OMAKA MARAE:
Year Nine Visit
Tuesday 2nd December: BAC STN SIH
Wednesday 3rd December: MAR REE MOD CTJ
Instructions:
Schedule for the day:
8:45
Meet at bus bay and sign in with your teacher
9:00
Bus leaves
9:30
Arrive at Omaka Marae
9:45
Pōwhiri
By the end of this field trip you will have
completed:
□
A reflection on your experience
of a pōwhiri
□
A detailed map of the wharenui,
inside and out, explaining
features of importance
□
A list of rules / tikanga that must
be followed at Omaka Marae
□
8 learning stations
10:30 Explanation of the marae and tikanga
11:00 Morning Tea & Reflection on powhiri
11:20 Learning Stations x 4 (30 minutes each)
1:00
Lunch
1:20
Learning Stations x 2 (30 minutes each)
2:20
Reflections on your day
□
sung a waiata
2:30
Clean up
□
collected all passport stamps
2:50
On bus and roll check
□
helped tidy the marae
3:10
Back at school
You will also have:
1 |Y e a r 9 I n t e g r a t e d S t u d i e s B o o k l e t
Passport Stamp:
Activity One:
REFLECTION ON MY POWHIRI EXPERIENCE
What did you see? ___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
What did you hear?___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
How did you feel? ____________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
What did you expect? ________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
What surprised you? __________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
What took you out of your comfort zone? _________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
What did you learn?__________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
List the order of events in the pōwhiri and what you saw people doing
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
2 |Y e a r 9 I n t e g r a t e d S t u d i e s B o o k l e t
Passport Stamp:
Activity Two:
FEATURES OF SIGNIFICANCE
Below are some photos of Omaka. Listen to the tangata whenua talk about features that
are significant to them. Label the relevant pictures with information you have learnt.
3 |Y e a r 9 I n t e g r a t e d S t u d i e s B o o k l e t
Passport Stamp:
Activity Three:
TIKANGA AT THE MARAE
Every marae has protocols and rules that you must follow while you are there. Listen to the tangata
whenua and write down the rules that you are to follow while you are at Omaka. Present it as a
poster on this page:
YOU MUST:
(Me pēhea)
DON’T:
(Kaua)
4 |Y e a r 9 I n t e g r a t e d S t u d i e s B o o k l e t
Passport Stamp:
Learning Station One:
HARAKEKE
The harakeke (flax) plant represents the whānau (family) in Māori thought. The rito (shoot)
is the child. It is protectively surrounded by the awhi rito (parents). The outside leaves
represent the tūpuna (grandparents and ancestors).
Reflection: If the harakeke represents family, how should the shoots be cut when needed for
things like weaving?
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
Draw up the layout of the marae and mark out where the
harakeke are found:
Go into the wharenui and find an example of panel
weaving. Draw the pattern here:
5 |Y e a r 9 I n t e g r a t e d S t u d i e s B o o k l e t
Passport Stamp:
Learning Station Two:
POI MAKING
This is a simple easy to make Maori practice Poi.
You will require :




Newspaper
Colour paper / fabric & plastic bags,
String/Cord
Scissors
Step 1: The cords should be about 800mm long, so you can also tie around the paper ball.
Step 2: You can if you wish plait different coloured wool together to make a nicer looking Poi
cord.
Step 3: Push the newspaper into a ball (or use tennis ball) and tie one end of the cord around the
ball.
Step 4: Cut the coloured paper into a square about 400mm x 400mm.
Step 5: Place the ball in the middle of the paper and gather the material over the ball.
Step 6: Cut another piece of cord to tie the opening in the material up.
Step 7: You can also add a layer of plastic over the Bag Poi and tie as before. This will make
them last longer when used outside.
Step 8: Trim the gathered paper with the scissors.
Step 9: Tie loops or knots in the ends of the cord to hold onto as handles.
Step 10: Make another one and you have your first set of Poi.
This is a very basic bag Poi. You can easily add to and decorate as you wish.
6 |Y e a r 9 I n t e g r a t e d S t u d i e s B o o k l e t
Passport Stamp:
Learning Station Three:
LEARN A BASIC POI DANCE
Whakapapa of the poi:
Flax was started with creation, which was made into bags to carry a moa egg.
These bags are called kii. These carrying bags called kii were later used by our fighting warriors in
training. The method was to put a large stone in the kii bag and swing this around to make the arms
and wrists supple and strong and to test reactions. The kii bags made of flax had short ropes but
when the warriors and boys trained with them they would put on extra lengths of rope.
There is a Maori game which is not much known today which uses just the kii bag so it is like a ball.
This ball is called a kii. We use light stuffing inside of it, feathers or wool or clothing even. Long ago
the stuffing would have been dog fur or feathers or plant fibres. When the moa birds died out the
original kii bags were not needed because no other bird in our country has such a big egg. The kii
were just used in our game and in training and the trainer kii became known as kiitoa or today as
poitoa.
Much later the kiitoa became POI that are seen much today. The POI dance was originally used by
the Maori women for keeping their hands flexible for weaving and by the men for strength and
coordination required during battle. POI are also used as a training aid for other ancient weapons like
the Mere or Patu (Short club)
NOW THAT YOU KNOW A BIT OF HISTORY, YOU ARE GOING TO LEARN A BASIC DANCE
FROM SOME OF THE SENIORS:
Write a reflection about your experience learning a poi dance – what was easy / difficult? What does the dance
mean? Do the actions have meaning? Can you see how the actions would help you in weaving and / or in battle?
7 |Y e a r 9 I n t e g r a t e d S t u d i e s B o o k l e t
Passport stamp:
Learning Station Four:
MYTHS
Listen to the myth Te Ika A Maui. What does it explain about New Zealand?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
Label the parts of Aotearoa with their representations in the myth and then write a
summary of the story:
8 |Y e a r 9 I n t e g r a t e d S t u d i e s B o o k l e t
Learning Station Five:
Passport stamp:
PEPEHA
The pepeha is the way you introduce yourself in Māori. Write out your information and say it to
your group – you can record yourself doing this if you wish
9 |Y e a r 9 I n t e g r a t e d S t u d i e s B o o k l e t
Passport Stamp:
Learning Station Six:
COLLECTING IMAGES AND
INFORMATION FOR YOUR
BROCHURE
You have 30 minutes to collect photos sketch maps and collect information to help you with your
brochure. In the grid below, make a note of the images you take and how you think you can use
them.
10 |Y e a r 9 I n t e g r a t e d S t u d i e s B o o k l e t
Passport Stamp:
Final Activity:
Write a reflection on your day spent at Omaka Marae. What have you learnt? What did you enjoy
the most? What was a challenge? Do you feel that you know a little more about Te Ao Maori?
What are you most proud of doing today? Is there anything that you now want to learn more about?