Something old, something new - it's all about finding the right balance. Rowena Orejana discovers a service offering traditional Maori and modern medicine.
Mina Edwards, 70, sits by an old, carved wooden box filled with kohatu, or healing stones. Coils spring from the lower half of the box, four of them attached to her wrists and ankles.
Mrs Edwards says it has been a long time since she's had a healing session with the Kapi Adams healing coil box. She's happy to find it is at the Te Manu Aute Whare Oranga at Manurewa Marae.
"I need a hip replacement, but I have a bladder problem and the doctors can't operate on me. They are trying to cure me with antibiotics, but I was also looking for an alternative," she says.
Mrs Edward's mother, Hinemoa Certman Laine, 95, has also spent time attached to the box. The last time she had a coil box healing was 80 years ago when she was a teenager.
The Te Manu Aute Whare Oranga is a unique provider of traditional healing and of conventional clinical services.
"We did a needs analysis to find out what the community wanted in terms of health services," says Lorraine Byers, clinic coordinator. "The top requested services were rongoa Maori [traditional medicine], mirimiri [traditional massage] and a general practitioner."
Many people would find the methods unorthodox, to say the least. Ms Byers says the marae has also held events to which all types of traditional healers would come. "We had an idea that this is what they wanted, but we needed evidence," she says. "Since we opened, it has been really busy. People are coming from afar for our services."
The marae has about 20 to 30 patients a day seeking alternative medicine. Ms Byers says many older Maori in particular are convinced of the box's beneficial effects. "It is a sacred box, really," she says. "A lot of the elderly people are more aware of the box. And now it is available for the community."
Apart from the healing coil box, the clinic also offers other alternative therapies such as colour therapy and Su Jok (seed acupuncture). Pregnant women can take advantage of mirimiri massages to relieve stress, pain and discomfort.
Rangi Murphy, a mirimiri practitioner, says she's also trained in other types of massage she uses in her sessions. "There's a message and prayer that goes with it. It was what my grandmother and mother did before me. Before I start, I go to God to pray," she says.
Even further into alternative fields, the clinic also offers matekite, a clairvoyant service. "Wayne Napier can see the wairua [spirits] of the patient's ancestors," says Ms Byers. "He shares with them what their ancestors are saying."
The clinic, which opened in June, also offers modern medicine. Patients who undergo traditional therapies are sometimes referred to a GP. The doctor's services and the medicine are free. It is funded by Counties Manukau District Health Board. The traditional services, however, are koha or donation-based.
"We definitely encourage them to utilise both services," says Ms Byers. "The doctor sometimes does referrals to this side. It's about getting the best of both worlds."
Family style
The clinic also offers the Te Rau Korawai, a wrap-around service empowering the wider whanau or family to obtain the support they need.
"We work out a plan for them and get the outside services to help them,"
says Ms Byers.
The clinic then follows up with the other organisations to ensure a family is getting the support it needs.To find out more about the clinic's services, ph 267 8768 or see: www.manurewamarae.co.nz
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