Marae

A marae, malaʻe, meʻae or malae is a communal or sacred place that serves religious and social purposes in Polynesian societies. In all these languages, the term also means cleared and free of weeds or trees. Marae generally consist of an area of cleared land, roughly rectangular, bordered with stones or wooden posts, and perhaps with paepae (terraces) which were traditionally used for ceremonial... (Wikipedia)