Awharenui ([ˈɸaɾɛnʉ.i]; literally "large house") is a communal house of theMāori people of New Zealand, generally situated as the focal point of amarae. Wharenui are usually calledmeeting houses inNew Zealand English, or simply calledwhare (a more generic term simply referring to any house or building).Also called awhare rūnanga ("meeting house") orwharewhakairo (literally "carved house"), the present style of wharenui originated in the early to middle nineteenth century.[1] The houses are often carved inside and out with stylised images of theiwi's (or tribe's) ancestors, with the style used for thecarvings varying from tribe to tribe. Modern meeting houses are built to regular building standards. Photographs of recent ancestors may be used as well as carvings. The houses always have names, sometimes the name of a famous ancestor or sometimes a figure fromMāori mythology. Some meeting houses are built at places that are not the location of a tribe, but where many Māori gather; typically, a school or tertiary institution with many Māori students.
Thewharenui is considered the realm of the peace deityRongo while the surroundingmarae is sacred ortapu being forTūmatauenga; entrance thus is often described as "climbing up" (piki oreke) instead of "arriving" (haere) inside it to discard trailingtapu.[2] While a meeting house is considered sacred, it is not a church or house of worship, but religious rituals may take place in front of or inside a meeting house. On most marae, no food may be taken into the meeting house; a special eating house (whare kai) is made separate of it.[3][2]
Wharenui have been built in New Zealand for hundreds of years continuing architectural traditions of other related Polynesian peoples. Fundamentally, all whare were built by building arch-like foundation made of wall posts tensed to rafters and the ridgepole which was supported by a central post underneath. This central post was seen as symbolic of forest godTāne pushing away his parentsRangi and Papa so that he and his siblings can escape.[4] Frame components were bound together by complex ropelashing techniques (mīmiro) adapted from localseamanship applying tensile forces while allowing for flexible shifting and relaxing during seismic activity, such techniques however became increasingly obsolete with the introduction of nails into part of the woodwork. Themīmiro was successfully tested of its resistance with an experimental model set up in Ōpeke nearWaioeka as a collaborative study between a research team headed by Prof. Anthony Hōete from theUniversity of Auckland School of Architecture and Planning with the local hapūNgāti Ira in 2023.[5]
By the 15th century, wharenui became more elaborately carved, and large enough that one or two central pou (posts) were needed to carry the weight of the structure.[6][2] In the 18th century during the voyages ofJames Cook, he and his crew sighted wharenui which were 10 metres in length, and entirely carved.[6] The introduction of steel tools by European settlers enabled the size and scale of wharenui to increase, and wharenui built from the 1840s onwards became the direct antecedents of the style and structure of modern wharenui.[6] Taiporohenui, constructed at Manawapou (near modern dayMokoia inSouth Taranaki) in the 1850s, was 27.6 metres long and 9.2 metres wide.[6] The size and scale of Taiporohenui symbolised the opposition of Māori to European settlement and colonisation of traditional lands.[6]Te Kooti oversaw the construction of three massive wharenui during theNew Zealand Wars. The first, Tanewhirinaki, which was completed in the late 1860s and located atWaioeka, was painted in black, pink and white. Construction of Te Whai-a-te-Motu atRuatāhuna began in 1870, and was eventually completed in 1888. The third, Te Tokanganui-a-Noho, was constructed atTe Kūiti in 1873, after Te Kooti retreated behind the border of theKing Country.[6] These wharenui were used for meetings, church services and accommodation.[6] After the construction of Te Tokanganui-a-Noho, very few wharenui were created for decades, and those which were built were simpler and uncarved.[6]
By the 1920s, marae and wharenui had become a symbol of Māori cultural identity, especially among people who were landless.[6]Āpirana Ngata was a proponent of reviving wharenui as a symbol of Māori identity and mana.[6]Waikato Tainui leaderTe Puea Hērangi was a large proponent of the re-development of marae in the country, leading to the construction of wharenui atTūrangawaewae inNgāruawāhia andTe Puea Memorial Marae, the first urban marae inAuckland.[7]
During the 19th and early 20th century, missionaries and Christians condemnedwhakairo depicting genitalia, and removed penises of ancestors from the carvings on wharenui. Opposition to carvings depicting genitalia ceased in the 1940s.[8]
The building often symbolises an ancestor of the wharenui's tribe. Different parts of the building represent body parts of the ancestor.[9]
Other important components include:[9]
Shoes are taken off before entering the wharenui, the floor is often covered with woven mats (whāriki).[2]
Themarae ātea is a very important open space directly in front of the wharenui, which is used to welcome visitors onto themarae and serves as an area on which to debate issues.[10]
Meeting houses are the centre of any cultural, business, or any affair which is relevant to theiwi as a whole.
