This week, from 14 to 21 September, is Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, or Māori Language Week. The theme this year is ‘Ake Ake Ake – A Forever Language,’ because the language has endured despite challenges in the past, and it is hoped that it will survive forever.
Aotearoa New Zealand has celebrated Māori Language Week since 1975. Three years earlier, on 14 September 1972, a group of Māori students presented the Māori Language Petition to Parliament, asking for the recognition and revitalisation of te reo Māori. The petition had over 30,000 signatures. Te Wiki o te Reo Māori is now a celebration for all New Zealanders to show their support for the language. Everyone is encouraged to speak Māori, even if it’s just saying kia ora (which means hi or hello and is informal) or tēnā koe (which means hello to one person and is formal).
There are events around the country as part of this week’s celebration. Unfortunately, the Māori Language Parade in Wellington today had to be cancelled due to heavy rain, but there is a march in Christchurch on Friday, 20 September, starting from the Bridge of Remembrance at 11.45am. There is a Māori film festival at Alice Cinema in Christchurch all week, a Kapa Haka performance at the Whangārei Central library on Wednesday at 11.15am, and a family fun afternoon with games, waiata (or songs) and shared kai (or food) at Birkdale Hall in Auckland on Saturday afternoon. Click on this link to search for events in your region.
Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori – the Māori Language Commission – have released a waiata or song to celebrate this week. It’s called Kōrero Māori, which means speak Māori, and was written in 1984 but it had never been recorded. The song encourages people to use te reo Māori at every opportunity. Click here to watch the video of the song.
This year for the first time, people could buy the Kia Kaha te Reo Māori clothing from The Warehouse. It went on sale online on Saturday and sold out in just 10 minutes. Perhaps this shows how popular Te Wiki o te Reo Māori is and how the language is treasured. Kia Kaha te Reo Māori means Be Strong, Māori language.
Vocabulary
theme – topic or main idea
endure – to remain alive for a long time
challenges – difficulties
petition – a written request signed by a lot of people, asking the government to do or change something
revitalisation – the process of making something stronger, more active or more healthy
march – when a large group of people walk together to express their ideas or to protest about something
cancel – to stop something, to decide that something official that was planned will not happen
release – in this context, release means to make the song available to the public