Maori
heritage can be described as nga taonga tuku iho no nga tupuna = treasures
handed down by our ancestors.
It comprises a wide range of different
places and items from the physical and tangible to the natural environment and
the intangible. For the purposes of the Historic Places Trust’s responsibilities,
cultural heritage excludes te reo, performing arts, most portable taonga, radio
waves, etc.
Maori heritage can be divided into the physical/tangible, natural
and intangible.
E toru nga wahanga, ara ko nga taonga a tinana, nga
taonga o te taiao me nga taonga wairua.
Papawai
marae
The physical/tangible heritage places
can be described as those land-based places created, formed or shaped by earlier
inhabitants. These can be archaeological sites
(eg burials, pa, pits, terraces, oven stones, midden, stone/rock structures, rock-art,
house sites, etc) or Maori built heritage places such as marae buildings, including
their contents (eg carvings, artworks, photographs, etc) and structures (eg flagpoles,
gateways, etc).
Ko enei nga nohonga me nga tohu i hanga i nga tupuna.
Natural
heritage places may be natural features associated with traditional activities
(eg springs, trees, swamp, caves, etc) or a tribal landmark (eg mountain, river,
lands, sea/lake, village, etc) where no human activity is evident.
Ko
enei nga ahua o Ranginui raua ko Papatuanuku me a raua tamariki.
The
intangible heritage places are those places that have intangible characteristics
where no visible feature or evidence is present but where a significant event
or traditional activity took place (eg battlefield, places of meeting, of learning,
of ritual, fishing ground, taniwha den, etc)
Ko enei nga wahi o nga tupuna
hei tiaki i te mauri o nga wahi tupuna, me nga wahi mahi o nga tupuna.
All
or any of the above cultural heritage places may also be considered to be wahi
tapu, traditional sites, wahi taonga, or others depending on the Iwi,Hapu or Whanau concerned.
Ma te Iwi, Hapu, Whanau ranei
i tapaina, i whakarite hoki i nga wahi tuku iho katoa.
Ko
Te Whare Whinare o Puari: The Maori Anglican Church at Puari
The
recent registration of the site of the whare karakia (church) at the kainga of
Puari at Port Levy on Banks Peninsula, by the Historic Places Trust, is one of
the first registrations in Canterbury under the new regional structure of the
Trust. The registration marks a site of significance to the local hapu and will
promote a wider understanding of the region's Maori past.
