Ko tōku reo tōku ohooho, ko tōku reo tōku māpihi maurea | My language is my awakening, my language is the window to my soul.
Take up the wero or challenge to use more reo Māori. You can also read about the 50th anniversary of the reo Māori petition presented to Parliament in 1972 inspiring today's celebration of te reo Māori.
More sources for reo Māori practise include:
Pepeha is a formal structured way of introducing yourself within the Māori world by locating yourself according to important landmarks and the people you descend from. Researching your own landmarks and descent profile so that you can develop your own profile. In order to foster whakawhanaungatanga – building connections.
In celebration of our language and our Ara values
• Hono - Connect
• Hihiri - Inspire
• Aroha – Respect
The challenge is to
- Learn your pepeha
- Record your pepeha
- Share your pepeha
Use these downloadable resources to get started on your pepeha.
#HonoChallenge pepeha template
#HonoChallenge pepeha cheatsheet
You can also click here for the Pepeha app to help you.
And gain further inspiration from Mariam and Hinemoa in the following videos.
Mariam Arif is a student with Te Wānanga o Aotearoa and teaches us how to do a mihi and pepeha for Non-Māori. She is learning te reo Māori and demonstrates not only a pepeha (2.43 mins) but starts with a greeting and finishes with a whakatauki (proverb)
Hinemoa Elder explains ‘How to structure your pepeha’ in preparation for meetings with key stakeholders. (2.44 mins)
There is even a pepeha app. Find out about it in this 1 minute You Tube video called #PepehaChallenge
Take the Mahuru Māori wero or Māori challenge in September. There is an activity for every day of the month of Mahuru. Karawhiua! Go for it!
Juliette, Ara presenter for The Beat shares ideas to celebrate Te Wiki o te reo Māori.
You can find the Kupu cards that Juliette talks about in My Ara