Taking reo-Māori opera to the regions
“If you don’t have the repertoire, you’re just gonna sing Pokarekare Ana over and over.” — Kawiti Waetford, opera singer and Māori lead at NZ Opera.
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Tag: te reo Māori
It’s not “our” reo if you’re Pākehā
“I’m not arguing that Pākehā can’t learn te reo Māori. Anyone can learn te reo Māori, speak te reo Māori, and have a relationship with te reo Māori. But only Māori can claim te reo as ‘ours’.” — Taea Staples.
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A journey of one hundred languages
“It’s only a small effort and a smattering of words against the sea of culture and history, but my small effort in many directions has taken some of the bitterness from my heart and brought me into relation with the entire world of people.” — Makaira Waugh.
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There’s no word for this in my language
“It’s unhelpful to think of Indigenous people as idealised, perfect creatures. To do so is to separate us from the flaws, and thus the humanity, that we share with all human beings.” — Nīkau Wi Neera.
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Hone Hurihanganui: Following the reo
“I would try hard to find jobs that ensured I’d have people around me who spoke te reo and encouraged it. I’ve been very deliberate and intentional about that.” — Hone Hurihanganui, teacher and composer of waiata and haka.
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Breaking through the biggest barrier to learning te reo
“When we’re feeling vulnerable, with negative self-chatter going round and round in our heads, the fear of making a mistake stills our tongues.” — Atakohu Middleton talks to Awanui Te Huia about how negative self-talk can undermine efforts to learn te reo.
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Hiding behind jargon
“Seeing vowels present in Māori words grows a person’s ability to communicate and to understand New Zealand English, of which many Māori words are an everyday part.” — Vincent Olsen-Reeder and Corinne Seals.
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Reckoning with reo revival
“Te reo can’t be revitalised to its fullest extent without addressing some of the fundamental constraints under which its revitalisation is taking place.” — Awanui Te Huia.
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A difficult time to be a Māori public servant
“Many people are worried and scared, simply because they’re Māori working in the public sector. There is a real feeling of helplessness.” — Kura Moehau.
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He’s 80 years old and discovering the power of te reo
“When I first started coaching in the 1980s, I didn’t have the right language to express the values that have always guided me. They were expressed in European terms.” — Lance Smith.
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Being Māori: ‘Some of us are still finding our way back’
“Growing up, my connection to ao Māori was non-existent. My dad taught us that learning Māori and being Māori wouldn’t get us far in life.” — Shiloh Ratima.
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Language imperialism is alive and well in New Zealand
“I arrived here with the baggage of ignorance, thinking that New Zealand was a white country. I spent several years living in that wilful ignorance, and I kept my head down trying to be a model minority.” — Ahmed Aziz.
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Let’s be in solidarity together, Aotearoa
“Māori know our whānau, and we are committed to our responsibilities to mokopuna. Intergenerational lives can be changed if we hold the ground that has been hard-fought for by our mana wāhine.” — Kerri Cleaver.
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Don’t think inside the box
“The reo Māori petition and every learner and speaker of the language since September 14, 1972, has overturned one of the most damaging status quos suffered by our people.” — Tainui Stephens.
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Tokenism and te reo Māori: Why some things just shouldn’t be translated
“From a Māori perspective of the interconnectedness of things, there is a particularly isolating, divisive tendency in English, which diminishes full Māori meanings.” — Professor Carl Mika.
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My mum, my mountain: Hana Te Hemara
“Mum was an articulate, visionary, and fearless woman. She was the biggest driver of the petition for reo Māori to be included in the school curriculum . . . She did all that organising from her kitchen table.” — Ramari Jackson.
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Toby Curtis: A paradox of success
“I have always wondered how our Pākehā counterparts would have fared if they were taught solely in te reo Māori, a language that was not spoken in their homes.” — Tā Toby Curtis.
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Ensuring access to te ao Māori
“We’re here to pass on our mātauranga Māori, and to lift each other up.” — Āwhina Kihi.
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When the reo settles into your heart
“Once you’ve started to kōrero Māori with your kurī, there’s no going back.” — Siena Yates.
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We don’t see te reo as ‘Māori nonsense’
“Te reo Māori is endangered in the land it comes from. It is a language that is native to this country and like an endangered bird, its future depends on what we do.” — Professor Rawinia Higgins.
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Embrace the taniwha
“I vowed that I wouldn’t allow myself to be shamed by my ignorance again. As I think back to that long ago hui, part of me realises that all I had to do was get over myself.” — Tainui Stephens.
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Waiata mai
“I think you might be able to classify Māori as one of two kinds: whakamā and katakata. The test for which kind you are is whether or not you do skits.” — Aaron Craig.
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For the love of the language
“I believe that the music will continue to help us heal, so we can celebrate the new cultural narrative of Aotearoa, and be proud of the diverse cultural heritage we all share.” — Hinewehi Mohi.
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Korohere Ngāpō: Hauraki is my magnetic north
“I most certainly believe there is power and mana in the karakia that were performed. Our Māori spirituality is a big thing. It always has been and it always will be.” — Korohere Ngapo.
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The shame is gone
“With the help of caring people, through a lens now tinted with aroha, I could embrace the experience of speaking re reo Māori and let it melt my heart.” — Shelley Burne-Field.
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Privilege and language trauma
“As the dust settles following Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, I feel like I’ve been through all the stages of grief. I’m unsure what part I play now.” — Vini Olsen-Reeder.
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We must be brave and use the reo
“Everything I say in the courtroom now is said in te reo Māori. All of my submissions, every written document.” — Alana Thomas.
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My complicated relationship with te reo Māori
“At the age of five, I was already consciously distancing myself from the Māori world. I already knew that to be Māori was to be less than. The same way that my son knows that pink is not an acceptable colour for boys to like.” — Moata Tamaira.
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The making of a Māori town: Ōtaki
“There is an indigenous spirit in Ōtaki that is unapologetic and proud. By definition that spirit is also loving.” — Tainui Stephens.
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Calling in on The Godfather
“I sometimes get: ‘Kei te takahi koe i taku mana’ — you’re trampling on my mana. And I think to myself: ‘Well, you’re murdering my language. Which one is it going to be? Murdering my language or your mana?’” — Tīmoti Kāretu.
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