Ake ake ake - a forever language for NZ

Auckland Council’s Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori programme in the city centre includes a giant Scrabble set. Photo / Auckland Council

Saturday marked the official start of Māori Language Week - Te Wiki 2024. Te Wiki o te Reo Māori is an annual celebration for all New Zealanders to show their support for the Māori language, an official language of this country. SunLive journalist Rosalie Liddle Crawford looks at how te reo Māori adapts, survives and thrives.

The theme for Te Wiki 2024 is “Ake ake ake – A Forever Language”. It represents the resilience, adaptability and endurance of our language. It also reflects the commitment New Zealanders have to embracing and learning te reo Māori long into the future.

Some history moments

Te Petihana Reo Māori – the Māori language petition was delivered on the steps of Parliament in 1972. This historic event kicked off Māori Language Week and Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori.

Te Wiki o te Reo Māori launched at 12pm Saturday with a special video commemorating the historic delivery of Te Petihana Reo Māori in 1972 and launching Te Wiki o te Reo Māori 2024, to celebrate the beauty and power of te reo Māori, then, now and the future.

In World War II, the 28th Māori Battalion marched into Europe singing “Ake! Ake! Kia Kaha e!” Today the phrase ends karakia and speeches with unity and solidarity.

“A story that has come down through our family from the Māori Battalion in World War II is they used Māori in their radio communications because the Germans wouldn’t have known what they were saying,” historian Buddy Mikaere said.

“I understand they did the same thing in the American units with Native Americans.”

Historian Buddy Mikaere.

Mikaere said he has loved seeing the increased use of te reo Māori language in everyday use, and how crowds at official openings seem to know waiata, joining in to sing along.

“My daughter was away in Australia for a while and when she came back, she couldn’t get over how much more the Māori language is being used in television, radio and the media than when she was here previously.”

Ake ake ake

The reo Māori website (reomaori.co.nz) has resources and information available for anyone wanting to learn more and demonstrate their support for te reo Māori and understand this year’s theme.

“‘Ake ake ake’ symbolises hope and resilience, as the ake ake tree is also known for its resilience,” a Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori spokesperson said.

“It produces some of the strongest of all native woods and grows in some of the harshest climates. The name ake ake reminds us the tree is durable. Just like te reo Māori.

“We can think of te reo Māori as a seedling with potential. Raised with others, given care and effort, it can grow and give shelter for future generations. Every action helps to make te reo Māori a living language across Aotearoa.

“Under enduring pressure, te reo Māori has shown it will adapt and survive. It grows with our people, our culture and our environment.”

Reo Māori the ‘beating heart’ of Aotearoa New Zealand

From private business to the Paris Olympics, reo Māori is growing with the success of New Zealanders, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka said.

“I’m joining New Zealanders across the country in celebrating this year’s Te Wiki o te Reo Māori – Māori Language Week, which has a big range of events running from 14 to 21 September. This year’s theme is Ake Ake Ake - A Forever Language.”

Potaka said at the recent Olympics, te reo Māori featured as part of our national bid in front of the world.

“Let’s take that pride in nationhood and keep it going into Te Wiki and beyond,” Potaka said.

National's Hamilton West MP Tama Potaka gives his maiden statement to the House. Photo / Mark Mitchell

“Te reo Māori is the beating heart of Aotearoa New Zealand. The language is pumping with life and the many new terms also enable Māori speakers to express the ever-changing world around them and continue to use Māori as a normal means of communication.”

Potaka said it was “especially great” to see so many Māori and New Zealand businesses celebrating te reo Māori.

“Welcoming te reo into the private sector brings the language to new audiences and spaces, whether it’s retail, architectural, tourism, engineering or shearing industries.

“Over more than 30 years, Te Wiki has developed from a single Māori Language Day to a week of celebration for all New Zealanders.”

As announced on the ātea of Tūrangawaewae, this year’s Te Wiki o te Reo Māori is dedicated to the memory and contribution of beloved Kīngi Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII, Potaka said.

