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Maori heritage ‘taonga’“All of the works on show are taonga and are still important to Maori people today.” ‘Taonga’ are heirlooms, passed down from generation to generation, gaining more prestige with each new owner. They are also a living link to the ancestors. Many types of ‘taonga’ are found in meeting houses. These carved houses and the meeting spaces in front of them, called ‘marae’, are centres of Maori community life. The house itself symbolises an important local ancestor.
“Hoki atu ke te tapuwae parekura
(“Who we are is what Symbolically, the ‘pare’ is the most important carving in a meeting house as it guards the threshold between two worlds. Outside is the ‘marae atea’, the open space where debates take place, sometimes with hostility. Inside is the peaceful, calm, family space. In this section
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