A Taranaki Billboard

The First Thing I Saw

When I Drove into New Plymouth a Few Days Ago

A Portrait - 11

Learning Te Reo Maori

At Home in Christchurch

2009, Ajr

Meet the People - 28

Another in the Series Meet the People - Contemporary Maori Doing Ordinary and Extraordinary Things - Corban Te Aika (Ngai Tahu/Ngai Tuahuriri) is confident te reo Maori (Maori language) has changed his life. Taking a break from his duties as a tutor in Te Reo Maori and Maori Indigenous Studies at Canterbury University, he talks about the power of language immersion and the benefits of attending language programmes and workshops run by Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu.

"My learning te reo was driven by a desire to learn more about myself, my heritage, my culture. My father is Maori but we never spoke te reo at home. For me, studying for my BA in te reo Maori and Political Science was a natural progression after my introduction to Maori language at high school. I haven't even graduated from university yet and it's already given me lots of opportunities," he says.

Corban, 19, has been attending Ngai Tahu's Kotahi Mano Kaika language workshop, Ka Pari Karakaraka for the last six years - six times in all - and he speaks highly of the positive impact they have had on his linguistic abilities. "The wanaka give you an opportunity to totally immerse yourself in all things te reo and Maori. I've found that a huge benefit. They put you in an environment where you are expected to speak te reo yet at the same time, it's a caring and encouraging environment where it's okay to make mistakes."

"Te reo Maori is in danger but Ngai Tahu's 25-year language strategy, driven by the vision of having te reo o Ngai Tahu spoken in 1,000 Ngai Tahu homes by 2025, is a terrific approach. It takes one generation to lose a language and three to get it back. I'm from the second generation of new learners and while we have a long way to go yet, the Kotahi Mano Kaika, Kotahi Mano Wawata initiative is an excellent one - and one that has definitely set the pathway to my future." www.ngaitahu.iwi.nz

A Place of Learning

School was in session when I drove into the tiny North Island village of Makirikiri not too far from Dannevirke. Noting the signposts, I turned down a little side road and came to this very well kept school, just across the road from the Makirikiri Marae, which I've featured here previously. Throughout my April-May trip around New Zealand, I was always inspired by these little 'language nests' - especially in the Far North and around the Eastland area, where schools were often heavily decorated with carvings and Maori art.

Te Reo at Home

I was surprised to learn recently that there are as few as twenty Maori families in the South Island, who are raising their children in a full immersion Maori language environment. There are many more people who speak te Reo of course and Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu does have an active Te Reo in the Home programme running to encourage its people to learn the language. These two little guys are members of one Ngai Tahu family that does speak te Reo almost all the time. The words on the fridge are just one way the parents encourage their boys to keep learning new words. www.ngaitahu.iwi.nz

Words for Birds

PiwakawakaKERERUtuiHUIAkakapopukekopitoitoikiwimanukorowhiowhioparerarakirakikoroheapiopioMOArupetarapungaTITIKOTARETOROAKOTUKUtui wekakakataiKEAKAKAtiekeHURUHURU

Leaving Ruatoria

East Cape - May 2009
Farewell = Haere Ra

Words for Food

kai tuna KOURA PIPI paua paramuwhurutu remana paraoamitiaporokapetipihiketeparakiperehekihakaripatikihemokaihonititi

Meet the People - 22

Another in the Series Meet the People – Contemporary Maori Doing Ordinary and Extraordinary Things – Kelli Tuuta (Ngati Mutunga/Taranaki), Rocky Roberts (Ngai Tahu) and their son, Monahan Tuuta-Roberts of Christchurch, are all learning te Reo together. As Te Wiki o Te Reo draws to a close for another year it seems fitting to feature a family keen to support and nurture their cultural heritage through the learning of the language. Rocky and Kelli see it as an investment in their future. “It’s about who we are,” says Kelli. Monnie, now 7, was first exposed to te Reo as an 11-month old toddler, when he was enrolled at Te Waka Huruhurumanu, the bilingual Early Learning Centre at Christchurch Polytechnic. Rocky was then studying at the Christchurch Polytechnic Broadcasting School (he now works for MoreFM) and Kelli was working as a nurse at Christchurch Hospital. Monnie is now a pupil at Te Tikanga Rua Reo, the bilingual unit at St Albans Primary School and keen to support him fully, Rocky and Kelli began te Reo lessons themselves – at Te Wananga o Aotearoa – three years ago. For Rocky, it has been a journey of personal discovery. He had little contact with, or knowledge of his Maori ancestry while he was growing up and says when he met Kelli, the only Maori word he knew was kia ora (hello). Kelli on the other hand, had a strong Maori upbringing in Taranaki but she lost touch with that when she left New Zealand for overseas adventures in Europe. “For me, learning te Reo again has been about the rediscovery of my Maori roots. It’s made me question my life and it’s made me much more aware of my own Taha Wairua – my spiritual side. But the best thing of all is knowing that Monnie with be fluent in two cultures, that he will be equipped with the knowledge that willo enable him to walk tall in both the Maori and the pakeha worlds.”

