AY Honors/Māori Lore/Answer Key
A marae (in New Zealand Māori, Cook Islands Maori, Tahitian) or "malae" (in Tongan, Samoan and Hawaiian) is a sacred place which served both religious and social purposes in ancient polynesian societies. In all these languages, the word mean also cleared, free of weeds, trees... It generaly consists of an area of cleared land roughly rectangular, bordered with stones or wooden posts (called au in Tahitian and Cook Islands Maori) and containing a plateform or terraces used for several ceremonies. In tropical Polynesia most marae were destroyed or abandoned with the arrival of the Gospel in nineteenth century and some of them have become an attraction for tourists or archeologists. Nevertheless, the place where the marae were built are still considered as tapu in most islands and nobody would dare build anything on it. In Cook Islands few marae are still maintained, only the most important (Ara i te tonga, Vaerota, Taputapuatea) those used for the investiture of a new ariki.
Marae in New Zealand
The word is now common in New Zealand English, marae refers an area of land where the Wharenui or meeting house (literally "big house") sits. Like nearly all Maori words, it is unchanged in the plural.
The area in front of the wharenui is called the marae atea. It is used for powhiri - ceremonial welcomes and oratory. Some marae do not allow women to perform oratory there.
The meeting house holds longer meetings,sleepovers, and craft and other cultural activities. The Wharekai - dining hall is used primarilly for communal meals.
Most tribes (iwi) and subtribes and even many small settlements have their own marae. An example of such a small settlement with its own marae is at Hongoeka Bay, Plimmerton, the home of renowned writer Patricia Grace. Since the second half of the 20th century, Maori in urban areas have been establishing intertribal marae such as Maraeroa in eastern Porirua. For many Maori, their marae is just as important to them as their own homes.
Some marae have been benefiting from a substantial spruce-up, courtesy of Hula Haka Productions based in Rotorua, Maori Television and a well-known hardware firm, for the weekly series "Mitre 10 Marae DIY".
