Te Wiki o te Reo Māori 21-27 Hongongoi 2008
Māori Language Week 21-27 July 2008
Māori Language Week has been celebrated for over 30 years, and Nelson City Council invites you to take part in celebrating the language by making it part of everyday life.
Māori Language Week runs from 21-27 July. The theme for 2008 is ‘Te Reo i te Kāinga - Māori Language in the Home.’ Since 1975, Māori Language Week has been an opportunity to speak the language, or to show support to speakers of te reo Māori.
Language for local identity
Aotearoa/New Zealand has two official languages – te reo Māori and English (te reo Pākehā). Language is an important part of our culture and identity, and te reo Māori is unique to this country.
Nelson/Whakatu has a unique blend of dialects and place names, so it is an important part of our local identity to know about where those names come from and what they mean.
Currently around eight percent of the population of Nelson identifies as Māori; a significant part of the community. The language is already part of all of our lives. Think of the number of te reo Māori words already in common use – marae, puku, hui, whānau and many others.
Partnership
The Nelson City Council works in partnership with Tangata Whenua o Whakatu (local Māori iwi) and with Mātā Waka groups (people originally from elsewhere in the country). An example of Council’s support for everyday use of the language is in staff meeting rooms. Meeting Room 1 will become Ruma Mahitahi, the original name for the Maitai River. Meeting Room 3 will be Te Ana, the cave, which is an accurate description of its location.
Bilingual facilities
Community facilities around town increasingly acknowledge both languages. The new visitor centre, Millers Acre – taha o te awa (beside the river) is an example. Even more recently, the replacement bridge on Bridge Street received a bilingual name. Aratuna (pathway of the eels) Normanby Bridge acknowledges the rich Māori history of this area. The eel ponds in what is now Queens Gardens were a significant site for the first inhabitants of Nelson.
As well as containing plenty of resources, Nelson Public Libraries feature te reo Māori extensively. They are also known as Ngā Whare Matauranga o Whakatu (the houses of knowledge).
Throughout the library there are bilingual signs pointing the way to everything from ngā whare paku (toilets) to the service desk (wahi rotonga).
Māori collections in the library
About to go on to a marae for the first time and not sure of the protocol? Interested in finding out what the pattern on your pounamu pendant represents? Want to find out more about Māori history and whakapapa?
The Māori collections in the library hold the answers to these and many more questions.
The two main collections of Māori material in the library are Māori non-fiction collection and the Māori Heritage collection, which is housed in the Research Room. The Children’s Library also has a small number of picture books in te reo and some non-fiction material as well.
To help you learn te reo you’ll find books, tapes and CDs in the general non-fiction area.
You can also access the Māori Land Court Minute Books index online from the library. This index is a valuable tool for anyone researching their land history or whakapapa.
All these resources provide a comprehensive coverage of published material relating to Māori language, land, culture and history with a special emphasis on information about Te Tau Ihuo Te Wakaā Maui (the top of the South Island).
So if you’re researching your whakapapa, wanting to learn more about Te Tiritio Waitangi or interested in knowing more about the history of where you live, check out the libraries’ Māori collections or ask one of the Information Services staff to show you around.
Ahakoa he iti, he pounamu (although it is small, it is priceless)
The namer of names
Nelson has a wealth of history in its Māori place names. Try and figure out what they mean. They are translated at the bottom.
- Matangi Awhio (Auckland Point),
- Piki mai (Cathedral Hill),
- Horoirangi (Drumduan Peak on the Glenduan),
- Mahitahi (main river in Nelson),
- Moturoa (Rabbit Island),
- Te Tahuna o Tamaiea (Boulder Bank),
- Te Taero a Kereopa (Boulder Bank),
- Puke tirohia marama (Grampians),
- Whakatu (Nelson),
- Koputiraha (Nelson CBD area).
- Atawhai
These names were well established from the time of Kupe to the settlement of the Kurahaupo Iwi. In the late 1820s and 1830s new migrants from Kawhia and Taranaki arrived, some with new dialects which use a silent ‘h’. Now, like other parts of Aotearoa, you will find both forms in use, Whakatu / Wakatu, Mahitahi / Maitai.
1. whistling sea breeze, 2. climb here, 3. cleansing of the sky, 4. whitebait / working together
5. Long Island, 6. the sandbank of Tamaiea, 7. The obstruction of Kereopa, 8. The hills from which you can clearly see, 9. to set up, 10. lie down on your stomach or with your arms outstretched, 11. kind, kindly, care, protection.
Acknowledgement: Kia ora to Mark Moses from the Ngāti Kuia for the place name information.
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