Rotowhio Marae
Haha te whenua, Haha te tangata
Desolate land is deserted of people
The Marae is the traditional meeting place of a tribe. It is where the people return to talk, to sing and dance, to pray, to host guests, to wed, to reunite, to weep for their dead. A Marae without people is a heart without a beat. “The Marae is the post which guides you home,” says Maori elder, kaumatua Ben Hona. “It is the one place on this earth where you can stand and know you belong.”
Rotowhio
Marae is the site of a model fighting Pa, a fortified Maori
village. The Original construction was built in the 1300s by a tribe called
Ngati Tama and in the early 1900s the Rotowhio Pa site
was upgraded along with the development plans for the Whakarewarewa
thermal reserve.
Once the project was completed a decision was made to bring the model Pa alive. This was accomplished by an agreement with the home tribe and local government officials. The agreement being that kuia (retainers of tradition) would impart their stories and life experiences to the visitors, and in return their mokopuna and descendants would always work there. And so an agreement was reached, and the path of Rotowhio Marae was sealed.
At the main gate is the courtyard, Te Marae areare a Tumatauenga, the ground of Tumatauenga, God of War. Guests are traditionally welcomed through this courtyard first to ensure they come in peace. Directly ahead is the Wharenui or sacred meeting house, Te Aronui a Rua. The Wharenui is the archive of a tribe, recording priceless history through the art of carving and weaving. It was built by the students of the carving school and took 10 years to complete before opening in 1981.
To the left of the main Wharenui is an original building, a smaller carved meeting house with photographs of the many guides and leaders who have contributed over the years. Beside it is Te Rito, the weaving school, where descendants still learn the ancient craft today. One of the most intricate structures, however, is the Pataka, a small but richly carved storehouse used to safeguard the heirlooms and treasures of chiefs and leaders.
While it stands above ground, the sleeping houses of ancestors were partially submerged into the earth to absorb the thermal heat and can be seen in the pre-European village.
Today, a source of great pride is the magnificent waka taua or war canoe. Carving students also built it some 19 metres in length, and when manned by 20 warriors is a sight to behold. It is protected here and used only on rare and very special occasions. Rotowhio Marae, therefore, is no longer a model pa. It is a place of treasures, of work, of people. The promise to descendants has not been broken.
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