Tuahiwi Tamariki meet their Kaumatua

It was Kaumatua Day at Tuahiwi Marae on Friday and the tamariki (children) from Tuahiwi School’s Whitireia Bilingual Unit – located directly across the road from the marae – came across to the wharenui to sing and dance for the kaumatua (elders).

Bilingual teacher at the school, Gaynor Hakaria (Ngai Tahu, Ngati Porou), said it was about “giving back (in songs and gifts) to our tipuna.” With Kaiarahi i Te Reo (Te Reo language leader), Te Rau-o-te-Rangi Winterburn playing the guitar, the group presented a lovely range of wiata (songs), including some of the numbers a selected group of 16 girls and 16 boys are practising for their entry in the October primary schools kapa haka competitions. They finished with a presentation of their handmade bookmarks, fridge magnets and putiputi (woven flowers) to the kaumatua.

In reply, the kaumatua led by Aroha Reriti-Crofts, performed for the children – the highlight, one of the wiata that was performed by a Tuahiwi kapa haka group when an inter-tribal group welcomed the soldiers of the New Zealand Maori Battalion home from World War II on Wellington Wharf in 1946. Aroha (wearing green) was just seven when she took part in that welcome.

Living Language

Torere, East Cape. May 2009 Ajr.

One of my favourite discoveries on my East Cape travels was beautiful little Torere School, located at the top of the hill overlooking a sweeping horseshoe bay. Quite apart from its magnificent carved gateway (which I wrote about here some weeks ago; click on Torere School in the label line below), there was a lovely atmosphere about the place. The grounds were immaculate and every surface seemed to be decorated. I wandered into the school grounds (it was a weekend so no one was about), to have a closer look hoping the folks in the nearby cluster of houses wouldn't think me suspicious. I was thrilled to see whole classrooms filled with evidence of thriving bilingualism - more te Reo than English in fact - or so it seemed from my quick peek. Lovely. I'd love to visit again when school is in.

Te Wiki o te Reo Maori

I’m a few days late in addressing the fact that it’s Maori Language Week in New Zealand but I got here in the end. It’s a time when the focus goes on the fact that despite a huge renaissance, Maori language is still not ‘out of the water.’ The theme this year is Te Reo i te Hapori – Maori language in the community and many events have been planned around the country to encourage people to participate in the language in some way. Census statistics for 2006 showed that less than one quarter of Maori adults were proficient Maori speakers, so despite the fact that there has been an enormous increase in the use of te Reo Maori on television, in schools, on the radio and in everyday signage, the Maori Language Commission is encouraging people to use Maori language in the home to ensure its survival. Anyone visiting this blog regularly will know that I present a series called Maori Place Names. The one shown in the above image was photographed on East Cape. Long names are not uncommon in te Reo Maori – I’ve featured many of them here already – but the king of them all is found in the tiny North Island village of Porangahau, which is 55km south-east of Waipukura in southern Hawke’s Bay. As well as being home to the richly-named Rongomaraeroa Marae, it has the distinction of having a small hill (1,000ft) with the 92-letter name: Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu, which means ‘The hilltop where Tamatea, with big knees, conqueror of mountains, eater of land, travelled over land and sea, played his kaouau (flute) to his beloved.' Not surprisingly, it is one of the longest place names in the world.

