Building a Wharenui

By Dougal Austin

Comprehension Questions

• Who do the speakers greet when welcoming people onto the Marae?�
• What do they mean when they say that wharenui represents an ancestor? (Include all of the parts described in the book)�
• What are the Iwi considered to be on the inside of the Marae?�
• Wharenui were built by traditional methods and were very strong considering they didn’t use what?

Comprehension Questions

• Work on the whakairo usually started how many years before the building began work?�
• What is whakairo?�
• What tools did Maori use to shape the trunk of the trees?�
• The whakairo, tukutuku panels and the kowhaiwhai designs recorded what?�
• What is whakapapa?

Comprehension Questions

• There is a lot of what in a wharenui? (hint it has to do with symmetry)�
• When European settlers Maori stopped using cravings at what? They used them for something else instead?�
• Using new building materials help to protect what?�
• Why do you think it is important to have the carvings in a Wharenui? What do they tell us?

Putting up the structure

Read pages 14-15 and write the important steps in how the structure of the Wharenui was created. This should be at least two sentences. Include how many people it took and what order it occurred in.

What are the Maori words for the following?

• Ridge Pole -
• Rafters -
• Ridgepole support post -
• Wall posts -
• People -
• Call of welcome -
• The woman who performs the call of welcome -
• Make formal speeches -
• Genealogy -