Cyclone Gabrielle: Traditional Māori practitioners travel to support whānau of the floods

Omahu Marae. Photo / Whakaata Māori

A Wellington-based group of rongoā Māori practitioners will be travelling to Hawke’s Bay this weekend to provide mirimiri and romiromi, traditional Māori healing to a community devastated by cyclone Gabrielle.

Manawa Ora Mirimiri founder and lead practitioner Jolie Davis (Ngāti Kurī/Te Rarawa) says she received a phone call from Te Kupenga Hauora Ahuriri health and social services operations manager Tess Robins asking if Manawa Ora would consider bringing a team to Omahu Marae to offer healing to whānau.

Mirimiri (massage) and rongoā are traditional Māori healing methods. Photo / Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand

“It was a pretty easy decision for our team. To be able to bring healing to a community in need is a real privilege and not something we take lightly. We all know we need to make the most of our time there and treat as many people as we can.

“People are hurting, grieving, anxious and stressed.

“What they have been through and still going through has traumatised a whole community - the effects will continue to ripple out in ways we can’t even imagine. They need support now and they need healing to recover.

“Because we [Manawa Ora] are quite used to working in community settings, we will be able to treat up to 150 people in one day with a team of 12 - so 300 people in total. It’s a mammoth effort - also for Tessa and the TKH team, which is busy right now getting word out to whānau, fielding calls and email inquiries and booking in people ready to go for this weekend.”

Manawa Ora will be at Omahu Marae from 9am to 6pm today and tomorrow.