My Marae Recount

         The Marae

Room 7 & 5 went to Arahura Marae with a couple of teachers
and some parent helpers on May 1st to May 2nd 2019.
The school took us there to learn about māori culture and the
meaning of the carvings inside our local marae.

Carvings

First Jerry (part of the marae staff) explained all the
wooden carvings outside the marae and explained the stories
behind them. Then we went inside and each class got to
choose two carvings each  or Jerry to explain the story
behind them and about the character. After the two
classes chose, the adults chose two carvings as well.
We listened to the stories and I really enjoyed them.
All the carvings had a colour on them representing
their tribe, the colours were: blue,green,red and black.
Some carvings had angry expressions.

Evening Rotations

On the evening rotations I did the tukutuku panels first.
I found it really challenging and the string kept on getting
stuck, and when I finally got it right THE PAPER BROKE!!!
So I had to get a cardboard thing so Tanya (parent helper)
started me off. I did about 4 crosses but then it was time
for soap carving. My 2nd rotation was soap carving.
They handed out soap with the word value engraved on it.  is
Barrow taught us how to scrape it off with a toothpick then
she handed out some simple maōri designs for us to do. On
the front of the soap I did some simple koru and it didn't
take that long. When I was done I went over the pattern
lots so it was easier to see. I found a more complex
pattern so I did that on the back. It wasn't as good as my
first one but it was still pretty good. I am really proud of
my magnificent soap carving and I was pretty excited to
show my family.

The Walk

When we had arrived at the walk me, Ayah and Jordyn
were in the group  that was on a  plant hunt. We found
most of the plants on the sheet near the beginning but some
 were in the middle. Everyone had  to walk across some
logs and along the side if there was mud. When we got
there I put my bag down and straight away a wasp flew
on it so all my friends and I stood up. When the teacher
was finished talking it flew away. I could finally eat my
banana that was in my bag. When we walked back it was
pretty relaxing, nothing really happened. When we got to
the end we got the whole sheet completed.

Personal Comment

Overall I really liked all the activities and carvings in the
marae. I’ve never been to a marae, so it was fun to try
something new. The beautiful lights reminded me of
the lights in the Harold van. I loved the yumilicious smores.

Photos