Here we all are settling down for the evening inside the wharenui. We were certainly very cosy. Once we were ready for bed and tucked into our sleeping bags, we all shared our mihi which is an introduction of ourselves in maori. We were very proud of ourselves and each other.

Wharenui Time

At Te Hora marae we spent a lot of our time in the wharenui which means 'big house' and is the meeting house at the marae. This is where we met, we learned and we attempted to sleep like a huge can of sardines - even though we were not allowed to have food inside this building!

Inside the wharenui are lovely carvings, many photos of members of the tangata whenua who have passed on or died and also some weaving and craft pieces - a sacred space indeed.

More Te Hora Joy

Nicki and Cindy from Nelson Provincial Museum joined us and shared some wonderful skills with us including singing, carving and playing the koaua or maori wind instrument. These photos show them playing for us and also Dhillon and Brendan having a go too.

The people of the marae who cared for us and made us feel so welcome were three elders or kuia called Nora, Chris and Hazel.

During the powhiri we sang songs, listened to speeches, gave a koha or gift to the tangata whenua and at the end did the hongi with many new people. The hongi is a way of greeting and means to shake hands, carefully press noses twice and say 'Kia ora' or 'Tena koe'.

Te Hora Marae

Last week the whole of Hira School travelled to Te Hora Marae in Canvastown and stayed overnight. We experienced a powhiri which is a maori welcome and met many people from the tangata whenua - the people who belong to the marae. We were the visitors - the manuhiri. When we arrived at Te Hora we gathered at the entrance way - waharoa and waited to be called onto the marae - this call is called the karanga.

More Glee With Lee

We were treated to an extra session with sports specialist Lee Corlett last week during which we had our usual half hour of fun and fitness with a challenge or two thrown in. We were required to cooperate in our groups of four at a very high level. The gear we were given to work with was a pile of hoops. First we had to create a free standing circle and then each climb inside it and stand up without tipping anything or anyone over. Some of us met with success while some of us totally collapsed into balls of laughter!! As if that wasn't challenging enough - we then had two groups place their hoop circles on top of each other and then...... yes you guessed it - climb inside and stand up. What skills do you think we needed for all of this - cooperation, listening, balance, steadiness and extreme care - oh and did we say cooperation, cooperation cooperation?