Te Rau Karamu marae is Massey students’ newest taonga

More than 400 people watched the morning light break the horizon over Massey University’s Pukeahu campus marae, Te Rau Karamu, and its wharenui, Te Whaioranga o Te Whaiao, for its dawn ceremony. The names were revealed at the 5:30am dawn ceremony on 27 March following a karakia.  

The opening of Te Rau Karamu and Te Whaioranga o Te Whaiao is a step in the direction of expanding kaupapa Māori for students, staff, whanau and the community alike.  

Massey Wellington’s Māori Student Association Kōkiri Ngātahi said, “words cannot fully express our gratitude towards having a safe space for all tauira to connect with their cultural identity and feel closer to their whakapapa on campus”.  

The opening ceremony of Te Rau Karamu offered tauira the chance to execute Māori tikanga and manaaki manuhiri throughout the day.  

Joseph Ngametuangaro, a Massey student of Ngāti Porou and Te Arawa descent, reiterates Kōkiri’s Ngātahi’s expression of gratitude and says he feels like Te Rau Karamu means he’s closer to his roots, home, and his tupuna. “It’s been four years since I’ve been a part of it and its now coming to a time where I can celebrate the opening of this beautiful marae that’s going to be called our home,” he said. 

Whetu Awatere, a Massey student of Te Arawa, Ngāti Porou and Te Atiawa descent, offers a different take on what Te Rau Karamu really means for students and in particular for Māori students.  “I wouldn’t use the word important, it would be more normalising,” he said.  

Awatere says the word important to describe the marae can be alienating, whereas Te Rau Karamu “brings a normalisation of who you are into this space and I guess to me, just being normal should be the forefront”. 

Massey University’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor Māori, Professor Meihana Durie, says the marae truly enriches the Massey experience.  He says the addition of Te Rau Karamu to the Pekeahu campus brings another opportunity for Māori students to “thrive and flourish”.  

“It is a marae for the future. We want our Māori students and prospective Māori students to know that this is a place where they can learn as Māori,” Durie said.  

Durie also acknowledges that the marae is a place for all students and staff to gain an “informed perspective on te ao Māori”, the Māori world view, through offering a new experience for many students who perhaps have never had the opportunity to come into a marae or whare, adding an “entirely new dimension” to the Massey experience on this campus. He hopes to see all students who study at Massey “leave with their kite full of rich experiences”. 

Te Rau Karamu will mostly be used for teaching and learning with a strong presence of kaupapa Māori. This new space will also facilitate gatherings of students, staff, community and iwi members for hui and wānanga, and includes an ātea, wharenui and wharekai.