The Year 13 Bioethics class learn about Rongoā and its holistic healing abilities

Currently, the Year 13 Bioethics class is learning about different health approaches aimed at treating mental health disorders for their internal assessment. Students have investigated western scientific medicine (WSM) approaches such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and antidepressant medications as well as complementary alternative medicines (CAM) such as St. John’s Wort and craniosacral therapy.

Now, the class has started learning about a very unique medicinal approach that has been used for several hundred years: Māori rongoā. To fully understand and begin to appreciate rongoā, the class spent the day at Arai Te Uru marae. There, we were welcomed by Tania Sharee Williams (marae manager) with a beautiful pōwhiri. Monet and Grace acted as our karanga, allowing the class to approach and enter the marae as manuhiri. Tania taught us about the history of the marae before educating us about rongoā.

We walked through the community gardens and learned skills around observing nature as well as ourselves. Students reflected on the ways in which we can heal from our environment as well as by looking after it and thinking about future generations. We also learned about some native plants and their medicinal uses, such as kawakawa, which can be brewed as tea to heal digestive issues as well as infused in oils to use as a balm. Students were able to be actively involved in creating the balm, and took away some samples for personal use.

The class learned from Tania that rongoā is not just balms and medicines, but rather it is our relationships with ourselves, others and our environment. We were grateful for the opportunity to be fully immersed in the experience of rongoā so that we can better understand different methods of health approaches in Aotearoa.