Let's Korero
Te Reo time at the Thomas household: Nikau, Melissa, Brian, and Tane enjoy a korero.
ISLAND Bay resident Charles Barrie’s favourite Maori word is whakawhanaungatanga.
The word means “building relationships” and because that’s what he does for a job at the Porirua City Council, Barrie is learning Maori so he can reach more people.
His role as the Enviroschools facilitator includes introducing Maori perspectives to local schools.
“I thought I should walk the talk,” laughs Barrie.
This week is Maori Language week, and because only 1% of European New Zealanders speak Maori, Barrie likes to highlight the benefits of Te Reo for non-Maori.
The 26 year-old had been learning Te Reo at Wellington College night classes, and then decided he was ready for full immersion.
“Speaking Te Reo really goes well with my professional and spiritual goals,” he says.
The Te Ataarangi night classes, run out of the Massey University campus, offered the next step.
Students are aged from 22 to 72, and full immersion means they leave English at the door.
The classes start with a karakia (song or prayer) and Barrie has incorporated this aspect into his dealings with Papatuanuku (earthmother).
Barrie now uses a karakia when he harvests medicine such as kawakawa leaves and Manuka bark.
“The language has more of an ancient connection with the land, and I say a karakia of thanks when I enter and leave the forest.”
The classes have also allowed him to tune into the National Radio’s Te Reo segments, and have opened the door to Maori music, especially the songs of renowned Maori artist Hirini Melbourne (1949-2003).
“Hirini had a desire to share Maori traditions and knowledge, and he wrote many educational songs for school children,” Barrie says.
He hopes more Kiwis take up Te Reo.
“How amazing would it be if every New Zealander knew this lingo that joined us together, and overseas we could speak a secret language.”
Another pakeha Te Ataarangi student is Wellington City Council parks ranger Brian Thomas.
“Speaking Maori is vital to feeling like a member of New Zealand,” he says.
The council pays half his night class fees, because it helps in building relationships with Maori in the community.
A childhood friend got Thomas interested in the language, and many of the concepts in Te Reo were not foreign.
“I had an affinity with being in balance with nature and sharing, but making Te Reo part of your everyday life is a lot harder.”
He started attending Te Ataarangi this year, and has also found it helpful in extending his four year-old son Nikau’s schooling at Kohanga Reo te Titahi Bay.
“He’s right into it – but learning has to be a part of home life, because that is where you have many important conversations.”
Thomas’s partner Melissa was adopted into a Pakeha family at a young age, and didn’t know she was Maori until she turned 20.
She is now also getting more in touch with the culture.
“We both have this desire for our kids to take their place in the world, and to understand a connection with the marae. The way the country is going means more and more people will be bi-lingual in the future.”
Thomas’s two year-old Tane will also attend Kohanga Reo, and one of his four adult children has recently signed up to Te Ataarangi.
The family reinforces their classes by watching Maori Television, which Thomas says is a great alternative to US reality shows.
“It’s the best television station around; they cover such a range and are real heartland New Zealand. I like the informality of it, the great production, and you learn a lot watching it – you can’t say that about a lot of mainstream television.”
At 47, Thomas says learning is a little strenuous, but he is determined to make the effort for his sons.
“It’s hard, but a good way to exercise your mind and renew your approach to life. You know more about the [Maori] names around you, and it opens up a new world.”
Te Ataarangi, Massey University, Monday and Wednesday, 6 to 9pm.
Maori Language Week, to August 1
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