Source: University of Otago
The University of Otago will this week centre its celebrations of Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori on the preservation of te reo, adopting ‘Kia Manawa Tītī!’ as its theme for 2022.
The name ‘Kia Manawa Tītī!’ was gifted by the University’s Office of Māori Development and gives Māori Language Week an additional meaning within the University of Otago.
Karamea Pēwhairangi (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Kahungungu), University alumni and current kaiwhakahaere in the Office said that “while many of us are on this journey of reclamation and revitalisation, the hardest part about learning te reo Māori is to persevere – no matter the difficulty”.
Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori brings the nation together to encourage the use of te reo Māori in Aotearoa, to revitalise it and ensure the language is sustained. The language is a taonga which if we don’t continue to fight for it as a nation, could simply disappear.
Prior to 1814, te reo Māori was the dominant language in New Zealand. However, as the years passed, and settlers made their way to Aotearoa that would soon change. In 1847, Governor George Grey would introduce the Education Ordinance, a form of assimilation policy set to enforce the teaching of English within the education system even for Māori whose first language was te reo.
By 1850, the Pākehā population was greater than that of Māori and te reo Māori quickly became the minority language.
Karamea Pēwhairangi (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Kahungungu), University alumni and current kaiwhakahaere in the Office of Māori Development.
With the ongoing stripping of te reo Māori over the ensuing years, the number of fluent speakers quickly diminished. It was in 1972 when Auckland’s Ngā Tamatoa delivered the Māori language petition to the Government, asking for active recognition of te reo Māori. The petition asked the Government to provide opportunities for te reo Māori to be taught and broadcast around the country.
The petition, signed by 30,000 people, led to te reo Māori becoming an optional course in primary and secondary schools around the country. From here, the Kōhanga Reo and Kura Kaupapa movements played a huge role in te reo Māori revitilisation.
These efforts to revitalise the language continue today, but the University’s theme, Kia Manawa Tītī, acknowledges the fight ahead to preserve the language to the best of our ability.
“Kia manawa tītī is a kīwaha, a colloquial saying that talks of the heart of the manu tītī, the mutton bird. The tītī is known for its long flights across the moana or sea, and its ability to stay aloft during this time,” Pēwhairangi said.
“The tītī is only found here in the South Island which makes it a perfect metaphor for the University of Otago to use as a theme for Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori.
“The kīwaha means fighting through and going beyond your comfort zone. It means not giving up when the task gets difficult,” Pēwhairangi added.
“It means perseverance and encompasses what it is to fight until the end of something and just like the tītī, to finally reach the end of flight.”
Pēwhairangi is reminded that despite all attempts to eradicate the Māori language through colonisation, te reo Māori was fought for and preserved among tīpuna (forefathers).
“Kia manawa tītī also stands as a reminder of our tīpuna who persevered so that my generation and the generation after us could know and speak our language.”
Research published in 2020 indicated that te reo Māori is on a trajectory for extinction based on current learning rates. Data shows that the proportion of Māori who are able to speak te reo Māori under 24, has decreased from 21% in 2001 to 16% in 2018. Preservation is more important, now more than ever.
“Preservation is important Ie learning Te Reo Māori isn’t easy so just like the tītī we must persevere.
“It takes one generation to lose a language and three to restore it. The challenge is we need to value Te Reo Māori enough to teach the next generation and the generation after that. This takes perseverance – we can’t be fluent overnight.”
– Kōrero by Keanu Flavell
