Ko tōku reo, tōku ohooho, tōku mapihi maurea, tōku whakakai marihi
My language is my precious gift, my object of affection and my prized ornament
This whakatauākī (proverb) by Tīmoti Kāretu shows how deeply important language is. It is associated with language revitalization, a struggle which is very important in maintaining culture.
Mahuru Māori
Are you up for a month long te reo Māori challenge? What is Mahuru? Mahuru loosely equates to the fourth lunar month of the Māori year - approximately equivalent to September.
For the duration of Mahuru (September) we encourage you to challenge yourselves to using as much te reo Māori as possible! It doesn’t matter if your te reo skills begin with ‘Kia ora’, or you can fully converse, Mahuru Māori is something we can all particpate in!
Start by setting yourself some goals so you can kōrero – speak; ako – learn; tākaro – play; pānui – read; waiata – sing. You may want to start off nice and easy by including five new words – kupu hou to your day?!
Huatau | Ideas
Here are some things you can do to use and speak more te reo Māori. It could be as easy as greeting everyone you see with mōrena for good morning, , starting your day with kawhe for coffee or parakuihi for breakfast or watching pouaka whakaata for television, before saying pō mārie for good night.
If you like to challenge yourself further, try and use as many te reo Māori kupu as possible throughout the day. Karawhiua – go for it!
We recommend the use of Te Aka or Māori Dictionary online: https://maoridictionary.co.nz/
And Te Taura Whiri for more rauemi – resources: https://www.reomaori.co.nz/ideas