Kāhu ki Rotorua: Te reo Māori to echo through Rotorua CBD

Jude Pani, Dr Anaha Hiini, and Norm Rahiri.

Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air

See below for English translation

Ko te reo te kaupapa nui

Kai te waka kotahi a Te Tatau o Te Arawa, a Kōtihi Reo Consultants me Te Arawa FM e hūkere kahukere ana. Ko te wiki o te reo Māori te take. Kua eke nei tēnei kaupapa whakahirahira ki te rima tekau o ngā tau.

He kakano nā ngā kaumātua ki muri i whakatō nō te tau kotahi mano, e iwa rau, e whitu tekau mā rua, nā rātou te petihana rangatira i kawe ki te ātea nui o Paremata me te kī atu he taonga te reo o tēnei whenua kāua e tukuna kia tāronatia e ngā ringaringa o te ao hou.
He kaupapa nui kua whakaritea e te hūnuku nei hai whakanui i te wiki o te reo Māori ka timata ā te kotahi tekau mā rua tae ki te kotahi tekau mā waru.

He kaupapa ako reo, he kaupapa ako pepehā katoa ēnei karaehe ka tu ki te puku o te tāone.

He kaupapa i whakarewangia e Te Tatau o Te Arawa nā wai ka tautokongia e Te Kaunihera o Rotorua me Te Taumata o Ngāti Whakaue.

Nō te Pīpiri ko hori i whakaarangia tētehi wāhi motuhake ki Te Manawa e te hūnuku tokotoru nei, ko te whakarangatira i te reo Māori te whakaaro matua wheoi anō hai timatatanga noa iho ki a āta mirimiri hoki ngā arero o te hāpori kia āta tāhuri ai ki te reo, nā reira i whanake ake ai te kaupapa Reo-rua.

Hei tuatahitanga tēnei kaupapa.

Ko te tikanga hoki kia whakarewangia i te rā whakanui o Matariki. E ai ki a Jude Pani te manahautū mā Te Tatau o Te Arawa, he kaupapa āpiti tēnei ki ngā kaupapa titiro me ngā kaupapa whakarongo e kawe nei i te ahurea o Te Arawa tangata.

'E takoto paepae ana tēnei tūmahi wheako ki a hāngai tonu ki ngā moemoeā i whakamanangia e ngā uri o Te Arawa ki tā rātou pukapuka moemoeā e ahu atu nā ki te pae o te tau 2050.

Ko te pae tawhiti e ai ki a Te Arawa kua paru katoa ngā pātū o ngā kāinga ki te reo o Te Arawa, ka rua, kua paiakangia hoki ngā tikanga o te wāhi nei, ā, kai te rangona te mana me te ihi o te iwi he ahakoa haere ai te tangata ki whea i tēnei takiwā, ka rangona te reo i ngā hoa mahi, ka kitea i ngā wāhi mahi e ngangahu kau ana i te waiariki otīā i tō tātou rohe.

He whakamihi nāku hoki ki a Kōtihi Reo me Te Arawa FM whaihoki ngā pākihi e noho tata nei ki a mātou ki Te Manawa me i kore ake nei kotou'.

Mā Tākuta Anaha Hīni tētehi mahi nei e puaki, ā, mā Te Arawa FM e kawe. Kai te kaha tautokongia tēnei whakaaro rangatira e te tumuwhakarae o Kōtihi Reo a Tākuta Anaha Hīni.

"Ko te take tēnei o Kōtihi Reo, ara, he pupuhi i ngā kongakonga o ngā pūrenga kia kā ai te reo Māori otīā te reo o Te Arawa. He ahakoa kai whea te ngākau whiwhita o te tangata mēnā kai te hiahiatia te reo, kia tika hoki me kanohi nā a Kōtihi hai whakamana i te reo Māori ā me te mea hoki kia rangona te tangi o te reo, kia rangona te apakura o te reo, kia kite kau te iwi ki te hikareiatanga o te reo Māori te reo tūturu o Aotearoa," koia tēnei hai tā Tākuta Hīni.

E ai ki te manu korokī mā Te Arawa FM/The Heat ki a Norm Rahiri, he kaupapa nui ki a mātou ngā poumahi o te teihana nei. Ko wai hoki mātou ki te kaupare atu i tēnei waka.
"Ko te whakatinanatanga tēnei o te waiariki .

Koia nei mātou, ko Te Reo Irirangi o Te Arawa te waka kawe kōrero mō te hāpori otikau te rohe katoa.

E hāngai tika nei ki a mātou kaupapa me ā mātou mahi o ia rā – ko te whakanui i te reo Māori me te whakatairanga i tō tātou Te Arawatanga, whaihoki ko te tuitui i ngā mātanga me ngā pūkenga huhua ki a kotahi mai ki te whakahau i te wairua o tātou te Māori ki te hāpori nei ki te ako me te kawe i ngā pepehā o te wā – mahi rangatira e hoa mā'.

Ka tīmatangia te kaupapa Māori Soundscape ā te kotahi tekau mā rua tae ki te kotahi tekau mā waru, ā te poupoutanga o te rā mō tētehi wā itiiti otīā mō te wiki katoa. —Na Raimona Inia i whakamaoritia.

Te Tatau o Te Arawa, Kōtihi Reo Consultants and Te Arawa FM are teaming up for Te Wiki o te reo Māori.

This year's national campaign marks 50 years (14 September 1972) since the Māori language petition was delivered to Parliament.

In recognition, the three Rotorua-based organisations are collaborating and will share te reo Māori lessons and proverbs via a sound system in the city CBD from next week.

Te Tatau o Te Arawa, with support from Rotorua Lakes Council and Te Taumata o Ngāti Whakaue, installed the system in Te Manawa in June as part of their joint commitment to advancing Rotorua Reorua | Bilingual Rotorua.

Piloted to promote the first Matariki public holiday, Te Tatau o Te Arawa manahautū, Jude Pani, says the installation builds on Rotorua's unique sensory experience of seeing and hearing Te Arawa culture.

"The soundscape is one step towards enabling people and visitors alike who are in the city to experience a sensory overload where they can engage with te reo Māori in different ways which align with our Te Arawa 2050 Vision.

"A future that has Te Arawa reo, tikanga and values woven into the everyday of our people, our partners and the communities in our rohe. A big mihi to Kōtihi Reo and Te Arawa FM for teaming with us, and a special thank you to our local businesses near Te Manawa for their support," she says.

The Māori Language Week Soundscape will feature kōrero scripted and delivered by Dr Anaha Hiini and produced by Te Arawa FM.

Kōtihi Reo director, Dr Anaha Hiini, whose business runs reo Māori classes and cultural advisory and translation services, is supportive of the project.

"Partnering on this kaupapa makes sense because Kōtihi is committed to supporting the revitalisation of te reo Māori and te reo o Te Arawa. Wherever there is a need and a passion for te reo Māori, we are happy and honoured to provide service to celebrate the mana of te reo Māori while showcasing the poetic beauty of one of Aotearoa's official languages," he says.

Te Arawa FM/ The Heat host, Norm Rahiri, says the station couldn't turn down the opportunity.

"This kaupapa epitomises who we are. We are Te Reo Irirangi o Te Arawa, the Iwi Radio Station for Te Arawa and the Rotorua district. It's a perfect fit for our normal business as usual – to celebrate te reo Māori and Te Arawatanga while at the same time creating an opportunity, through bringing our collective skills together, to help support locals and visitors to Rotorua to learn kupu Māori and everyday sayings."

The Te Wiki o te reo Māori Soundscape experience will take place from 12 - 18 September for a few minutes at about midday each day over the seven days.