Second Harry Potter book translated into te reo Māori

The second book from JK Rowling’s popular Harry Potter series has been translated into te reo Māori for a new generation of readers.

Hare Pota me te Pakohu Kura Huna (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets) was launched today at the Toitū te Reo Māori Festival in Hastings, five years after its predecessor Hare Pota me te Whatu Manapou (Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone).

The book is part of the Kotahi Rau Pukapuka project that aims to publish 100 books in te reo Māori. Pania Papa, chief executive of the Kotahi Rau Pukapuka Trust, said there’s value in reading in te reo.

“Ko tētahi rauemi tino rawe rawa atu ko te pānui pukapuka, ko te pānui tuhinga, e kitea ai ngā whakaaro rerekē o te kaituhi, ngā kupu tini e hāngai ana ki ngā horopaki tini. He nui ngā hua kei roto i te tēnā.”

(“An excellent resource [to learn te reo] is through reading books and writings that reveal different views of the author, the many words used in many contexts. There’s a lot of benefit in that.”)

Leon Heketū Blake translated the first book but was joined this time around by Hona Black, Donovan Te Ahunui Farnham, Helen Parker, Paiheretia Aperahama, and Te Aorangi Murphy-Fell in turning Rowling’s wizarding world into te reo Māori.

The six participated on a panel discussion to talk about the translation process.

A staunch advocate of te reo, Blake said the festival is an opportunity for Māori to gather for a positive kaupapa.

“He āhuatanga tēnei hei whakakotahi i a tātou i roto i tētahi kaupapa tūranga hākoa. E rongo ana tātou i ngā raruraru o te wā, engari kua riro mā tēnei tātou e whakatōpū mai ki tētahi wāhi kotahi, ko te reo Māori te take.”

(“This is an occasion to unite us by way of a joyful event. We’re all feeling the negative impact of the times, but this has drawn us all into the same space, for the language’s sake.”)

Over the course of the two-day event, a key discussion point was a greater focus on the future of te reo and how to ensure it lives on in the coming generations.

Dame Hinewehi Mohi has been instrumental in driving the Waiata Anthems movement where New Zealand artists translate and perform their songs into te reo Māori.

“We need to find the relevance and excite and really stimulate the senses for rangatahi, taiohi, tamariki," she said. "It's incredible the embrace of waiata through the platform of kapa haka competition and kapa haka ngahau.”

Broadcaster Mike McRoberts spoke about his journey of learning te reo at the festival. He said the risk of intergenerational trauma was a big concern for him.

"You end up getting this whakamā kind of complex about speaking the language, about embarrassing yourself and making mistakes, but you don't want that trauma to be passed down to your tamariki or mokopuna."

Reo advocate Ngarimu Parata likened the learning of te reo to being able to feed a child where if they find it difficult to swallow a morsel then that's a concern.

"Te hunga e hiakai ana ki ērā, te āta penupenu i ngā kai mō ngā tamariki, mo ngā mokopuna me ngā pakeke kāore anō kia pakari ō rātou korokoro, ō rātou niho ki te kai i te kai mārō."

("For those hungry for [te reo], we need to make sure it's easily 'digestible' for kids as well as adults who are still learning, to help them strengthen their teeth so that they can sink them into the marrow of the language.")

During the closing of the event, festival founder Jeremy Tātere MacLeod announced the establishment of a charitable trust to ensure the event's future.

He named four other iwi leaders from around the country – Aperahama Edwards, Karepa Wall, Pānia Papa, Dr Hana O'Regan – who will join him on the trust's board.

“It’s been incredible to come together and uplift our first language and culture for the second year running but, behind the scenes, we’ve faced tough economic conditions and we're struggling to maintain institutional support," he said.

MacLeod added that a charitable trust structure will provide a "more robust" foundation for the festival that will help secure its future growth.

“Realistically, we can’t continue to lean as heavily on our valued sponsors year upon year upon year. The charitable trust model allows Toitū Te Reo to access new funding streams and establish a more stable governance structure,” he said.