A Powhiri!

Statements of all Powhiri:

Powhiri is a welcoming ceremony that is held on a Marae, A Marae is not the only place where you celebrate a Powhiri, it  can happen when you host something or when you welcome visitors or a group of visitors. A Powhiri is a step by step process of removing the tapu of the visitors and making them one of the Tangata Whenua. A Powhiri begins with a Karanga, which is a ceremonial call of welcome.

What it looks like? The visitors will gather together outside the Marae entrance. The Powhiri may be issued by young woman from the Tangata Whenua. You will hear Karanga from a woman from the Tangata Whenua. The young woman from the Manuhiri will start to advance and then the woman from the tangata whenua will reply to your Karanga. Once we enter the wharenui the chief/boys will sit in the front and all the ladies will sit at the back of the chiefs/boys.

What it sounds like? It sound really quiet if we stand from the back but if we stand at the front it will sound loud. When we say the Karanga is has to be loud so everyone can hear what you say and also it has to be loud.

What I felt about the Powhiri?I felt agitated because this was my first time entering a Marae which was quite frightening. The other reason why I felt agitated is because I thought we were going to do the hongi with the Tangata Whenua before we enter the wharenui.

Marae Visit!!

On such a beautiful day our school which is St Pius X School went and had a visit to a Marae which was behind the Te Oro building. Once I got to school everyone was ready with their neat/tidy uniform and also appropriate footwear to wear for a walk. The Marae we went to was called Ruapotaka Marae.

Everyone gathered together in the hall waiting for Mrs Tui to give us the signal that we can leave to the Marae. Once Mrs Tui called out to the classes to stand up that is when I knew we had to leave and head off to our destination which is the Marae which was located Glen Innes. We walked with our soul friends, my one was ( Tute ) who is in Room 1. Once we got to the Marae the girls had to line up in the front and the boys line up at the back.

My favourite part of the visit is when we all learnt the song Head, Shoulder, Knees and toes but in Maori. The reason why it was my favourite part is because we started of with singing slow and then it started to get faster and faster. The second reason is that I get to learn a new maori song which is great.

My Second favourite part of this visit is that we got a chance to weave a flower together which is great because I never got a chance to weave a flower together in a Maori way. The reason why it is my favourite is because I never got a chance to weave a flower together.

Holy Spirit Strand - How did the Holy Spirit work in me?

Today our class has been working on Holy Spirit Strand. We had to write on a Doc how did the Holy Spirit work in ourselves, how did the Holy Spirit work in another person and we had to write a prayer to the Holy Spirit!!

Hongi - Tangihanga

Hongi!!

A Hongi is a Maori Traditional greeting in which people press their nose & forehead together. It is used in traditional meetings among Moari people and on major ceremonies and serves a similar purpose to a formal handshake in a modern western culture. In the Hongi the "HA" or breath of life is to exchange. The breath of life can also be interpreted as sharing both party souls. 

Through the exchange of this phsical greeting, one is no longer a visitor but they are called on of the people of the Land. For the remainder of one's stay one is obliged to share in all the duties and responsibilites of the home people.

That is little information about the Hongi!

Powhiri!!

Statements of all Powhiri:

Powhiri is a welcoming ceremony that is held on a Marae, a Marae is not the only place where you celebrate a Powhiri, it can happen when you host something or when you welcome visitors or a group of visitors. A Powhiri is a step by step process of removing the tapu of the visitors and making them one of the Tangata Whenua. A Powhiri begins with a Karanga, which is a ceremonial call of welcome.

What it looks like? The visitors will gather together outside the Marae entrance. The Powhiri may be issued by young woman from the Tangata Whenua. You will hear Karanga from a woman from the Tangata Whenua. The young woman from the visitor will start to advance and then the woman from the tangata whenua will reply to your Karanga. Once we enter the wharenui the chief/boys will sit in the front and all the ladies will sit at the back of the chiefs/boys.

What it sounds like? It sound really quiet if we stand from the back but if we stand at the front it will sound loud. When we say the Karanga is has to be loud so everyone can hear what you say and also it has to be loud.

What I felt about the Powhiri? I felt really scared and shy to walk while they welcome us because the Maori people have a lot of tattoos on their face/arms/legs and when we got to the front and I saw there faces I felt even more scared.