2022 in review: Te Reo Māori hits major milestones

2022 was a year that saw several important milestones hit for Te Ao Māori, all thanks to te reo Māori – the Māori language.

The language made its presence felt and heard this year through education, kapa haka and both the small and big screen.

The catalyst for the milestones this year is the Māori Language Petition. The petition was created in response to declining numbers of te reo speakers and the lack of opportunity to learn te reo formally.

In 1972, the petition arrived at the doorsteps of Parliament courtesy of Ngā Tamatoa’s Hana Jackson and was strongly supported by the Te Reo Māori Society. The petition itself contained more than 30,000 signatures, the petition went to the Education Committee with the following “Mrs. H. M. Jackson and 30,000 others praying for courses in Māori language and aspects of Māori culture to be offered in schools”.

Rawiri Paratene told media in 1972 that “the most essential thing that we’re trying to achieve is to make the public aware that Māori language is not dead and has no real hope of dying”.

The efforts of Māori language revivalists however were met with stiff opposition, both within and outside of Te Ao Māori, as recounts Toro Waaka who was there.

“I got punched up by our own people who thought we were causing trouble between them and their Pākehā mates so it wasn't an easy process.”

The petition resulted in the establishment of Māori Language Day which is observed 14 September, the first being in 1975. Māori Language Day has evolved into what is now known as Te Wiki o te Reo Māori/Māori Language Week which is also observed every September.

A decade on from the petition Māori Affairs established a trial Kōhanga reo in suburban Wellington in Pukeatua. Kōhanga Reo aim to develop early childhood learning through the transmission of te reo Māori, based in a Māori worldview.

Te Karere was there when Te Kōhanga Reo o Waihīrere, also established in 1982, celebrated 40 years. A former student of the kōhanga had this to say to Te Karere at the celebrations.

“He rawe ko tō mātou kaiako ko Nanny Nuku ko tona kaiāwhina ko Nicole Veach, arā hoki te nuinga o te wā ka haere mai tētahi kuia hou, ētahi māmā o ngā mātua nei ki tēnei kōhanga.

“Ko ōku hoa, ko oku whanaunga me tōku teina anō hoki i haere ki tēnei kōhanga kia tipu ai tō mātou whakaaro."

(Our teacher Nanny Nuku and her assistant Nicole Veach are awesome, and a lot of the time there will always be a new kuia or parents who come into this kōhanga. My friends, my relations and my younger brother have all come here and we've gotten an education here).

And perhaps the icing on the 40th anniversary cake for Kōhanga Reo kaimahi everywhere is the formal recognition of their Tohu Whakapakari achievement by the Ministry of Education.

Gaylene Collier noted what this recognition means for those who have done the programme.

"I tēnei wā mō ngā kaiako e pupuri ana i te mātauranga mō te rima tau ka taea e ratou ki te hono ki te tau tuatoru."

(Teachers who graduated within these five years will have completed their three-year course).

Following on from the establishment of Kōhanga Reo in 1982 came the establishment of the first kura kaupapa Māori in 1985 with Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Hoani Waititi Marae in west Auckland. Veteran educator Bev Manahi has noted the difference in the variety of te reo speakers.

“Koirā pea te tino rerekētanga o tērā wā ki ēnei wā.

“He reo Māori i waenganui i ngā pouārahi me ngā kaumātua i taua wā.”

(The difference back then is that we had a range of reo Māori speakers from our leaders to our elders).

Today nearly a third of New Zealanders can speak more than a few Māori words and phrases. The percentage is higher for young people. And a quarter of Māori now speak te reo as a first language.

Also in 1972, Māori turned to haka and waiata as another vehicle for promoting te reo. That was through the national kapa haka competition, originally called the New Zealand Polynesian Culture Festival, now called Te Matatini, also established in 1972. In celebration of their 50 year anniversary they released an album.

Haka exponent Pere Wihongi who was involved in the creation of the album told Te Karere the purpose behind the creation of the album.

"Ko te whāinga nui o tēnei kōpae ko te kohikohi mai i ngā waiata o mua kia tū tonu kia tū tika, kia ora mō ngā rima tekau tau, tahi rau tau ka heke mai nei."

(Our main drive with this album is reflecting on some of our classic tunes that continue to live on through us. We want them to live another 50 to 100 years).

