Time and money biggest hurdles to visiting marae

5 February 2015

Time, distance, and cost are the main reasons Māori don’t go to their ancestral marae more often, a Statistics New Zealand/Tatauranga Aotearoa infographic released today shows.

Ngā huarahi ki te marae: Māori connecting to their ancestral marae shows that most Māori who know their ancestral marae want to go there more often than they do.

“The infographic shows that cost, distance, and lack of time top the list of reasons for not visiting marae more often,” household statistics manager Diane Ramsay said. “These were the reasons most commonly given, regardless of whether people had visited their marae recently or had never been there at all.”

The graphic also highlights that a lack of te reo or cultural knowledge, and feeling out of place were significant barriers for some Māori. Those who had never been to their marae were more than twice as likely as those who had, to report these as reasons they didn’t go.

“This infographic will give some insight into the varied reasons why Māori are unable to go to their marae as often as they might want to,” Ms Ramsay said. “We hope this will help iwi, hapū, and whānau support people on their journeys to their marae.”

Ngā huarahi ki te marae: Māori connecting to their ancestral marae uses information collected in the Te Kupenga 2013 survey of Māori well-being.

Statistics New Zealand/Tatauranga Aotearoa this year marks 175 years of the Treaty of Waitangi (Te Tiriti o Waitangi) with this infographic and other information about Māori and New Zealand nationhood.

See Te Kupenga for more results.

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