Listen Now: 
Manurewa Marae wants whānau to swap their koha envelopes for eftpos cards to minimise contact post COVID-19.
It has installed a terminal to use paywave rather than paper.
Chair Rangi Mclean says the pandemic forced the marae to totally overhaul its thinking on health and safety.
The move to electronic koha has been criticised by Paraone Gloyne from Ngāti Raukawa, who says it loses the essence of koha, but Mr McLean says tikanga can change to suit the times.
"Our elders gave koha in the form of food for tangihanga particularly, and I have seen that happen when I was growing up on our marae back home in Tūhoe. As the years moved on it slowly moved into giving pūtea, giving money, and now I believe this is the next stage in developing this means of giving koha," he says.
!["p_facebook"]("/site/uma/images/story_img/facebook.jpg")
& !["p_twitter"]("/site/uma/images/story_img/twitter.jpg")
Copyright © 2020, UMA Broadcasting Ltd: www.waateanews.com
RELATED NEWS
