Embracing Te Wiki o te Reo Māori
September 20, 2024
To mark Te wiki o te Reo Māori, Julian Hughes, GM Supply at Z Energy, shares some personal reflections from his own te reo Māori journey.
Mā te kimi ka kite, mā te kite ka mōhio, mā te mōhio ka mārama
Seek and discover, discover and know, know and be enlightened
This Te Wiki o te Reo Māori – Māori Language Week the theme is ‘Ake Ake Ake - a Forever Language’, highlighting the resilience, adaptability and endurance of te reo Māori. Te reo Māori is a taonga that has weathered many storms – and for the language to continue to endure, I believe we all have a part to play by embracing the language.
To mark Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, I wanted to take some time to reflect on my own Reo journey so far, hoping it may also encourage you to think about where you are on your own journey and where you might want to get to. While I’ve been working on learning te reo for some time now, my journey is only just getting started.
Te Huatakinga | Getting started
My reo Māori journey has bumped along for years. Never really taking off but being there as something to aspire to, something to reach for and something that has been deeply rewarding. It has provided me with insights about myself, generated emotional connections to people and places that are special to me and placed me in situations I never thought were possible.
Growing up as a kid in Hokianga, there was a high proportion of whānau Māori in our community, providing me a glimpse into the beauty of the culture. But despite this deep appreciation and a desire to learn more, it wasn’t until almost thirty years on that I took my first deliberate and formal steps into learning te reo Māori, when my wife Rachael and I had children and decided to enrol them in Kōhanga Reo in Ngaio.
We wanted our tamariki to understand their culture and the language that was part of their identity – but we knew we didn’t have the pūkenga (skills) in our own kete to support them with this.
As part of this process, we signed ourselves up to night courses at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa. This really kick started my passion for te reo. It enabled me to grasp a basic understanding, the importance of pronunciation and the experiential learning opportunities that create a real connection – nothing like standing in front of others and letting your reo flow!
Te Whakatau Koronga | Setting intentions
Something I found helpful was getting clear on my intentions and overcoming my fears.
Why did I want to learn, what was my place, and when is it appropriate to use te reo Māori? There is so much in these questions and some I still grapple with today. Sometimes they have been incredibly powerful motivators and somethings they have held me back. Most importantly for me was overcoming my fears as a Pākehā attempting to speak te reo.
While I appreciate it will be different for everyone, I can honestly say my own experience has been enriching at every step. I’ve been supported, encouraged and wrapped in aroha in my efforts. For this I am grateful and hopeful in our future.
Setting whāinga (goals) was another exercise I found helpful. In particular, putting some clear goals in writing. My current whāinga (goal) is to attain the ability to hold an everyday conversation in te reo. I am inspired by Scotty (Te Manhau) Morrison’s 80/20 kōrero yesterday – that 20 percent of the words in a language are used in 80 percent of the everyday conversations you hold!
I have these goals in my individual development plan, a tool everyone at Z uses to support their professional development. Putting these goals in here, have kept me focused and accountable.
Ko te reo ki te whatumanawa | Embracing te reo
There have been so many benefits from learning te reo. At a personal level, it has been satisfying to work towards a goal that is important to me and my whānau and see progress in this space.
Earlier this week, I led the Z Karakia at our Te Paramanawatanga o te Reo (Te Wiki o te Reo Māori opening event) and reflected that I couldn’t have done this six months ago.
By having a deeper understanding of the language and culture, I’ve been able to develop a range of authentic relationships with many of those around me, that I otherwise might not have been able to.
I am grateful for initiatives like Te Wiki o te Reo Māori that provide all with an opportunity to come together and celebrate Te Reo Māori. It’s a beautiful taonga that is available for all of us to enjoy and celebrate – and I hope that this Te Wiki o te Reo Māori provides you an opportunity to do this.
I appreciate that often the hardest part about starting something new is taking the first steps.
These are just some of my own learnings, and I encourage you to take some time to think about how you can incorporate reo into your own lives. Use Māori words, be a haumi, an ally, and once you have some skills don’t be shy to use them. I am confident it will be a rewarding experience.