Site planning for marae

Abstract

Traditionally the word Marae meant the forecourt immediately in front of a Maori meeting house. This was, and still is, an open area of flat land which is important to the people of a tribe as a symbol of those community members who have died. It is a tapu (sacred) area and as such may not be crossed by visitors until respect has been paid to the tupuna (ancestors) of that community and the tapu has been lifted by words of welcome and the hariru (hand-shake). As important as the Marae space is, it could not exist without the buildings and houses around to contain it. Thus the concept, I e whakamahana he whakaminenga hei whakamahana, te marae; ( clustered together so that the Marae is warmed), has arisen. In this light it is appropriate that the word Marae has recently been extended to embrace the meeting house and all associated buildings so that now, when talking about a Marae one is referring to the entire Maori settlement. To those with strong tribal and traditional ties, the Marae symbolises all aspects of Maoritanga. It is the centre of gravity for spiritual and cultural reasons while the space in front of the meeting house which we will refer to as the 'Marae proper' has become the focal point of communal activities. In this paper I intend to explore traditional site planning factors of Maori communities, i.e: the Kainga (unfortified village). My purpose is to gain some knowledge of spiritual, cultural and social reasons for actual, physical site layout. By travelling back into the past I hope to identify traditionally important site planning factors and thus be able to discuss the present trends found in Marae redevelopment programmes with more sensitivity than would otherwise be possible.