Meet the People - 20

Another in the Series Meet the People – Contemporary Maori Doing Ordinary and Extraordinary Things – Jo Tito (Taranaki, Ngati Pikiao Tuhourangi-Ngati Wahiao), grew up in the small village of Waipa, 5km south of Rotorua and now lives in Gisborne with her partner, Todd (Taranaki, Te Ati-Haunui-a-Paparangi) and two of his children. Both are fluent Maori speakers. “I learned a little Maori while I was at school – maybe an hour a week – but it wasn’t until I experienced total immersion back home in Taranaki that I became fluent. It’s definitely the best way to learn,” she says. Jo is very much driven by her passion for Maori language. It is at the root of everything she does – including in her work as an artist and photographer. “I am inspired by the patterns of nature as my ancestors were, but my work is not solely based on Maori culture. The spiral for instance, appears in my work regularly and while it is a common Maori design element, it is also seen in many other cultures. But I am very much driven by our Maori language and wherever I can incorporate this into my work I will. It’s a whole different world when your whakaaro, your way of thinking, is in Maori. This inspires me to create.”

"Kohatu (rock)" Painted rock by Jo Tito
Jo works in a number of mediums including photography, which she has been doing professionally and as a love for 15 years. Much of her artwork also focuses on natural materials like the kohatu (rock), which she hand-paints and the paper she makes from harakeke (flax). Many of her photographs are printed on her own handmade harakeke paper. “I’m passionate about the land and sustainable living; and by working in rock and flax, I feel very connected to the land and its stories,” she says. Her work has been exhibited in Rotorua, Taranaki, Gisborne, America Samoa and Arizona; and she travelled with a New Zealand delegation of artists to Palau in 2004 and American Samoa in 2008, for the International Festival of Pacific Arts. She’s won awards for both photography and fibre work; and while she was living in Taranaki, she curated an exhibition called “Wahine,” for the Taranaki District Health Board, to highlight the importance of cervical screening for women. “I love hauora (personal health and wellbeing).”

"Whariki (Mat)" Photo by Jo Tito
Factor in the writing of “Matarakau – Healing Stories of Taranaki,” a collection of Taranaki whanau stories on traditional Maori healing; research for another collection of stories looking at the effects of colonisation on indigenous peoples around the world; her own marketing business; digital storytelling, reading and self-development and you begin to see why Jo, 35, is a terrific role model for young Maori women everywhere. You can read more about her online here. - http://inspirationalwebsite.net/ Jo’s wrist moko (tattoo), shown in the top photograph, were created by Mark Kopua. The moko on her feet, legs and back (not shown) were created by Julie Kipa.

Love For Sale

Picton April 2009 Ajr

Aroha

(Love)

On Sale in a Picton Store

Learning the Language

Sign. 2008. Ajr

I came upon this sign some time ago. I can't remember where but I thought it a cute tool for helping children learn Te Reo (Maori language).

Roughly translated

• harikoa=happiness
• pukuriri=anger
• pouri=sadness
• mauiui=sickly/tired
• hiamoe=sleepy
• hoha=bored
• rangirua=uncertain

Te Reo Maori - Language

Every year, a week is set aside to celebrate Maori Language - Maori Language Week – something that has occurred in New Zealand every year since 1975. In 2008 Maori language (te Reo Maori) was recognised throughout the country and celebrations followed the theme, te Reo i te kainga – Maori language in the home. When I was in the Ngai Tahu offices here in Christchurch during that time, I was lucky enough to see parts of a video that was been prepared as part of the Ngai Tahu language initiatives. I also picked up the above brochure (image), prepared as part of Ngai Tahu’s Generation Reo campaign, Kotahi Mano Kaika, Kotahi Mano Wawata (One thousand homes, one thousand aspirations), which was established to raise awareness of and an appreciation for Maori language among Ngai Tahu people. There has been a huge resurgence in te Reo Maori, especially since New Zealand officially became a bilingual nation in 1987. Generation Reo is all about encouraging families to speak Maori at home and it’s about a whole lot more than just giving the next generation a second language; it’s also about strengthening identity and saving another of the world’s languages from extinction. As someone who is passionate about language fullstop, I find it very gratifying to see Ngai Tahu, as just one iwi (tribe) on a mission to restore te Reo Maori within homes. As their promotional material points out, “it takes one generation to lose a language and three generations to revive it.” www.ngaitahu.iwi.nz www.generationreo.com