Te Wiki o te Reo Māori @ Manaaki Mai

Manaaki Mai started celebrations of Te Wiki o te Reo Māori last week with a mihi whakatau on Tuesday, welcoming three new tangata into our community led by a Fergus Wereta who has been an influential figure since his arrival in June, continuing to foster his mātauranga he has gained over the years.

Wednesday was signified as the main day with transitional programme focused around the inception of Māori Language Day, that was petitioned by Ngā Tama Toa and the Māori Society in 1972, gaining 30,000 signatures in support of the kaupapa. It was also a time to reflect on the early challenges of the Crown and the implications of the Native School Act and the urbanisation our people faced, with disconnection to our homelands, hapū and Iwi. Māori Language Day was in 1975, acknowledged in a week of celebrations, something we are now familiar with as a nation.

Four teams competed in a round of wharewhare. Each team was tasked with creating a name and whakatauki that represents them. Each winners of the two rounds would play off in the final and receive a small gift and bragging rights! The eventual winners being Tīma Paihamuti (Team Possum). All in all it was great fun and awesome sportsmanship.

Thursday afternoon was set aside for preparing for our kai hakari, peeling and cutting kumara, poukena and rewai, and a mammoth task of cleaning a huge bunch watercress. It was during this time where stories were shared about being on the marae or around whānau and preparing for family occasions.

Te ra whakamutunga was celebrated on Friday with a kai hākari of boil up with Nicholas Udy’s paraoa parai (fry bread). A brief lesson of the origins and how we adopted the method and made it our own with the introduction of pork and potatoes. The silence during kai was an indication of everyone enjoying their kai, and not only the fulfillment of their puku, but of the celebration of the week.

We are very fortunate as indigenous people of our lands in Aotearoa if we look to some other Indigenous, Tribal, or First Nations throughout the world. We continue to hold our taonga and reinvent ourselves as Māori.