Marae hospitality for Army cadets

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 6, Issue 240, 19 April 1988, Page 10

Marae hospitality for Army cadets

A year in the life of Officer Cadets Janet Hunt, Tim Dunwoodie, Brett Rankin, John Ivil and Ahmad Azahar. Two weeks of 'roughing it' on exercise Sabre Sting was more than enough time for the officer cadets to begin to appreciate human comforts. Recently the cadets were the special guests of the Waiouru Marae and enjoyed two days in the lap of luxury.

"On Saturday April 9 the junior clasS of OCS were introduced to the Maori culture on the marae and Maori protocol. "After being welcomed on to the marae which in itself was new experience for most of the class we were immediately treated with warmth and shown i much hospitality. "The rest of the day was spent in a relaxed manner giving an insight into Maori protocol on the Marae. "This covered the whole of being welcomed onto the Marae including being given a demonstration on the

tiha. The night was spent reinforcing those ideas introduced during the day. We finished off with much of the evening spent with everyone singing. Not only English and Maori songs but songs of the countries of our foreign students, namely Australia, Malaysian and Brunei. "Sunday was the day many of the Officei Cadets were introduced to Maori cooking i.e, the hangi. "After this it was baci to OCS and back intc it. It was a very successful and informative weekend in which al

Officer Cadets learnt and enjoyed gaining an insight into the Maori Culture on the Marae." OCdt Rankin "The Marae visit was ; great. Now that I have ) said that much, I suppose I should really ; explain why. 1 "The welcome onto

the Marae was a new experience and welcome in itself. The visit wasn't exactly leave, but it was a break and it wasn't OCS. A welcome to Marae time, glide time. "After the welcome, the onslaught of food started. For all the time that we spent at the

Marae, there was an endless supply of the most amazing home baked food. "We all felt guilty about the absence of exercise along with the food. Along this line, the hangi on our last day was, well, I have never tasted better and that goes for the apple pie that followed. I also feel that I must mention the perfect porridge we had for breakfast that morning. "On a more serious note, I, as we all did, learnt a lot about customs this weekend, and I ara sure that at some stage I will have the

opportunity to utilise what I learned. "I am grateful that I was able to indulge on this experience. Wfiat really 'made' the weekend, was the hospitality of the people on the Marae. Not only the people that we saw, but all the others that we didn't see. For complete strangers to take us in and treat us like family was gratifying. "Having just been on leave and feeling a little homesick for friends and family was a little difficult, but then relaxing with another 'family' this weekend made you feel a lot better.

"The visit was very much a privilege for all of us. The Marae visit was great." OCdt J.D. Hunt "We arrived at the Marae and were formally greeted by a traditional Maori welcome. "This involved speeches from both the Maori elders and several of the visitors. "During the time on the Marae we learned about the dos and don'ts involved in Maori protocol. This included the things that were and weren't done and also the tradition behind it. "One of the traditions

was serving fantastic food to the visitors. The home made meals

were delicious and there was no shortage of it. • The highlight of meals

was the hangi on the Sunday lunchtime. "The visiKwas very

enjoyable and very educational. It was enjoyed by all." OCdt TA. Dunwoodie