Editing Marae (section)

{{Short description|Communal or sacred place in Polynesian societies}}
{{for|the current-affairs television series|Marae (TV series){{!}}''Marae'' (TV series)}}
[[Image:Marae, Raiatea 2.jpg|thumb|300px|{{lang|ty|[[Taputapuatea marae|Taputapuātea]]}}, an ancient marae constructed of stone on {{lang|ty|[[Raiatea|Ra'iātea]]}} in the [[Society Islands]] of [[French Polynesia]], restored in 1994]]

A '''''{{lang|mi|marae}}''''' (in [[Māori language|New Zealand Māori]], [[Cook Islands Māori]], [[Tahitian language|Tahitian]]), '''''{{lang|to|mala{{okina}}e}}''''' (in [[Tongan language|Tongan]]), '''''{{lang|mrq|me{{okina}}ae}}''''' (in [[Marquesan language|Marquesan]]) or '''''{{lang|sm|malae}}''''' (in [[Samoan language|Samoan]]) is a communal or sacred place that serves religious and social purposes in [[Polynesian culture|Polynesian]] societies. In all these languages, the term also means cleared and free of weeds or trees. {{Lang|mi|Marae|italic=no}} generally consist of an area of cleared land roughly rectangular (the {{Lang|mi|marae|italic=no}} itself), bordered with stones or wooden posts (called ''{{lang|ty|au}}'' in Tahitian and Cook Islands Māori) perhaps with ''{{lang|mi|paepae}}'' (terraces) which were traditionally used for ceremonial purposes; and in some cases, such as [[Easter Island]], a central stone ''{{lang|rap|[[Easter Island#Ahu (stone platforms)|ahu]]}}'' or ''a'u'' is placed. In the Easter Island [[Rapa Nui people|Rapa Nui]] culture, the term ''ahu'' or ''a'u'' has become a synonym for the whole marae complex.

In some modern Polynesian societies, notably that of the [[Māori people|Māori]] of [[New Zealand]], the marae is still a vital part of everyday life. In tropical Polynesia, most marae were destroyed or abandoned with the arrival of [[Christianity]] in the 19th century, and some have become attractions for tourists or archaeologists. Nevertheless, the place where these marae were built are still considered ''{{lang|mi|[[tapu (Polynesian culture)|tapu]]}}'' (sacred) in most of these cultures.

As is usual with Māori nouns, the same word serves as the singular and plural of ''marae''.