Te Maori: Burnt marae a reminder of fire safety

It's important to be fire-safe when it comes to taonga like tupuna whare, such as Tamatekapua.

How could you repair the mana of a meeting house that was ravaged by fire?

The tribe of Ngati Wai mourns the loss of their tupuna whare.

From the hands of two mischievous children, the meeting house Te Uri o Hikihiki was scorched by fire. The whare stood on Mokau marae, 46km north of Whangarei. The youngsters who lit the fire were 6 and 3.

The children snuck away from Mokau Kohanga, which is near the meeting house.

They played around the marae until they found an opening into the mattresses area in the meeting house; that is where they played with either matches or a lighter. Next thing we know, they had burnt the building down.

I had this sombre feeling inside, a pain that was deep in my heart when thinking of that tragic event.

I couldn't help but think of the many marae we have in this area and the potential pain we would feel at the loss of one of our significant pieces of history and learning. The mind was eased when we interviewed Mokau marae chairman David Scot. David said yes, the iwi were mourning, but not all was completely taken by fire as some carvings outside of the whare were able to be salvaged.

We also spoke to Donna Tamaki, one of the marae committee members. She said yes, everyone was hurting, but they don't blame the children. The children were of Ngati Wai descent.

So they must stand together and stand strong.

Furthermore, Donna was concerned that Mokau Marae's insurer may pursue the kohanga for damages, if the kohanga were found to be negligent in the matter.

This is a stark reminder to all of us to ensure the safety of our children, our homes and our possessions.

Maori Translation

Ka pehea ranei te hiki ano te mana o tetehi tupuna whare i tahuna ki te ahi?

E tangi moteatea nei te iwi o Ngati Wai mo to ratou tupuna whare.

No nga ringa raweke a tetehi tokorua haututu i tahuna ai te whare tupuna a Te Uri o
Hikihiki. Ka tu te whare nei ki Mokau Marae, 46 km ki tokerau o Whangarei. He ono tau te pakeke o tetehi tamaiti, he toru tau te pakeke o tera atu tamaiti.

I rere atu nga tamariki i Mokau Kohanga kei tua o te whare tupuna. Takaro haere ki runga o Mokau Marae kia tau ra ano ki roto o te tupuna whare. Ka takaro ki nga matarihi, wai hoki ki te mati, puahi ranei. Na wai ra ka tahuna i a raua te whare.

Matapouri ana te ahua o oku whakaaro.

He hirawerawe ki te pu o oku kare a roto te rongonga korero mo te parekura ra.

I tahuri oku whakaaro ki a matou marae maha o tenei takiwa me te mamae ki a matou
mena i tahuna tetehi o nga whare whakairo, whare wananga o tenei takiwa.

I ahua tau te wairua i te wa i uiui matou i a David Scot te heamana o te marae o Mokau.
Hei tana i papouri te iwi, engari i ahei ratou te tiaki i etehi o nga whakairo o waho i te mahau o te whare.

I uiuia hoki a Donna Tamaki, tetehi o nga kaitiaki o te marae, hei tana e pouri ana te iwi
engari kare ratou e riri ana ki nga tamariki. No matou aua tamariki, no Ngati Wai ke, no
reira me tu tahi, me tu kaha.

He awangawanga ano to Donna mo te ahua ki te kamupene inehua o te marae, mana kei hamenetia to ratou kohanga me nga kaiako mo tenei aitua.

He akoranga tenei mo tatou kia mataara i nga wa katoa. Tiakina wa tatou tamariki, a tatou whare, me wa tatou rawa.

Manawa Wright is a breakfast host on Te Arawa FM.