The Rongoatia te Ukaipo initiative was important to Ms Ruwhiu and Mr Leonard as "the art forms are endangered".
"They are the cornerstones of our ceremony on marae and have been our focus for the week."
Jim Malcolm, left, and Eru George at Waiteti Marae. Photo/Ben Fraser
This included a performance day on the Thursday, where participants were put to task, performing karanga, whaikorero, pao, moteatea and mihi.
"Many of our people return to their marae for various gatherings. Bringing people back to their ukaipo [birthplace] and onto their marae must always include formal ceremony." Mr Leonard said.
"This is part of reconnecting whanau, physically and spiritually to their tupuna."
Harata Hahunga from Ngati Rangiwewehi, attended the full week, "it's been total immersion", she said.
"It's a place of vulnerability, this is the place it's safe to make mistakes and my confidence is growing in terms of giving it a go."
For her, opportunities like this are important, "there's a responsibility to heal ourselves, then our whanau, our hapu and our iwi. Once we've got te reo, we can use it to build on all our taonga," she said.
Jim Malcolm and Eru George, both from Ngararanui, performed a whaikorero as part of Thursday's performance.
For Mr Malcolm it was his first time on the marae in 56 years. "They've done it wonderfully," he said.
