Thousands of people from across the country gathered in Hastings for the Toitū Te Reo festival celebrating te reo Māori, culture and “the identity of Māori and wider New Zealand”.
Touted as the world’s first Māori language festival, the two-day event kicked off on Thursday with food stalls, wānanga (symposium), rangatahi poetry slam competition, and street concerts.
Māori speakers of all levels took the opportunity to be in an environment that celebrates and encourages people to speak te reo Māori.
Artist and stallholder Hohepa ‘The Hori’ Thompson (Ngāti Toa Rangatira, Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa, Kāi Tahu) said when he and his wife were first told of the event, they jumped at the chance to attend. The Ōtaki-based gallery owner set up a stall to sell art and apparel from his popular brand, The Hori.
“He rawe (it’s great) to come here to celebrate te reo Māori, even as me, coming back into te ao Māori and relearning this language, it means a lot for me to be here. And for our whānau, and for our brand, so yeah, it’s amazing.”
Thompson said he was brought up in te reo as a child but then diverted off into “a more Pākehā space” after kura.
“Learning te reo again and awakening that reo within is a big part of our, of the whole Hori kaupapa. So yeah. It’s just making sure that even if it’s a kupu a day keeps a kutu away, as I say!”
Māmā Julia Spelman (Ngāti Hikairo), along with her partner and kids, also travelled from Ōtaki for the event. She said her five-year-old son Awatea enjoyed seeing some of his favourite reo Māori celebrities.
“I te toru tekau miniti pea kua ea ngā moemoeā o [taku tama] i te mea i kite ia i ngā tāngata rongonui, ngā kaiwaiata, ngā kōtiro o Te NuTube, Pere Wihongi [hoki] (Within 30 minutes of arriving his dreams came true because he saw these famous people, singers, the girls from Te NuTube and Pere Wihongi).”
Spelman said she started to learn te reo as a child with the encouragement of her pāpā. But going to a mainstream school with no Māori language teacher stalled her progress.
“Engari i te wā i whānau mai taku mātāmua, i whakatau māua ko taku hoa kia huri te reo o te kāinga ki te reo Māori (But when my eldest was born, my partner and I decided to make te reo Māori our default language at home).”
Her eldest is now five.
“Nō reira, āe, tata ki te rima tau e haere ana — kei te ako tonu (So, yes, we’ve been going for about five years — we’re still learning).”
Pākehā identity and te reo
Māori language learner Teresa Woodham said she came along because it was “an incredible opportunity not only for Māori but also for Pākehā”.
“I think at this time in our evolution as a country, as Aotearoa, it’s more important than ever, I think, for Pākehā to begin and to continue the journey, not just with te reo but — as the wonderful Alison Jones says in her book — to earn the right to be called Pākehā.
“And that means becoming more familiar and educating ourselves about the history and the culture of Māori and Pākehā together if we are to move forward, together.”
Alison Jones is an award-winning author who wrote This Pākehā Life: An Unsettled Memoir.
Woodham said she enjoyed learning languages, though she admits to “never [becoming] particularly proficient at them”. She learnt French and Spanish when she was younger and turning to Māori was a natural progression, but it’s been difficult, she said.
“It’s not easy for me as an old Pākehā woman, if you like, to find a whānau, and to find people that I can continue to practise with and to talk with.”
When asked if learning te reo opened her up to a new worldview she quickly agreed.
“Absolutely, [it’s a] beautiful world. I feel very privileged to be included.
“My experience has been that anybody I have been in the wānanga with has been very generous and really embracing of Pākehā coming in to learn.”
Reo advocate and translator Ruth Smith (Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki, Ngāti Porou, Rongowhakaata, Ngāti Kahungunu) said the event was a way of bringing people — Māori and non-Māori — together to talk all things Te Reo Māori.
“Koirā pū pea te whāinga, kia whakatangata whenua anō i te reo ki tēnei anō whenua nōnā tēnei whenua nei. Nō reira koirā pea te whāinga nui (Perhaps that’s the goal, for te reo to become once again the default language in its own country. So maybe that’s the big picture).
“Engari e kite ana ahau tēnei whakaaro o te kotahitanga e rērere haere ana, nō reira he nui te tangata Pākehā kei konei, ako ana i te reo Māori e kōrero ana i te reo Māori i konei (But I’m seeing this idea of kotahitanga floating around, so there are a lot of Pākehā here who are learning te reo Māori, who are speaking Māori here).
“Nō reira ko tērā nohonga tahitanga a te Pakeha ki te tangata whenua ki te hapai i tenei kaupapa, kei whea mai hoki. He ataahua, he ātaahua (And seeing Pākehā alongside tangata whenua in support of the cause — awesome. It’s beautiful, a beautiful thing).”
Government’s impact on te reo
Earlier this week it was revealed that Government Minister Paul Goldsmith ordered officials to remove te reo greetings from a Matariki invite to an Australian MP. It reignited concern over the Government’s policies relating to Māori and te reo.
When asked whether she had any fears about the Government’s impact on the revitalisation efforts, Smith was unfazed.
“Kia pono taku kōrero, kāore au e tino āmaimai ana nā runga i te āhuatanga o tēnei momo hui — mehemea he pīrangi te iwi ki te kōrero ka kōrero Māori ahakoa pehea (I have to be honest, I’m not bothered because of initiatives like this festival — if people want to speak Māori, they will, no matter what).”
“Kua tae tātou tēnei reanga ki tētahi taumata ināianei, matatau ana tātou ki ngā whakahaerenga a te Pākehā, matatau ana hoki tātou ki ngā whakahaerenga o te ao Māori anō hoki (We’ve arrived at the point now where those of us of this generation know how the Pākehā system operates, and we know how te ao Māori works too).
“Nō reira mā rātou kē e whakahoahoa mai ki a tātou nā te mea kei roto tātou i ngā tari kāwanatanga e mahi ana i wā rātou mahi (So it’s up to [the Government] to make friends with us because we [Māori] work in those government departments).
“Ko rātou kē te kāwanatanga kei muri e haere ana, kaua ko te Māori (They, that is, the Government is lagging behind, not Māori).”
Legendary singer and reo champion Dame Hinewehi Mohi was equally dismissive of the messaging from the Beehive.
“Hei aha noa rātou, nā te mea ka kite tātou te tino painga o te reo, te tino painga o ngā tamariki pēnei nā, ā, he tino kaupapa (Nevermind them, because we can see the benefit of te reo, the benefit to our children, and it’s important).
“Hei aha noa ngā amuamu ki Pōneke. Nā te mea kei te mōhio tātou kei te ora tonu te reo, kei te kaha tonu te reo, heoi anō, toitū te reo (Who cares about the complaints from Wellington. Because we know the language still lives, it’s still strong, and may it live on).”
Glossary
wānanga – discussions, seminar, conference, course
rangatahi – youth, young people
he rawe – it’s great
te ao Māori – the Māori world
kaupapa – ethos, purpose, subject
kupu – word
kutu – lice
māmā – mum, mother
pāpā – dad, father
