An open letter to Aotearoa
Sunday, 12 September 2021
Tēnā koutou kātoa
Right now New Zealanders are showing the rest of the world what kind of people we are.
I tēnei wā tonu, ko tātou ēnei o Aotearoa e whakatauira ana ki te ao i tō tātou momo.
He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tangata. He tangata. He tangata.
What is the most important thing in the world? It is people. It is people. It is people.
**READ MORE:
* A brief review on basic grammar differences in te reo and English
* How learning te reo has led me on a journey of discovering my Māori roots
* Learning te reo Māori 'like going home', says fashion designer Kiri Nathan
* How about a mihimihi, introducing yourself, in te reo Māori?
**
We were anxious not to put pressure on people this Māori Language Week because there are so many things we are being asked to do. It isn’t always easy to live in lockdown, separated from the people and places who make us who we are.
Ehara i te mea he mārū te noho rāhui, te noho tawhiti i ō tātou kāinga, i ō tātou rahi. Me te aha, ka anipā mātou i tēnei Wiki o te Reo Māori ki te āki i te tangata i te nui o ngā tono kei mua i te aroaro o tēnā, o tēnā.
On Friday we watched a socially distanced haka performed by essential workers at a Covid testing station to honour the passing of a local man whose whānau were unable to travel with his body to the Far North due to level 4 lockdown. What an incredibly emotional yet empowering thing to witness.
However, we also know that, in our hardest times, New Zealanders often turn to our first language for comfort and solidarity. For manaakitanga and kotahitanga. When our people were murdered in their place of worship, we sent aroha to their families. When our young soldiers were killed thousands of miles from home, we welcomed them home with an unforgettable haka.
Heoi anō, e mōhio hoki ana mātou i ngā wā taumaha hārukiruki rawa, ka tahuri a Aotearoa ki tōna reo tuatahi hei āhuru mōwai mōna, hei whakakotahi i a ia. Ko te manaakitanga, ko te kotahitanga ngā take. I te kōhurutanga o ō tātou rahi i tō rātou whare karakia, ko te aroha tērā i tukuna ki ō rātou whānau. I te hinganga o ō tātou hōia taitamariki ki tawhiti, ko ngā haka ērā e mau tonu nei ki te mahara, i pōhiri i a rātou ki te wā kāinga.
And right now when we see that flashing sign on the side of the deserted road that says “Kia kaha”, it’s telling us: Don’t give up. Go hard.
Ā, i āia tonu nei, ka kite ana tātou i tērā tohu e hikohiko ana i te rori o te koraha, me ōna kupu “Kia kaha”, ko tana whakahau ki a tātou: Kei mate wheke, me mate ururoa.
We already know that eight in 10 New Zealanders see te reo as part of our national identity, particularly our young people. Last Māori Language Week, more than 1 million of us stopped what we were doing and celebrated te reo together. We did it because te reo is still endangered, it could still disappear if we don’t continue to fight for it. Even last year, we were living in a Covid world, so we designed our virtual Māori Language Moment with our people’s safety in mind.
E mōhio kē ana mātou, tokowaru katoa o te tekau i Aotearoa e whakapae ana he wāhi nui tō te reo Māori ki tō tātou tuakiritanga ā-motu, ka mutu, he nui kē atu i te mātātahi. I tērā Wiki o Te Reo Māori, i neke atu i te 1 miriona tāngata i tū, ka whai wāhi mai ki te whakanui tahi i te reo Māori. Koia mātou i whakanui ai i te reo Māori, i te mea he reo korehāhā tonu ia, ā, kei mate ā-moa ia, me whawhai tonu mātou, mōna te take. I tērā tau, ko te ao o te mate urutā tērā i noho ai mātou, ā, i whakaritea e mātou he Wā Tuku Reo Māori mariko, e haumaru ai te iwi. He mea hira ēnei kaupapa e whai wāhi mai ai te tini, e rīrā ai Te Wā Tuku Reo, e whakaūngia hoki ai ngā panonitanga ā-pāpori i tēna hapori, i tēnā hapori.
Tomorrow we want you to join us at 12pm as we aim to set the record for the biggest single, simultaneous celebration of an endangered language on Earth. Joining in is as easy as tuning in to one of our social media channels or as hard as delivering a whaikōrero: it’s up to you. All we ask is that you sign up first at reomaori.co.nz so your participation can be counted.
I tēnei Wiki o te Reo Māori, e pōhiri ana mātou kia whai wāhi mai koe kia eke tā mātou whakanui i ngā reo tata korehāhā o te ao, ki tētahi taumata kē atu. He ngāwari noa te whai wāhi mai, mā tā mātou whārangi Pukamata rānei, mā te whakatangi i tētahi waiata Māori: mā te wero rānei o te tuku whaikōrero. Kei a koe te tikanga. Ko tā mātou noa e tono nei, kia rēhitatia tō whai wāhi mai, e kautehia ai to whakaurunga.
He hira te wā ka tū ai tēnei kaupapa – ā te poupoutanga o te rā, o te Tūrei 14 o Hepetema, 2021 – koia tonu te wā i tukuna te petihana o te reo Māori ki mua i te aroaro o Pāremata, e whakahau ana i a Aotearoa kia whakahaumarutia te reo Māori.
By 3pm on Friday we had 170,000+ people signed up across Aotearoa, from Te Tai Tokerau Northland in the north, Rakiura Stewart Island in the south, Rēkohu Wharekauri Chatham Islands in the east and Taranaki in the west. Hundreds had signed in from countries across the world as well. Given we are in the middle of a global pandemic, this is pretty good going.
New Zealanders are good at standing together for things we believe in. We might not be able to come together in person. But we can still come together in spirit. And break a world record or two while we’re at it!
He iwi kaha a Aotearoa ki te tū kotahi mō ngā kaupapa e kaingākautia ana e tātou. Kāore pea e taea tō tātou whakakotahi ā-tinana nei, engari mō te whakakotahi ā-wairua ki te whakahaumaru i te reo me ō tātou rahi, ka taea.
Kia kaha te reo Māori. May our language be strong.Kia kaha Aotearoa. May our country be strong. Kia ora Aotearoa. May our people be well.
Professor Rawinia Higgins, Māori Language Commissioner, elected member, UN Global Taskforce for a Decade for Indigenous Languages 2022-2032.
Ahorangi Rawinia Higgins,Te Toihau o Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori, he mema o te Rōpū Mahi o te Rūnanga Whakakotahi i ngā Iwi o te Ao, e aronui ana ki te tau ngahuru e whakanui ana i ngā reo taketake, 2022–2032.