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.
