Lynne Toomey shares her experience of pōwhiri which has deepened her understanding of the power of manaakitanga-hospitality for community building.

Nāku te rourou, naū te rourou, ka ora ai te iwi e!
With my basket, with your basket, the people will thrive!

I was overwhelmed by the power and beauty of the waiata as I stood in support of the Muslim community outside the Al Huda Mosque in Dunedin on St Patrick’s Day. The singing was led by whānau from the Araiteuru Marae, an urban marae in the heart of Dunedin. Even though I didn’t understand all the words, the waiata was comforting amid the anguish and pain following the massacre of Muslim people at prayer in Christchuch two days earlier. I felt the presence of the God of Love through the music and witness of the people. The leadership of the Māori people — singing “Yes” to aroha and community — is something I will never forget.

Nor will I forget the grief-filled faces of the Muslim people standing outside the mosque, looking out to those standing and singing in the street. How ironic that the fence in front of the mosque, filled with flowers and messages, served not as an obstacle between us but as a space where we faced each other and saw each other. Tangata whenua and other Dunedin residents were on the street and the Muslim community heading to prayer stopped to turn, face and listen to us gathered to support them. The bonds of humanity linked us across cultures and religions.

Pōwhiri as Encounter

I feel this same enriching sense of encounter and community when I participate in the pōwhiri at the Araiteuru Marae. From the first karanga of welcome onto the marae, then sitting in the wharenui — with tangata whenua and manuhiri (visitors) facing each other across the room, we listen to each other, sing and learn from each other. We encounter each other in that sacred space. There is something about looking at each other, face to face, across the physical space that seemingly divides us but actually draws us close, that is powerful.

After the pōwhiri, the opportunity to share food and fun cements our building of new relationship and community.

Local Community Welcome

When Dunedin became a refugee resettlement centre in 2016 it heightened our awareness of the importance of being a welcoming community. While the City Council and mana whenua provided a much-appreciated formal welcome to former refugees coming to live in Dunedin, we also realised that as a local community we needed to create opportunities for meeting up with former refugees and other migrants to get to know one another and have fun together. How can we understand one another without ever meeting? How can we overcome prejudice if we never encounter difference?

Last year the Manaakitanga Community Engagement Pōwhiri project was born through the leadership of Tania Williams at Araiteuru Marae, Paul Gourlie of the Dunedin Multi Ethnic Council (DMEC) and Steve King from the Red Cross. The project involves people with connections to the Marae, DMEC, Red Cross, Otago Muslim Association, Dunedin Churches Welcome Refugees, the Dunedin Refugee Support Group and others. The Dunedin City Council funded the pilot project and a group of volunteers, many from churches, were trained in the understanding and practice of manaakitanga so they could participate in welcoming newcomers onto the marae.

The project brings former refugees, migrants, newcomers and other Dunedin people together through the experience of pōwhiri — a uniquely New Zealand welcome. It shows people that they are welcome in this place and are part of our community. It emphasises that this place is for all of us.

Manaakitanga Practised

The feedback from the pōwhiri experience has been overwhelmingly positive. The mystery of connection and encounter is expressed by one of the participants: "something touched me."

The kaupapa of the Dunedin project is about manaakitanga, the all-encompassing sense of welcome, care, encounter and relationship. Coupled with this is the shared view that we are all God’s children. In all our ethnic, religious and cultural diversity we are united in our shared humanity. We are linked to the land, the people who have gone before us and creation itself.

Feeling at Home in Aotearoa

When I became involved in the p ōwhiri project last year, I had no idea what the experience would mean for me. It has opened my mind to learning to see and do things differently. Above all, it's opened me to recognise the presence of the universal Spirit of God working among us all in these occasions of welcome.

I came to New Zealand as a child, nearly 60 years ago. Until last year I had never been welcomed onto a marae, by way of a pōwhiri. I've reflected on what difference it has made for me.

In a mysterious way it has affirmed my identity as a New Zealander. I have always felt earthed in New Zealand — now that has been validated. Tangata whenua have confirmed that this place is also my place and I am welcome here. I am grateful for that.

But with that right and honour of belonging comes responsibility. The challenge for New Zealanders is to be builders of community, reconcilation, hope and right relationships.

"This place is for all of us." Said on the marae, these words have special meaning. Māori have been marginalised, had their land confiscated and suffered racism in their own land. Yet now, Māori are at the forefront of offering welcome and hospitality to others. Māori spirituality, guardianship of the environment, language and communal way of life have been denigrated. Yet now, Māori lead the way in offering healing and support to others. This is humbling.

My hope, with the pōwhiri project, is that I will learn to welcome others onto the marae so they will feel part of our local community. And also that I will listen and learn to welcome the richness and wisdom of the Māori worldview into my life.

I have a lot to learn and I am grateful for the opportunity to begin.

Tui Motu Magazine. Issue 238 June 2019: 8-9