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2. Te Puāwai o Te Arawa - A storehouse

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Buildings like this one were used to store a tribe’s most treasured possessions – pounamu which is a special stone, jewellery, weapons, cloaks, as well as tools, fishing gear, food, and clothes.

You could tell how wealthy a tribe was by what was in their pātaka.

Take a look at the doorway – do you think you could you get through it? Only people with permission could go inside – small strong boys were chosen. If you were selected you were very special.

Now look just above the doorway – can you see the large figure standing guard? His name is Tamatekapua and he is a very important person who is related to the tribe who own this pātaka. What colour is his moko or tattoo?

Pātaka have names too and this one is called Te Puāwai o Te Arawa – the flower of the Te Arawa tribe.

Make your way up the ramp to the left of Te Puāwai. At the top of the ramp, look for stop 3 on your left. You should be standing in front of three wooden puppets called karetao.

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