Marae on wheels carries message

By PAUL YANDALL

A "mobile marae" built by Te Awamutu artists and carvers will have to be exhibited with care to avoid offending local Maori when it begins touring the country.

The mobile marae will travel by trailer around the North Island to attract students to the Maori tertiary institute Te Wananga o Aotearoa.

Maori artist Daniel Ormsby, who helped to build the marae, said it would be used to inform people about the institute.

"It tells our story, really. What we stand for, what we mean."

Dr Ranginui Walker, former head of the Maori studies department at Auckland University, said a mobile marae was unprecedented here, although travelling maraes had been used as exhibits overseas.

He said the people running the marae had to be aware that some iwi might be sensitive to the idea of a marae operating in their region. particularly if its builders were former tribal enemies "They can't just go in there all haughty, telling everyone how fine their marae is, how fine they are."

Maori master carver Pakariki Harrison, who has helped to build some of the country's most notable meeting houses, said he was surprised at the marae's construction but that it was a positive idea.

"I think it's wonderful ... very innovative. I haven't heard of anything like it before, but I can see it being used very positively."

He said traditional marae were generally associated with the local area and the history of the tangata whenua. A mobile one would have to be carefully exhibited to avoid offending local iwi.

Mr Ormsby said the marae was made up of carvings and paintings that told a "conceptual" story of Te Ara o Taane: - the taking of knowledge from heaven by the Maori god Taane.

"The important thing is the message we are trying to convey. We've drawn on history, legend and traditional mythology to tell people how important knowledge is."

William Wetere, marketing manager for Te Wananga o Aotearoa, said the marae would be used for exhibition purposes only, so people would not be required to observe traditional marae protocol.

The marae would spend time in all the bigger towns of the North Island in the next month as Te Wananga o Aotearoa began enrolling students for its courses.

The institute has seven campuses in New Zealand, all in the North Island, which run courses ranging from carving to computer programming.