Yesterday I did something for the first time. I was part of a group from Christchurch City Libraries to visit Rehua Marae, here in Christchurch/Otautahi. We had several sessions of instruction from Ben and Nicole on marae protocol before we went so hopefully we would not embarrass ourselves in front of the tangata whenua. One of the most important things was to learn our individual pepeha, which is a kind of formal introduction from the individual to the group, explaining where you come from, your tribe, your parents and your waka.
I was quite apprehensive about this, but managed it, even though my voice threatened to disappear, and I croaked my way through my pepeha. After the formal part, we had fun with stick dances and poi. I cannot do poi, and based on my truly inept performance, no one is going to be inviting me to a kapa haka group anytime soon. At least the ancestors will have had a good laugh.
At the end of the visit we had a group photo taken outside the wharenui, and a very charming ginger cat arrived and accompanied us out to the gate. Many thanks to Ben, Nicole, Haneta, and the people of Rehua Marae, and also to our rangatira for the day, Kelly, who coped brilliantly with the realization that he now had thirteen "wives" to protect and represent.
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