Throughout Te Matatini’s 50 year history and the thousands of performers who have graced the Te Matatini stage, the competition has only had 11 winners.

One of those are current reigning champions, the West Auckland-based Ngā Tūmanako (founded at Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Hoani Waititi Marae). The winners of the competition are charged with going on a world tour promoting te reo and Māori culture.

Team tutor Kawariki Morgan was interviewed by Te Karere presenter Scotty Morrison and reflected on the impression Morrison left on him as a tutor and performer.

"Maumahara tonu ana ahau i tō tū tuatahi i Te Matatini mō Ngā Pūmanawa o Te Arawa."

"Huri taku ao i taku kitenga tuatahi, nā whai anō taku whai i te kapa haka i tēnei wā tonu!"

(I remember watching your debut performance at Te Matatini with your group Ngā Pūmanawa o Te Arawa. My world changed seeing you for the first time which is why I'm still doing kapa haka today).

Looking to February 2023 when the next Te Matatini competition will be held at Eden Park and televised by TVNZ, groups like Manawa Mai Tawhiti are preparing for the big dance by ensuring performers have a good knowledge of kapa haka theory, says Paretai Biddle.

"Kua wareware tatou i ngā momo o te whakapapa o te pūkana o te wiri. Nō reira, kei te tīmata tātou mai i te tīmatanga anō kia āta whangaihia ki o tātou whānau."

(We've forgotten the origins of actions like pūkana and wiri. So we're going right back to the beginning and are going to educate our performers on the significance and meaning of these moves).

As for the longevity of Te Matatini, Te Roopū Manutaki and Ngā Tūmanako founder Sir Pita Sharples put it best recently.

“Kei te ora tonu.

“Kāre e taea tēnei kaupapa ki te whakangaro.”

(It’s [Te Matatini] quite alive. This event can’t be done away with).

Te Karere turned 40 this year. The first episodes of Te Karere broadcasted in 1982 during Te Wiki o te Reo Māori as a trial run before the programme was officially made into a daily bulletin in February 1983. It initially ran for 2 minutes became a platform that enabled Māori to be seen and heard on TV. The bulletin has transformed over the years into a powerhouse for Māori news and current affairs.

For the 40th anniversary, ex-Te Karere reporter Hinerangi Goodman shared the following.

“E kore e mutu i konei.

"He rite ki tō tāua reo.

“Ka haere motuhake tonu.”

(It does not end here. Similar to our language. It will continue to evolve).

Te Karere has served as a breeding ground for Aotearoa’s greatest Māori journalists, past and present. Ex-Te Karere reporter Bailey Mackey directly ties the language petition to the genesis of Te Karere.

“Whā tekau tau ki muri, ka kite tātou i ngā hua o ngā mahi o Ngā Tamatoa.”

(Forty years ago, we were seeing the outcome of the Maori activist group, Nga Tamatoa).

Ex-Te Karere executive producer Moari Stafford for the 40th anniversary of Te Karere recalls the time when just hearing te reo on TV would be enough to set off complaints to come into TVNZ.

“Rongo kau ana rātou i te reo Māori e kōrerotia ana, kua tīmata ngā whakangutungutu a te iwi kāre e matatau ki te reo Māori.”

(When they would hear Te Reo Maori being spoken the complaints came rolling in for those who weren’t fluent).

Another ex-Te Karere executive producer, Tini Molyneux, notes how groundbreaking the show was in the media landscape of the 1980s.

"Koirā te āhua o te tautoko mai i te nuinga ki te haere ki te mātakitaki i te kaupapa nei he rua meneti noa te roa.

"Koirā pea te tauira hei whakaaro mā mātou i tērā wā.

"Kei te whakarongo mai he taringa ki a mātou i tērā wā.

"Me te whakanui i te hunga nā rātou nei i tino poke i te kāwanatanga kia tū tēnei kaupapa."

"Ko te nuinga o rātou kāre i mōhio ki te kōrero i te reo Māori."

(Many supported by watching these 2 minutes. That was the example that we looked at back then, there were ears out there listening. And to celebrate those who challenged the government to start this show. Many of them couldn't speak the language).

You can watch Te Karere Monday – Friday at 4pm on TVNZ1 and TVNZ+ for a full half hour now.