I went over to visit Rapaki this afternoon. Rapaki is a small Maori settlement in a bay of Lyttelton Harbour. The name rapaki means "waist-mat" and refers to the tradition that the chieftain Te Rakiwhakaputa placed his waist-mat there to claim the bay for himself and his family.
Recently, a magnificent new whare-whakairo (carved meeting house) has been built to replace the very old meeting house that stood here. This is the outside, with (I think) the figure of Te Rakiwhakaputa up at the apex. The name of the house "Wheke" commemorates his son, Te Wheke, who stayed behind to found the settlement while his father continued his exploration of the South Island. Maori have lived here for hundreds of years, with abundant sea-food readily available. It is a lovely peaceful place, one of those benevolent places that feel good to be in. Here is a link to Christchurch City Libraries' website article about Rapaki:
Isn't it amazing the way some places carry an emotion with them. Peace and serenity and sometimes the opposite. I have visited places where the hackles on the back of my neck stood to attention.
ReplyDeleteYes, or just a dark feeling of total despair. I had this in Victoria Park, the place where the Parker-Hulme murder took place ("Heavenly creatures") - this was when I was a little kid, before anyone had told me what happened there.
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