Bayden Barber: Marae valuable in good times and bad

Bayden Barber.

With the devastation caused by last Monday morning's earthquake continuing to affect thousands, one of a number of heartening stories of humanity and compassion is of the local marae in Kaikoura accommodating and feeding hundreds of tourists and locals over the past few days.

Takahanga Marae has become a civil defence and relief centre as the community copes with the after-effects of the 7.8 quake. The ability of marae to manaaki tangata (care and look after people) is something they have done since their establishment.

How guests are treated has always correlated to the mana or reputation of a marae and iwi, so the fact that Takahanga marae gave hundreds of stranded people a huge feed of crayfish is bound to be talked about for decades to come! I guess they are living up to the reputation of the name Kaikoura (kai - eat/food, koura - crayfish).

There have been other recent examples of marae filling in community gaps such as Te Puea marae supporting numerous families during the emergency housing crisis in Auckland. Again the values of manaaki tangata were highly evident.

However, marae are not without their challenges. There are around 90 marae in the Ngati Kahungunu area. Some of these marae are an 'ode to yesteryear' and struggle to maintain dilapidating facilities and uphold traditional practices. Since the 50s many Maori families have been moving to towns and cities for work with infrequent visits back to their marae.

This leaves the job of keeping up the marae to those few remaining nearby and those few who travel back regularly to support. Treaty settlements will help alleviate the pressure of this work with financial investment back into marae. Other iwi organisations have also been working to build marae capacity over the years.

The Hastings District Council has been active in this space with its Marae Whakaute project, which brings together a number of funders to support marae maintenance projects. The impetus for this project is readiness for Te Matatini Festival in early 2017 where marae will host and cater for the top 48 kapahaka groups in New Zealand and their tens of thousands of supporters and spectators.

The fact is that marae are a valuable resource, not only for Maori but also for the wider community as we have seen in Kaikoura.

As such we need to support these community facilities and recognise their value to society, and not just in times of crisis.

My marae celebrated the wedding of one of our young leaders on Saturday with around 400 guests attending.

And yes, crayfish was on the menu.

Bayden Barber is a Hastings District Councillor and was Chair of Waimarama Marae for the past 6 years.