The Marae

My Marae Writing

A wharanui is a house called a marae which is very important to Māori people cause it’s representing
an ancestor.The Parts of a marae are the head the arms and the hands. The head is called the koruru,
the koruru is an ancestor that passed away. The arms are called the maihi and the hands are called the
raparapa. A wharanui represents an old ancestor that they cared a lot about. A wharenui is also very
important because all of the carvings which tell a story. The pictures inside the marae are also very
important to them because it shows important people that passed away. The last bits are the heart, the
ribs and the spine. The spine is called the tahuhu. The ribs are called the heke and the heart is called
the poutokomanawa.

The reason that marae are important is because if there was a natural disaster the marae would open
their doors for the homeless and they would give them food and a comfy place to sleep. They exist so t
he Māori people have someware to sleep and then they can teach kids who want to learn about the
Māori stories and people. More reasons they are important is because they have birthdays,
celebrations, weddings and memorials. It’s telling a story about an ancestor there is also meetings
and it holds māori history like stories and legends.