Kawea Te Rongopai

Afive to fourteen day immersion experience, Kawea Te Rongopai journeys across our tribal landscape and through our communities as we recall how the Gospel seed was first planted in our whenua, how it has been nurtured over time, and how tāngata whenua (the indigenous people of the land) have renegotiated their mātauranga (knowledge and ways of knowing) embracing “both continuity and change.”¹

Traversing maunga (mountains), awa (rivers), marae and kāenga (ancestral gathering places and communities), and whare karakia (places of worship), the Kawea Te Rongopai pilgrimage showcases the premiere examples of traditional carved churches and meeting houses in the country and immerses you in the stunning environment, culture and stories of Te Tairāwhiti in a safe and welcoming environment.

Experiences and learning include:

• Ongoing instruction in the importance of Whakapapa or a Maori practice and understanding of relationship to people and place
• Ongoing instruction in basic reo or Māori language, and tikanga or Māori customs
• An introduction to Māori pedagogy and mātauranga (knowledge systems)
• Experience of Pōwhiri or the rituals of encounter and engagement
• Learning and experiencing Māori Whaikōrero or oratory
• Learning and experiencing Māori Waiata and Taonga Pūoro or Music and Musical Instruments
• Experience of and instruction in toi whakairo, kōwhaiwhai, and tukutuku or Māori decorative arts
• An experience of the importance of Whakapono or faith to the Māori experience in Te Tairāwhiti
• An experience of our bi-cultural history and lessons in an indigenous framework for cross-cultural engagement that values and enhances mana (dignity, prestige, status, esteem, freedom, duty).