Piri Galbraith receives the Te Pou Whirinaki Business Collaboration Award 2024
Piri Galbraith (Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Porou), a wāhine toa and director of Kurawaka Retreat Centre at Porangahau was awarded the Te Pou Whirinaki Business Collaboration Award at the Māori Women’s Development Inc. (MWDI) in Te Whanganui-a-Tara on Friday 25 October 2024. This award celebrates Piri’s exceptional leadership skills among iwi, businesses, and other sectors to support the development of Māori enterprises.
Raina Ferris stands next to her daughter, Piri Galbraith, holding the Te Pou Whirinaki Business Collaboration Award. Photo credit to MWDI.
Piri acknowledges her mother Te Raina Ferris, a highly esteemed pouako of the art of karanga, who serves as an inspiration to her whānau, hapū and iwi and wāhine o Aotearoa.
Piri’s mahi at Kurawaka Retreat Centre in Porangahou is a holistic wellness institute deeply embedded in Māori principles, empowering wāhine Māori, and strengthening their understanding of tikanga and kawa as women.
“My message is kia rere. Rere is to reawaken, to educate, to realign, and empower… We teach and heal and help share and facilitate kōrero to heal our women, to do all of those four things – to be empowered.”
Tēnā koe e te kuia, e te mareikura, Te Raina – Mō tō koha kia mātou, e wana ake ana i tō matanga!
Tēnei te mihi ki a koe e Piri, me te whānau o Kurawaka mō tō haapai o ngā wāhine Māori! Te pai mutunga o tō ngākau whiwhitā!!
Te Whānau Tupu Ngātahi o Aotearoa appreciate the gift of our Mōteatea from the esteemed kuia Te Raina Ferris, which contains the aspirations for all our tamariki, we are inspired by your expertise and profound knowledge. We also acknowledge Piri Galbraith and her whānau of Kurawaka for their passion and mahi!
You can read about Kuia Raina and Piri when they were at Porangahau Playcentre, listen to the mōteatea and get a copy of the words at Mōteatea | Playcentre
Kia tiakina te mātauranga ki te reo Māori
Fostering education in te reo Māori
Te Ahu o te Reo Māori is a programme of normalising and growing proficiency in the Māori language, to support students and whānau in schools and early learning services. Te Ahu o Te Reo Māori means to nurture (ahu) our taonga (te reo Māori) and ensure that we support it to flourish and grow. The thirteen providers of Te Ahu o te Reo Māori kaupapa includes a focus on reo ā-iwi (local dialect), tikanga ā-iwi (tribal customs) and kōrero tuku iho (histories). This is the last term for this programme.
Playcentre Aotearoa acknowledges and recognises the partnership within Te Tiriti o Waitangi as the founding document of Aotearoa, New Zealand. This is reflected in our commitment to bicultural practices and protecting Māori culture and heritage.
All members are encouraged to learn te reo Māori and tikanga Māori. We strive to understand, incorporate and celebrate Te Ao Māori at Playcentre.
We also embrace the multicultural nature of Aotearoa and each centre offers a multicultural programme that is built on a bicultural foundation and reflects the members at their centres.
Immigrating to NZ or moving areas | Playcentre
We follow the te reo Māori learning journeys of four of our people, two tangata whenua and two tangata tiriti; Kathryn Duggan, Jean Yern, Liz Neill and Faith Tupou.
Kathryn Duggan – Education Lead
E kai ō mata!
Feast your eyes on this!
He aha tō hiahia ki te ako i te reo Māori?
What sparked your interest in learning Te Reo Māori?
A deep desire to understand more about the world-view and language of the indigenous people of Aotearoa, which grew into a desire to be a good Tangata Tiriti
He aha ngā wero nui i ahu mai koe i te ako i te reo Māori?
What are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced in learning Te Reo Māori?
E rua ngā wero:
- Getting to grips with all the new kupu and sentence structures! But even though I’m getting a bit rusty, I can feel those sentence frameworks now solidly stored in my mind for me to continue to build upon again in future.
- Grappling with my identity as a Pākehā learner, and coming to understand that my role is to help normalise the speaking of te reo Māori and uphold tikanga values within everyday life
He aha ngā rauemi i tino awhina i a koe i tō ara ki te ako o te reo Māori?
What resources/kura/courses have you found most helpful in your learning journey?
I studied through Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, and it was the most holistic, connected and transformative learning experience I have ever had. Taringa Podcast is also amazing. And of course, Te Aka – the online Māori dictionary.
Me pehea koe ki te ako i nga kupu hou me te wetereo?
How do you approach learning new vocabulary and grammar?
Parakitihi and kōrero paki – practice, and through Te Wānanga o Aotearoa’s ‘silly stories’
Kei a koe ētahi atu whakaaro?
Do you have any other comments?
My te reo Māori learning journey is far from over – I have so much to learn and would like to experience the sense of whanaungatanga of learning alongside like-minded ākonga again.
He aha tō tino kīwaha?
What is your favourite kīwaha?
E kitea ai ngā taonga o te moana, me mākū koe.
If you seek the treasures of the ocean, you’d better get wet.
Jean Yern – Kaihononga Māori
Jean Yern and fellow akonga from Te Rekamauroa, Tupuora
E mihi ana ki too taatou Maatanga me Puukenga o Te Rekamauroa ki Tainui, ki o manaakitanga hoki i ngaa kaiako maha i taatou katou, ki ahau.
