Whānau noho marae ki Arahura

On Saturday 2nd March we had around 40 local whānau join us at Arahura Marae for a 2 day noho (sleepover) designed for Māori whānau who might be experiencing their first visit to a mārae in a relaxed educational environment with an emphases on learning tikanga and practices that take place on the mārae and shared knowledge of Kati Waewae and the local area.

We started with whakawhanaungatanga before listening to local whaea Horiana Tootell a knowledgeable kaumatua from Kati Waewae. This was followed by sharing kai and then a hikoi on the Arahura awa looking for and learning about Pounamu. After returning to the Marae we set up our beds and engaged in a range of activities including the opportunity for tamariki to decorate their own wooden patu, korikori tinana in the wharenui and the preparation of kai for dinner. After a hearty kai we enjoyed more pūrakau and history of Kati Waewae and waiata.

As we settled all the tamariki down to sleep we appreciated the strength and warmth of the solid wharenui Tuhuru, feeling well sheltered from the lightening and thunder storm happening outside.

After parakuihi, we took another hikoi to the water tank and shared the details of the history of the pa and some of our tupuna.

Whanau feedback was resoundingly positive and we are looking forward to running a similar experience later in the year, if this is something you are interested in, keep an eye on our Facebook page for upcoming experiences.