those that are, have been fenced off to prevent vandalism. But now that Te Ana is up and running, you can take a tour of two of the best sites with a Ngai Tahu guide.

www.teana.co.nz www.ngaitahu.iwi.nz

A Museum Display

Pounamu Tiki

(greenstone)

Behind Glass

Otago Museum, Dunedin

May 2010, Ajr

From the Tattoo Files

Ta Moko

(Tattoo)

at

Takahanga Marae

Kaikoura Feb.2010, Ajr

From the Kete Files

Two Kete

On a Bench

Te Rau Aroha Marae, Bluff

Feb.2011, Ajr

Maori Place Names - 96

Waitotara

North of Wanganui, North Island

May 2010, Ajr

A Portrait - 36

Seen in the South

Fireman on Duty

Nov.2010, Ajr

Preserving Ancient Maori Rock Art

Twenty-first century digital technology meets ancient rock art at the new Te Ana Maori Rock Art Centre, that opened in the Category I historic Landing Services Building Timaru on December 10, 2010. I've always fancied the idea of archaeology and the discovery of something ancient, so from the moment I entered the centre (in February) and received a digital greeting from one of the kaumatua of Te Runanga o Arowhenua, I was hooked. I've wanted to visit some of the South Island's rock art sites for a long time and this turned out to be the perfect introduction.

There are around 580 recorded rock art sites within the Ngai Tahu rohe (district) and 250 of those are within an hour of Timaru; and the centre has been designed to raise awareness of these treasures and to ensure their preservation. It's an interactive experience that appeals to all the senses - and its the perfect learning experience for school groups. There are rock art sites all over New Zealand but the largest number have been found in the South Island, particularly in the limestone country of North Otago and South Canterbury. It's here that you'll find some of the oldest signs of human occupation in New Zealand and for Ngai Tahu, they are treasured taonga and a direct link to ancestors.

My photographs hardly do the centre justice. In fact it is an intriguing stop where you can discover the facts behind some of these mysterious renderings - most of which are on private land and inaccessible to visitors.
About 300 significant rock drawing sites dating back to the 16th century, lie within a 70km radius of Timaru (Te-Tihi-o-Maru) and their creators are thought to have been some of the earliest people to travel through the region. In a landscape peppered with rugged limestone outcrops, there are thousands of potential sites - small caves, overhanging ledges - and it's there that you might find bird-men, waka (canoes), fish, insects, and taniwha (monsters), etched, drawn and painted onto the rock faces.

Te Ana provides the perfect first encounter with these intriguing works. It features samples of actual rock art taken from sites early last century (some returned from museums around New Zealand), audio-visual displays and brilliantly-conceived information panels. Some of the rock art sites within the region have been badly damaged through natural degradation, vandalism and pollution, so the Te Ana Rock Art Centre is the perfect repository of information and history. All this while members of the Ngai Tahu Rock Art Trust (established in 2002), support local runanga and landowners in the care and management of the sites.

Ngai Tahu Maori Rock Art Trust curator, Amanda Symon says the new centre is about education and raising both awareness and funds for the further protection of sites in the field. Naturally, it is also about taking pressure off the sites themselves but for those who do want to experience rock art in the landscape, the centre has organised low-impact tours with Ngai Tahu guides to two sites close to Timaru. I've visited both and I would go again.

Traditionally, Timaru has always been one of the places we all drive through on the trip to Dunedin and further south. The Te Ana Rock Art Centre is expected to change that. Around 35,000 people a year are expected to visit the centre and local tourism officials are confident many will stay in the area several days. That will have a significant economic impact on the hospitality sector of Timaru and its neighbouring towns.

www.teana.co.nz
www.ngaitahu.iwi.nz