Marae Training
By W/O Wal Wallace
Parewahawaha Marae
‘E kore te tōtara e tū noa ki te pārae, engari me tū ki roto i te wao.’
‘The tōtara is not found in open country but in the heart of the forest.’
A leader’s place is among his people, surrounded and supported by them.
Maori cultural awareness training has been progressing steadily as an integral part of our current promotion courses. Unfortunately, most of our senior personnel will miss being ‘captured’ as the net is cast, having already completed their promotion courses. So when CAF laid the challenge for me to provide some cultural awareness training for our most senior personnel, starting with himself and the Leadership Board – it was an opportunity too good to turn down. With the gauntlet laid and the CAF stepping forward, the role-call read like a ‘who’s who’ of Air Force hierarchy. For two days and two nights our leaders would live well outside their comfort zone, experiencing the Maori culture where it lives and breathes – on the Marae.
The extremely busy schedules of our senior personnel meant that some had to withdraw but, in the end, 11 senior (and very apprehensive) people stepped up and made Parewahawaha Marae in Bulls their temporary home. This noho marae (marae stay) was tailored to give participants a solid grounding in Maori and marae protocol, particularly to those situations that personnel at this level are likely to find themselves in.
The ‘trainees’ learnt about the various roles on the marae including housekeeping! It was a bit of a culture shock for some to have to re-familiarise themselves with the tea towel but all very quickly grasped the concept of ‘mahi tahi’ (many hands make light work)! I must admit, I found it amusing to see Group Captains washing my dishes! But on a serious note, training was given on a variety of cultural scenarios, protocols, customs and even waiata (song). One of the more valuable tools given to them was a basic understanding and ability in mihimihi (greeting). From this, it was a small but significant step toward developing a simple whaikōrero (formal speech format).
One of the highlights of the programme, for me, was the informal ‘assessment’ on the morning of the third day (departure day). The marae was set up to receive visitors and the scenario was that the group was coming onto the marae together. Each person would, in turn, stand and deliver the appropriate whaikōrero (speech), follow it up with an appropriate waiata (song), and lay a koha (gift). In other words, each person would do exactly what would be expected of them if they were leading a group onto any marae.
The tangata whenua side (host side) would include myself and several local Iwi kaumatua. This was as close to the real thing as they could expect to face one day – and they did beautifully well! The local Iwi were impressed but nobody was more astonished at what they were able to do than themselves. Gone were the nervous, culturally ‘green’ personnel that arrived two days earlier. In their place, stood proudly a confident, culturally aware, whaikōrero capable, collection of leaders. Nobody was prouder than I.
Our leaders left with a real understanding of what marae are all about – from the leadership role to that of the worker, from the realities of communal living (yes – even Group Captains snore!), to whānaungatanga (family values). They gained understanding and appreciation and took away some useful tools. It was an enriching, team-building exercise. They left very positive about the experience, and a part of each of them will always remain at Parewahawaha marae.
E ngā Rangatira, e ngā mana, e ngā toa o te Taua-a-Rangi o Aotearoa, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa!
To our chiefs, our esteemed leaders and to all our Air Force warriors, greetings, greetings, greetings to you all!