After completing my Pou rima certificate in the course at the beginning of 2024, my ability to bring to life the specifics of Tainui tikanga and kawa into my Waikato Tainui based Centres such as the Kiingitanga and double vowel spelling was alot more fluid and natural feeling.
There was a korowai of manaakitanga as I (a kaiako born of Waikato) was encouraged to bring that Mana Whenuatanga we talk about in Te Whaariki to help forge connection and ground my mahi into the stories of the land and its people.
Liz Neill – PLD Facilitator
Whāia te mātauranga hei oranga mō tātou.
Seek after learning for the sake of our collective wellbeing
As a pākehā Tangata Tiriti, I have been honoured to be a part of Kāuru offering Te Ahu o Te Reo, te reo māori language learning for the education sector, for the past 5 years. We started early in 2020 and have continued through many changes, finishing last term.
The learning has been amazing, and so much more than te reo. I’ve learnt a lot about the history of my local iwi, local waiata and mōteatea, karakia, whakapapa, kēmu (games), differences in mita (dialect) across the motu, alongside so much grammar, sentence structure, best words to use when and kōrero. Every day I am learning how much more there is to learn about our beautiful Māori culture. My wish is for our mokopuna to grow up with this knowledge as a part of their everyday. I love that I now have te reo māori as a part of my every day, as I continue to learn every week with Te Ataarangi.
As we moved through the levels the focus became deeper and broader and the challenges to use our reo greater. Highlights were the many noho marae. What amazing opportunities to be welcomed onto several different marae across our rohe, sharing in stories, learning, kōrero and kai, whilst living and breathing tikanga māori. Spending time with te reo māori as the only language in the space was empowering, challenging and amazing!
Meeting with other folks in the education sector has been awesome and sharing stories of putting our learning into action in our schools, ECE centres and Playcentres was inspiring. I have learned so much and continue to meet regularly with many of my classmates. I would love to be able to continue this kaupapa and am on a lifelong te reo Māori journey. Huge thanks to all who have and are supporting me along the way.
Tūwhitia te hopo; mairangitia te angitū.
Eliminate the negative; accentuate the positive.
Liz Neill with Pūkenga from Kāuru Ltd
Faith Tupou – Kaihononga Māori
Ko te aroha te mea nui o te ao
The greatest thing in the world is love
He aha tō hiahia ki te ako i te reo Māori?
What sparked your interest in learning Te Reo Māori?
My whānau were brought up as urban Māori whereby my parents were taught that there was no value in Te reo Māori and the only contact we had with our hapū were the tangi that we attended on occasion. The differences between our rural and urban whānau were stark. It was a yearning to ‘be Māori’ and to kōrero Māori’ that has encompassed a lifetime of learning. First at Te Wānanga o Waikato, various short courses in between rearing nine tamariki. In recent years I have been part of an awesome Te Ataarangi community and recently enrolled in the final intake through a Waikato based Te Ahu o te reo provider called Tupu Ora.
He aha ngā wero nui i ahu mai koe i te ako i te reo Māori?
What are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced in learning Te Reo Māori?
Learning as an adult takes a lot more effort, and requires lots of repetition, āta noho, being attentive and patient, āta whakarongo – listening carefully
He aha ngā rauemi i tino awhina i a koe i tō ara ki te ako o te reo Māori?
What resources/kura/courses have you found most helpful in your learning journey?
- Wānanga, hui, marae, Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, Te Ataarangi
- Panuitia ngā pukapuka; pakiwaitara mā ngā tamariki, pūrākau, hītori o ngā iwi, te Paipera Tapu, karakia – Reading lots of books; Stories for children, iwi history, the Bible, karakia
- Listening to podcasts, especially Taringa, watching Māori the Māori news
Me pēhea koe ki te ako i nga kupu hou me te wetereo?
How do you approach learning new vocabulary and grammar?
For kupu hou – new words; say kupu, repeat, write it down in my Kupu Hou notebook, put it in a sentence, practise.
With karakia, I learn a phrase at a time, write it down, repeat at least 10 times
Then revise another day, check if I know it off by heart otherwise repeat process again.
Kei a koe ētahi atu whakaaro?
Do you have any other comments?
Te reo Māori is so much more than words, it is the kākahu o te ngākau – the outer clothing of the heart. It has many levels of knowledge and understanding, connects the inner soul of a person, with the multiple layers of whakapapa, the past, present and future interconnected with the cosmological and the terrestrial realms.
Whāia te iti Kahurangi, me he tūohu koe me he maunga teitei
Aim for the sky, if you should bow let it be to a lofty mountain
Kingi Kiriona, Faith Tupou, Te Waipounamu, Timo Samuels, Gabriel Tupou
MWDI Awards, Te Whanganui-a Tara|Wellington, 24 Oct 24 | Photo credit MWDI
Te Waipounamu Teinakore, director and Mana Whakahaere for Tupu Ora was recognised with the Tainui Region and the Te Amorangi (People & Capability) Awards in 2023 at the Māori Womens Development Inc Awards. This year Te Waipounamu and her husband Kingi Kiriona, returned as judges and sponsors. It was a privilege to attend these awards with my whanaunga, cousin Timo and son Gabriel.
Where can you learn te reo Māori in 2025?
You can check out this link from Te Taura Whiri – except for the Te Ahu o te reo
Ngā wāhi e ako ai koe | Where to learn – Reo Māori