Saturday 16 August 2014

Whainga ako: write an essay of 300 words about why is a marae important to you.

My marae is important to me because thats where my tupuna come from and thats where my whanau come from too.  My marae is an amazing place to be because it reminds me about where I am from and who i am.  My marae is important because it is a place that brings  everyone back together at lots of different occasions. I get to see all of my cousins when I go to the marae for birthdays, tangi, weddings and visits.  In my marae there are panels on the wall that tells lots of stories that are important to my whanau.  One of the stories is about how my ancestors came to Aotearoa on our waka.  Another story is about how Nukutawhiti’s three taniwha helped our canoe.  Their names were puhi-kaiariki, puhi-taniwharau and puhi-moanariki.  It is fun hearing all the stories and looking at all the panels. My marae reminds me of who I am when I look at all the photos on the walls of all the people who have passed on.  My mum’s nana is one of the photos.  Her name is the same as my mum’s name TeAhua.  My marae is a really cool place because when we go there we sing waiata, do the haka and do lots of cool things.  When i walk into my marae it feels peaceful and amazing because it makes me feel different and it makes me feel like i belong there.  My marae is a special place to me because it tells me where i am from and what my pepeha is.  It is one of my favourite places to visit because I learn lots about me and about my ancestors and it makes me feel proud to be Maori.

Iverson