MISSION STATEMENT & VALUES
Te Maru o Hinemihi (In the Embrace of Hinemihi) represents the interests of the Māori meeting house in Clandon Park, Hinemihi o te Ao Tawhito (‘Hinemihi of the Old World’). We are authorised by Tuhourangi, the Māori tribal authority upon whose landscape Hinemihi originated. Te Maru is a bridge between the National Trust and Tuhourangi and advocates for the recognition of Māori values in decision-making around the conservation and use of Hinemihi. Our advisory group has expertise in the following areas: Māoritanga, anthropology, architecture, archaeology and theology. The Māori values that define Te Maru's role are:
1. Kaitiakitanga (Guardianship)
2. Manaakitanga (Hospitality)
3. Mātauranga (Knowledge)
1. Kaitiakitanga (Guardianship)
2. Manaakitanga (Hospitality)
3. Mātauranga (Knowledge)
A Māori space in a British Place
The Hinemihi project is an integrated heritage vision to develop the Hinemihi marae at Clandon Park as a living space for Maori cultural practice. At the heart of the Hinemihi marae is a place of welcome, in which visitors are able to encounter a Māori world. This welcome is evident in the openness that Hinemihi offers to diverse groups of people, which is the most resilient element of the on-going project to care for her.
The intercultural navigation that takes place on the Hinemihi marae provides open and inclusive opportunities for peoples of all cultures to engage with Māori culture. The Hinemihi marae is a place where people can come together to explore difference, a safe space to experience another’s cultural world, whilst reflecting on one's own cultural identity. Such cultural engagement is essential in a multicultural Britain seeking to understand itself.
We aim to ensure that the Hinemihi marae is able to support and care for people at Clandon as a centre for peoples of all cultures to engage with a Māori & Polynesian world. The Hinemihi marae comprises:
- Hinemihi, whare tupuna (ancestral meeting house)
- Hinewai (Hinemihi’s daughter), whare manaaki (kitchen /toilets/showers)
- Rangipare (Hinemihi’s sister), wharau (dining/performance space)