Maori Marae

Hello from Roturua, NZ.

We just drove up here last night, and are staying in a hostel in town. Roturua is known for its geothermal hot springs, so to be honest, it sort of smells like sulfur. There is a lot of “adventure” tourism here though, so today should still be a great day.

Before coming to Roturua we spent a night at a Maori Marae. What an incredible experience! A Marae is a sacred space for the Maori people, so being welcomed onto a Marae includes a lot of ritual speeches, prayers and songs. There is a main meeting house that is decorated with statues and carvings of Maori ancestors. We all slept in the house that night, but were asked not to take photos inside the building. The best part was a group of kids who came to perform songs and dances that they are taught at their school. So impressive! After, they stayed for dinner and taught us how to do Poi (a New Zealand art of spinning strings with your wrists) and some of the dances they had performed. The kids were wonderful, and such fun to talk with. It was only recently in New Zealand that a push to bring back and celebrate Maori culture has truly begun. For many years, their culture was oppressed, much like other indigenous cultures around the world. It is really nice to see how proud these kids are of their culture, and we were very lucky to have them share it with us.

After our overnight at the Marae we went to a teacher’s conference all day yesterday, proof that our trip is not all play and no work! The woman who presented, Kath, is an expert in the type of teaching we have learned this year- talking about how to bring in student’s perspective into our lessons and how to make learning relevant and engaging. Despite being a long time in a chair, we were all scribbling down notes and new ideas to use next year.

Off to explore Roturua….