Over 30,000 signatures collected for petition to revitalise Te Reo Māori

On 14 September 1972, Ngā Tamatoa and Te Reo Māori Society presented a petition with more than 30,000 signatures to the parliament to have te reo Māori taught in schools. It has been recognised yearly since 1975 as a week for New Zealanders to celebrate te reo Māori together.

Hana Te Hemara (1940 – 1999) was a prominent Māori leader and a founding member of Māori activist group Ngā Tamatoa. The iamhana.nz website shares a wealth of knowledge about Hana Te Hemara’s life, the work of Ngā Tamatoa, and the 50th anniversary of their petition to parliament.

Mahi Māra (Gardening) and kai (food) words and phrases in Te Reo Māori

Mahi māra – Gardening

He rawe te mahi māra – Gardening is fun

Kamupūtu – Gumboots

Kei hea ō kamupūtu? – Where are your gumboots

Me whakatō ngā kākano ināianei – Plant the seeds now

Kua kohi au i ngā parahanga hei wairākau – I have collected all the waste to make compost

Kua makuru te kai, nā te angitu o te māra – We have an abundance of food because our garden was a success

Noke / Ngā noke – Worm / Worms

Mā ngā noke e pai ake ai te āhua o te oneone – Worms improve the condition of the soil

Ringaringa – Hands

He kai kei aku ringaringa – I can produce my food with my own hands

Kai – Food

He tino reka ngā kai – This food is delicious!

Hua whenua – Vegetables

He aha te kai o te pō – What’s for dinner?

Parakuihi – Breakfast

He aha te kai mō te parakuihi? – What’s for breakfast?

Parāoa – Bread

Pata – Butter

Homai te parāoa me te pata– Pass the bread and butter

Tiakina ngā toenga – Save the leftovers

Mīti – Meat

Kei te kī te mīti i te pūmua kia pakari ai ō uaua – Meat is full of protein to build your muscles

Nā tō rourou, nā taku rourou ka ora ai te iwi– With your food basket and my food basket the people will thrive

Phrases taken from the book Māori at Home: An everyday guide to learning the Māori langauge

Pūrārangi Māori (The Māori Alphabet)

Te Wānanga o Aotearoa have this super handy tool for learning how to pronounce pūrārangi Māori (the Māori alphabet).

Simply click on any button to hear how it is pronounced.

For example; to learn how to pronounce pūrārangi, listen to pū – rā – ra – ngi (make sure to pay attention to the macrons e.g. , pū / pu). Check it out here.

Huatau (Ideas) and Rauemi (Resources) for Further Learning

ReoMaori.co.nz have prepared some huatau (ideas) you can do to use and speak more te reo Māori.

“It could be as easy as greeting everyone you see with ‘kia ora’, starting your Zoom call with “mōrena”, or playing te reo Māori songs in your workplace all day.”

• Take some te reo lessons online.
• Check out NZ History’s 365 useful words and phrases in te reo Māori and 100 Māori words every New Zealander should know.
• Read Māori at Home and other books/guides from Māori Made Easy by Scotty Morrison.
• Listen to the Waiata / Anthems album which features popular songs by Six60, Tiki Tane, Shapeshifter, Lorde, Che Fu, Rob Ruha, Stan Walker, and many more, recorded in te reo.
• Use Te Aka (Māori dictionary) online (or download the the app)

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