Rangatahi (youth) who are passionate about the language are leading the way for Mahuru Maori in this district. Maumahara Lewis Katene Horsfall (16) and Kayne Huriwai (17) are tauira (students) of Gisborne total immersion Maori language school Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Nga Uri a Maui.
Interviewed by The Herald, their responses were in te reo Maori, so a fair bit of translation work was required. But they were determined to keep to the kaupapa (cause).
Maumahara said while it had been a challenge, especially when speaking with others who were not fluent, positive outcomes were starting to show.
Her whanau had been making a good effort to reply to her in te reo Maori, and those who were proficient were starting to use their language more.
Continue speakingMaumahara said her greatest desire from Mahuru Maori was for her and her whanau to continue speaking in te reo Maori, or as she put it in Maori: “Ko taku tino hiahia, kia kaha ake te korero Maori i roto i taku whanau”.
Being the only fluent te reo speaker in his household has tested Kayne. But he is determined to encourage his whanau to learn and speak te reo Maori: “Me ngana au ki te akiaki i a ratou ki te ako i te reo Maori”.
Maumahara is to represent Tairawhiti at the Nga Manu Korero national speech contest in New Plymouth from September 20 to 22.
One of four students representing the district, she will compete in the Pei Te Hurinui Jones - Senior Maori section.
The kaupapa (theme) of her speech at the regionals earlier this year was inspired by a whakatauaki (proverb) from inaugural Maori language commissioner and Te Kohanga Reo National Trust chairman Sir Timoti Karetu: “Kia mau ki o tikanga me te reo Maori. Koia nei to turanga teitei: (cling to your Maori customs and language, for it is there that you will find your high position)”.
Tolaga Bay Area School, which is a “kura reo rua” or bilingual school, is also taking up the challenge.
Kaiako (teacher) Pele Takurua, the head teacher of kura (school) Maori unit Kahukuranui, said the kaupapa was being spread throughout the school.
Reciprocal support between fluent speakers and those who had little understanding of te reo Maori was key.
“A number of students from Kahukuranui have opted to do the full-month option. While that is quite a challenge, especially in a bilingual school, we have developed ways to assist others in the school and in return they are supporting us,” she said.
“We have been giving out sample sentences for everyday use, resources such as worksheets with the names of body parts, as well as idioms of Ngati Porou, especially those specific to Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti.
Writing te reo“We’ll also write things down on paper for them so we don’t break out of speaking te reo Maori.
“They are all trying really hard to support us as well. They are making a great effort with their pronounciation and using more kupu (words).
“There are some who feel afraid to talk to us, and then our students are feeling sorry for people who don’t understand us, so that support with one another is key.
“Knowing that this is a nationwide kaupapa also helps our students feel supported. We know that it’s not just us doing this.”
There is a Mahuru Maori Facebook page where participants are encouraged to incorporate te reo in everything they do, especially social media.
Gisborne’s Lewis Whaitiri has been making regular te reo Maori video posts to the page from Santorini in Greece.
During one video, Mr Whaitiri said (in te reo Maori) that it was difficult, especially being in a different country, but he and his friends would persist in expressing themselves as much as they could in te reo Maori.
Mahuru Maori was initiated three years ago by Maori academic and te reo Maori exponent Paraone Gloyne as a social experiment to normalise the language.
