Template talk:Infobox marae

Feedback and suggestions for improvement

@Cloventt, thanks for creating this template! My initial thoughts:

No need to italicise the labels for Wharenui, Whakekai, Rūnanga, Iwi, etc, as they are words in New Zealand English.
You could consider linking the labels to the appropriate WP pages.
Add other parameters, such as "Type" (e.g. tribal, pan-tribal, institutional, ... ); "Master carver" or "Tohunga whakairo"; "Architect(s)" and / or "Architecture firm".

Paora (talk) 03:11, 11 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I hadn't seen Paora's suggestions at the time, but I had the same idea as their 2nd suggestion & took the liberty of trying it – it worked, so hope that is acceptable, Cloventt. Nurg (talk) 03:36, 11 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]

The type parameter currently refers to whether it is a marae, a pā, etc. Would something like governance make sense for this?

Would the "Tohunga whakairo" field be relevant to each specific building? For example, some marae have had different tohunga whakairo for each building. For example, the wharekai is sometimes built a long time after the wharenui, and can end up with different carvers. David Palmer//cloventt ^(talk) 08:57, 11 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@Cloventt. Perhaps the current "Type" parameter could be renamed "Class", and then "Type" used as I suggested previously; I don't think "Governance" particularly works in this context. The "Rūnanga" parameter could be broadened and renamed as "Governance" and be able to be relabelled alternatively as "Rūnanga", "Institution", "Urban authority" , etc, when the marae is under the purview of a university, urban authority, or other body.

Typically, most wharekai are not carved, the main exception being a few of the Ngata-era wharekai on the East Coast, but if there were more different master carvers for different buildings, then the building could be added parenthetically after the carver's name. Similarly if different architects / firms designed different parts of the complex.

Would be good to add "Master weaver" or "Tohunga raranga" parameter for the lead weaver / designer of the tukutuku panels. Paora (talk) 09:52, 12 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I'm curious to know what the kawa is - as a ngā hau e whā marae the mana whenua kawa might not apply - so this could be a section in the template? (eg. Wainuiomata Marae in Wellington I believe is a Ngāti Porou kawa) Pakoire (talk) 03:55, 11 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, kawa could be added. Broadly, this would refer to the order of speakers and be either pāeke (all the speakers from the hau kāinga speak first) or tū mai, tū atu (also called tau utuutu; speakers alternate between hau kāinga and manuhiri). It would be good to add a section describing the two main kawa on the Pōwhiri page, and link from the infobox to that. Paora (talk) 05:38, 11 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Kia ora, these are excellent suggestions. Do you have any good sources you can recommend on these aspects of tikanga? David Palmer//cloventt ^(talk) 08:54, 11 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@Cloventt. Books like Te Ao Hurihuri edited by Michael King, Te Marae and Te Kawa o te Marae by Hiwi Tauroa, or Te Kawa o Te Marae by Wena Harawira are probably a good place to look, and go into varying levels of detail. Otherwise, try Te kawa o te marae on Te Ara. Paora (talk) 10:10, 12 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]