“We also acknowledge his daughter, Te Arikinui Kuini Nga wai hono i te po Pootatau Te Wherowhero VIII as the new leader of the Kīngitanga movement.

“Thanks to the efforts of many who have gone before us, and champions of te reo today, te reo Māori is becoming more and more a part of everyday life in New Zealand.

“As part of my commitment, I speak te reo in Te Whare Pāremata (The House of Parliament), and in our office we have regular tikanga, waiata and reo sessions.

“Whether you have an ancestral connection to the language or not, te reo Māori connects us all to this place.

“I encourage everyone to give te reo Māori a go, whether you know a little or a lot.”

Ko te reo Māori te ‘whatumanawa’ o Aotearoa

Nō ngā pakihi tūmataiti ki ngā Ngā Taumāhekeheke i Parī, ko te reo Māori hei hoa haere mō te angitu o ngāi Aotearoa, hei tā te Minita mō te Whanaketanga Māori, hei tā Tama Potaka.

“E whakanui ana mātou ko ngāi Aotearoa i Te Wiki o te Reo Māori i tēnei tau, te rahi nei ōna kaupapa, atu i te 14 ki te 21 o Hepetema. Ko te tāhū i te tau nei ko te Ake Ake Ake – He Reo mō te Ake Ake Ake.

“I Ngā Taumāhekeheke inātata nei, kitea ai te reo Māori hei wāhanga o tā mātou tono i mua i te aroaro o te ao. Me uma kūkupa tātou i te kotahitanga ā-motu, ka mutu, me pērā tonu tā tātou kokenga atu ki Te Wiki, ā haere ake nei hoki.

“Ko te reo Māori te whatumanawa o Aotearoa. E ora pai nei te reo, me te aha anō, he tini nō ōna kupu hōu e oti nei i ngā waha Māori te whakaputa kōrero mō ngā kaupapa o te ao hurihuri e taiāwhio nei i a rātou, e oti hoki te whakamahi i te reo Māori hei reo māori o ia rā.

“Inā rā te mīharo i te kitenga i ngā tini pakihi a te Māori, a Aotearoa hoki, e whakanui ana i te reo Māori. Mā te rāhiri te reo ki te rāngai tūmataiti e noho ai te reo ki te aroaro o ngā hunga hōu me ngā wāhi hōu, pēnei i ngā ao o te hokohoko, te hoahoa whare, te tāpoi, te mātai pūhanga, te kutikuti hipi rānei.

“Kua koni atu i te 30 tau whanaketia ai Te Wiki o te Reo Māori i te Rangi Reo Māori ki tētahi wiki e kī pai ana i ngā whakanuitanga a ngāi Aotearoa whānui.

“Tērā te tauākī i kupuria ai i te marae o Tūrangawaewae, ka whakamihatia te ao o Kīngi Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII e Te Wiki o te Reo Māori a tēnei tau.

“Te whakamānawatia nei hoki e tātou tāna tamāhine, a Te Arikinui Kuini Nga wai hono i te po Pootatau Te Wherowhero VIII hei ariki hōu o te Kīngitanga.

“Nā te whakapaunga kaha a rātou mā o mua, nā ngā kaihapahapai hoki i te reo o te wā nei, kua tangata whenua ake te rere o te reo Māori i ngā āhuatanga o ia rā i Aotearoa.

“E whakatinanahia ai tāku anō ūnga ki te kaupapa, ko tāku he kōrero i te reo i Te Whare Pāremata, me te aha anō, i tō mātou tari, he rite tonu te wānangahia o te tikanga, te waiata, me te reo.

“Ahakoa tō hononga ā-whakapapa, te korenga rānei, ki te reo, he mea tūhonohono tonu tātou katoa ki te wāhi nei e te reo Māori.

“E akiākina nei e au tā te katoa karawhiu i te reo Māori, ahakoa pēhea nei te rahi o te mōhiotanga.”

Reomaori.co.nz has resources and information available for anyone wanting to learn more and demonstrate their support for te reo Māori and understand this year’s theme.

- SunLive