KI MAI KOE HE AHA TE MEA NUI
HE TANGATA, HE TANGATA, HE TANGATA

A group of forty enthusiastic first-year student teachers from the Auckland Teachers College spent six days in mid-August as guests of Ngati Hangarau, the people of the Bethlehem Marae in Tauranga. The aim behind the visit was to give potential teachers the opportunity to meet our people at close quarters and to learn more about the Maori way of life.

For most of the students, it was a ‘first’ on a Marae, let alone sleep in one. The students heard invited speakers and held forums to discuss, among other things, Maori education, the influence of the Marae, culture, welfare, and regional ethnography.

The atmosphere of the visit is best summed up in the students own words:

Michelle: One of the highlights of the trip must surely be the trip to the summit of Mt Maunganui or Mauao with Mr Turi Te Kani. Admittedly, the prospect of dragging our weary bodies to the top was a forbidding thought, but after meeting our entertaining guide, the climb was fun. Pride in themselves is reflected in the heart of the Ngai-te-Rangi people in their saying:

“Ko Mauao te maunga
Ko Tauranga te moana
Ko Ngai-te-Rangi te iwi.”

Averill: On Saturday evening, we assembled in the wharenui to listen to three speakers on the subject of ‘The Role of the Maori Parent in New Zealand Society’. By this time we knew the routine and made ourselves comfortable with rugs, pillows and mattresses up against the carved poupous. This gave us the chance to converse with the local people in an informal atmosphere.

Susan: I find it hard to specify what the trip meant to me. Perhaps it is easier to view the whole experience and say that I have new understandings of the Maori people, their culture, and their tremendous hospitality. It reminds me that the most important thing in life is a human being — not a Maori, not a Pakeha, not a woman, not a man, but a human being.

Ki mai koe he aha te mea nui
He tangata, he tangata, he tangata!

Allan: The trip has given me greater confidence as a teacher. Although I realise that I have hardly scratched the surface of all things Maori, the trip has increased my

interest, bolstered my confidence, and hopefully, given the chance, will lead me to a still greater interest in what is part of my heritage as a New Zealander. I hope to be a better teacher because of this visit.

Ngati Hangarau — tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou.

Jenny: Somehow, leaning against the poupou at 1 a.m. watching a film about Maori carvings had much more meaning and inspiration than the setting of Room 13 back at College. Yes, there are differences between Pakehas and Maoris in similar situations such as the Marae.

Different priorities, a different approach to activities. What matters, the clothes we wear? That you have come is more important. Cost doesn't matter; if it is needed, get it. And why shouldn't children help too?

Glenn:

It
Succeeded and we
The visitors
Gave, but kept a rite
To return and yet to leave
To stay and go
To know we can return.