default-output-block.skip-main
Regional | Māori

Visitors to wildlife sanctuary to learn about rongoā Māori

Jade Waelford, a Māori artist and healer, is giving visitors to the Pūkaha National Wildlife Centre an opportunity to journey through the forest and learn first hand about rongoā Māori.

Te Hikoi o Pūkaha tour is a newly established tour located in the Wairarapa region that allows visitors to step into the Māori realm for the day to gain an insight into the world of rongoā Māori.

"On this tour here at Pūkaha, we will explore the leaves, who you are. We will converse with the trees and we sit and hear and listen to the sound of the forest," Waelford says.

Waelford describes rongoā Māori as a healing regime that descends from the Māori gods.

"This is the genealogy from the Māori gods, from Rongo and Tāne Mahuta. There's a spiritual healing side and the other side of healing is the things you can hear from your body."

She also says it is a way to see and really appreciate the gift of nature.

"The main purpose of this is to connect to the forest and to open up the world of the great forest of Tāne to people because in this day and age people are here, there and everywhere with their families, at work and everyone is busy and the trees in the forest are being abandoned."

Exploring the depth of rongoā Māori and the forest can be a way to centre people and bring them back to their core.

"The right path to follow is the Māori path. You need to know who you are, who we are as Māori living in today's society because these worlds are very different from one another."

Waelford says Māori need to get back amongst nature.

"For us Māori, we need to go back home, go back to the forest, go back to the ocean and purify yourself."

She hopes that rongoā Māori will continue to grow in popularity in New Zealand.