Mauri ora ki a tātou ko ngā kaimahi kei rō i Ngā Kete Wānanga o Ōtautahi.
Ko te mihi tuatahi ki te kaihanga mō ngā rangi tūhāhā. Te mihi tuarua ki a Ranginui e tū iho nei me a Papatūānuku e takato ake nei. Te mihi tuatoru ki ngā hunga mate, e tangi hotu ana tōku ngākau, hoki atu rātou ki o rātou maunga. Te mihi tuawhā ki te hunga ora e haere ana ki te ao, kia tū, kia oho, kia matāra. Rātou ki a rātou, tātou ki a tātou, ki te hunga mate te hunga mate, tātou te hunga ora kia tātou. Tēnei rā e mihi ana ki a koutou katoa.
Me tuku mihi ki a koutou ko ngā kaimahi o Ngā Kete Wānanga o Ōtautahi, e manamanahau ana i o koutou mahi. Kei runga noa atu koutou. Ko tēnei wiki, he kaupapa tino whakahirahira mō te oranga o te Reo Māori, arak o Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori. Ka hokinga mahara au he whakataukī i whakanui i tēnei kaupapa, ‘He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero.’
Kia ora mai anō koutou, firstly a quick mihi to all those above and below, to those who are standing on this Earth and to the sacred levels of the heavens, we give thanks to them all. This year, we are celebrating something super important to me as well as all tangata whenua, Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori 2022. This year is still focusing on ‘Kia kaha Te Reo Māori’ however we are switching it up a bit with some new challenges and activities popping up in different areas around so keep your karu (eyes) peeled.
The last line above talks about calling out to our ancestors who gave us these traditions to use. I also spoke about recalling a whakataukī (proverb) in which it talks about the what is the food of the leader? It is the knowledge and it is communication. One of the biggest tools we have is our roro (minds) and boy do we work them out a whole heap. Sometimes we forget that just like our bodies, our minds are muscles too, they need care, strength and time to heal. Mental health is a huge one especially in times like this with the pandemic and a whole lot of other changes happening. We know that for you to be standing tall and to be working to your fullest, you need all sides of the whare (house) to be standing strong.
Kupu Hou For the Day: Rōpū – group or party of people
In context you can use this kupu like: “Who wants to be in my group?” “Who wants to be in my rōpū?” or when encouraging others to jump in and join in the programme you can address by using this kupu like: “You can do it, go join that group over there.” “You can do it, go join that rōpū over there.” Lastly you can use this kupu in the context of: “What an awesome job your team has done.” “What an awesome job your rōpū has done.”
Paukapa Kaupapa
This kaupapa is to encourage us all to giving Te Reo Māori a go by trying something new or learning something you didn’t know already. Get amongst it, start small with replacing kupu you may know like kai for food etc.
Whenua
Whenua refers to our lands, the roots in which are beneath us and the roots in which bind us to one another and our whakapapa (genealogy). For Māori, we believe in a thing called whanaungatanga (relation/kinship) where when talking about the land, that we don’t own the land; more so, we are connected by a deeper meaning, the land, rivers, oceans, mountains then becomes a part of the whānau (family) thus we are connected to the land rather than owning the land, In this instance, it’s also talking about the foundations our whare resides on. Have you checked in with the taiao (environment) and how it’s growing, how it’s breathing, how is it living? How long has it been since you spent time out in the open or even asked colleagues to join you for lunch outside in the fresh air? Going back to our foundations, what are your values or foundations that keep you grounded? What are your roots that connect you to the earth and bring you back when things start to seem a bit muddled? We all take time to get there so remember, don’t rush! A flower can only grow if you give it the right love, care and support which leads us into the second part, whakataukī.
Whakataukī
Whakataukī help within a Te Ao Māori concept as a way to summarise and give extreme emphasis and meaning to the objective at hand. They are filled with different teachings and meanings meant to help form our outcomes and views on things. The following is one that should be familiar to some, for others this one is encapsulates all we discussed in the whenua segment above: ‘Manaaki whenua, manaaki tangata, haere whakamua.’ Six words that puts emphasis back onto us as people that it is our job to care for the land, our job to care for the people so that we might all go into the future. How can you play this whakataukī out? Ko koe anake te mōhio mō te whakautu (only you will know the answer).
Waiata
Waiata was another tool used to share our language, pass down our knowledge, bind us together once more plus, we know waiata helps to boost morale and can help ease raru (troubles) that arise within one’s self. Have a listen to he waiata a hou (a new song) called E Minaka Ana written by Pania Papa to encourage us all in speaking Te Reo Māori, giving it a go and mostly importantly, having fun with it.
From us here within Ngā Ratonga Māori, we want to encourage us all to making small changes in using Te Reo Māori in our everyday language. We hope you all a safe week, come along to our kaupapa that are up on the website and most of all, kia kaha ki Te Reo Māori.
Ngā mihi
Justice
Kaitakawaenga Māori
Māori Services
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