Te Taha Wai Marae

Te Taha Wai Marae

By: Gina

We went to a marae on 19th  of August. First we had to wait behind the waharoa because we could not just go in also because it is sacred land.

Once we heard the lady say haere mai we got to walk through the waharoa. I was so nervous it was like I wanted to smirk but I did not it was cool. We had to pause for little while to think of our ancestors those are our great great great grandparents. Then we continued to walk the walk till we got to the steps of the marae. We had to take of our shoes and leave them next to each other after that we got to go inside. I was so excited because it was my first time in a marae. The boys had to sit in the front and the girls at the back. Joshua K did his Mihi,  and Joshua J did the speech. We learnt about the ancestors that were carved on the wall and they showed peoples names in a story way. We also ate a one biscuit and one cup of water that was our morning tea because we were not allowed to bring our bags. After that we splitted up into two groups and did different activities.  We did weaving and an action song I forgot what it was called and how it went. Then we got to feel the ancestors they felt like good timber.  We also drew a bookmark of them. Suddenly we had to go and I was grateful that I had got an opportunity to go in an marae.