marae

plural maraes · alternative marai · alternative morai

1. New ZealandThe courtyard of a Maori wharenui or meeting-house, seen as a cultural and spiritual focal point.First known use 19th c.
2. broadlyThe buildings and people around it; a spiritual or cultural centre.
3. datedA Polynesian sacred altar or enclosure.First known use 18th c.

   The path ended down by the sea at a crumbling ‘ingot’ of black coral, twenty yards in length & in height two men. ‘A marae, this is called,’ Mr Wagstaff informed me. ‘All over the South Seas you see ’em, I’m told.’

   2004, David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas, London: Sceptre (Hodder and Stoughton), →ISBN