Ngati Kapo have their marae

Tu Tangata, Issue 22, 1 February 1985, Page 20

Ngati Kapo have their marae

S. A ark Tibbie started going blind \ / at age twelve through sickV ness but it was in his teenage years that he had to give up his job as a shop assistant because of the deterioration in his eyesight.

He left his home area of Turanga-nui and went to Auckland Hospital to work there. He’s now a social worker for the Foundation for the Blind and has been instrumental in establishing a marae in the Parnell grounds of the Foundation.

Talking to Mark, a person gets the feeling of direction and purpose. He makes it his business to get around just as much as a sighted person. Indeed this interview was carried out at the Maori Economic Summit whilst keeping half an ear cocked to speeches taking place in the legislative chamber of Parliament.

Tall and bearded, Mark Tibbie stands out in the crowd and this is backed up by his drive and determination to have visually handicapped Maoris recognised by society. “We want to get rid of being institutionalised, I want to talk to Maori groups to let them know we exist.”

Mark says the aim of establishing a marae for blind Maori people was to have a base for cultural support. He says eleven per cent of Foundation of the Blind members are Maori with the majority in Auckland. Schools for the blind like Homai, don’t cater for the cultural aspects of a people, says Mark, and so Maoris miss out on a large part of normal living.

“Because Maori culture is very visual, in a lot of ways that excludes me.” Already Maori people who are blind are coming together to learn about their culture on the Ngati Kapo marae in Parnell.

Mark says the rakau method of learning Maori language is particularly effective for the group, as is the use of tapes for song and language instruction. Mark also has plans for Tu Tangata magazine articles to be put on tape so that the wider Maori world can be brought home to Ngati Kapo.

Since establishing the marae, Mark says there’s been good feedback from the Maori community and he’ll keep on spreading the message.