Te Whaikōrero
The Speech Making
James Barnes is Pākehā and grew up speaking Māori in Kōhanga Reo and Kura Kaupapa.
He has taught Te Reo, Whaikōrero and Te Tiriti o Waitangi Education
(See Below For Translation)
Te hau matohi, kei taku tua, kei taku aro, tangongi te kura rukuruku o te ruahine ko Timu Whakairia, ko Kahukura whitikia te ara ki te pae kōrero e hā!
Ko te taonga maruwehi, ko te taonga ataahua, ko te taonga piere nuku katoa ko te whaikōrero
I tuhia tēnei kupu ki te reo Māori. Nō muri mai I raro nei kua whakatepākehā ahau I te kōrero mō te hunga tauhou.
He kōrero poto tēnei nāku hei whakaemi i ōku anō whakaaro mō te whai kōrero. He whakatakoto kupu hoki kia ara pea te kōrero. i pakeke ahau i te wāti whai kōrero I te pāpā , I te koroua. I tua atu i ngā tohutohu paku nei, ehara i te mea i ākona ahau. He whakarongo, he titiro I ngangahu ngā kōrero e whai ake nei. Hei aha!? He kōmarero mā te whakautututu wānanga!
Te Reo
Me tīmata tēnei kupu ki te reo, nā te mea koia te kaiwhakaataata, te whao whakairo i te kupu o te whaikōrero. E kore e taea! Me he pāpaku te reo o te tangata, he tāpepapepa, he perori te whakahua, he kīkiki rānei te reo o te tāne whaikōrero, he pākehā rānei te take, te kohiwi whakamāori i te reo, ka whakanene ēnei katoa i te mana o te whai kōrero. Nō reira, ko tā te waha-pūkōrero he karikari tonu i te puna wai, kia hohonu te whakatakere, arā kia kaha, kia mātua whakamātau i te reo Māori me ōna ritenga. Ko tāku whakataukī tēnei, “Ko te reo te urunga o te whaikōrero.”
Te Reo o te Tāne
Me rongo te taringa. He wā ka haehae te reo, ka ngengere; he wā ka kōmuhumuhu, engari me rongo. Mō taku whakapaparanga o muri atu tahi, e 44 nei aku tau, kei au nei kia whai ihi te reo i tōna wā hoki. Ka kuku ana i te whakataukī, i te poroaki, i te aha rānei, meā kawe ā tinana, arā, me pakiri te niho, me putē ngā kanohi – he tohu o te hiako pāoraora, he tohu whakaiti, he tohu aroha, he tohu nō te mana o te kupu. Ka tai koroua ana, ehara i te mea me whēnei; engari, kei au nei ko te whakapaparanga ki ngā tamariki, me whāitaita, me tukemata, me whakatautau, me ahu haere, he tohu whakaiti hei whakanui I te rā.
Tēnā, he hui Māori, kaua te reo Pākehā! Kei ētehi hui e kore e taea, me whakapākehā I te humaria o te anga o te kupu ki te manuhiri.
Ko te kupu I ako au me whakangāwari I te noho a te manuhiri.
Ko taku Kaupapa – Masters
Ko taku kaupapa Masters ko te reo tene. Kei te reo tene nei te momona, te ranginamu o te taonga o te whaikōrero. Ka oti kau ana te kupu kua ākona kē ki ngā roro, ā, tupaapaku ana i muri! Ko te tohu pea kei a ia, ko te wehenga o te pūkenga kōrero. Koia ka whakatiemiemi I te kaupapa o te rā, te whakamorunga, te whakatorengi i te reo i tōna atamai. Koinei pea te tohu o te ora o te reo: ko tōna kōrero tenetanga. Te whakataukī, te karakia katoa!
I konei me kōrero e au tētehi taonga kāore au i te mōhio nui – ko te mau patu. Kāti, ko te toa horopū, ko te hikareia, māna tērā mahi: te mere te tewhatewha, te tokotoko, te aha rānei. Kāti ērā tohutohu – me ako ia. Ki taku whakapae, tērā te nuinga nōwhea I āko, engari me tuku te tiripou ki a rātau, nā wai i kūtoro te rākau kia patua ki kōkēi rā anō, kore kē he painga!
Te Whare Maire
Tērā te kōrero mō te Whare Maire – te Whare Pūkenga. He kupu anō te “maire” nei mō te waiata. Kei ētahi tāne whai kōrero anō, kei te waiata atu rātou i te kupu kōrero. He pai ki au tēnei. Inamata, taraiwa ana i te rori, ka wīrihia te kirikiri, kotiu kau ana, ka pakaru te motokā! – he mea nui kia kawe mārire ia i te rangi kōrero, kia tae ki tōna pito mutunga, me kaua hei whati, e paoro ai te motuka ki te toka kohatu!
Ngā Taonga o Nehe
I konei ka whiriwhiria te wāhanga ki a Īhoa, o ngā mano, me te tauira Māori kua whakarerea mai e ngā pakeke. Kei te nui tonu te wāhanga ki a Īhoa i ētahi. Mō tātou i pakeke i ēnei taonga, I kiteā ngā tauira e rua, he tauira onamata Māori me te kawe tapu I te Atua runga rawa. He nohoanga tā tētahi, he nohoanga tā tētahi. I whakakinongia te tauira Māori ka oraiti a ia, he whakaoranga I te whakangau o te ao Pākehā, Kāti me tapuhi kia pakari anō ia I tēnei rā. He Māori anō he Pākehā hoki, māna hei amo te ture ki a Ihoa. Ki au nei me kaha tātou ki te taha Māori onamata te pou whakairo ka tū i a Rauru! Ko tāna kī iere, ngoto kau ana!
Te Whaikōrero
Me horipū te kōrero – He rahi tonu kua ākona me takaroa te kupu , me mihi a mea , a mea , hei aha koa kua mau kē te mihi I te tāpara I te tiripira o mua! He whakahiamoe I te wā ,ka pāngū. Tauira atu, tauira mai I te pouaka whakaata te hotaka “Whaikōrero” koia ka meinga kia motuhenga , kia kohure kia takiri I te ara hou o te kōrero, Katahi ka meinga koe he tangata pūmanawa pea . Kāti kei ētehi nō te miniti whakamutunga o ana kōrero kua mōhiongia te take o tana haere atu .
He kupu anō tēnei: ko te tuwha I tō tuakiri nē, i ngā ingoa hou ki te iwi mō ō tūpuna, mō te papa whenua, mō te parekura, te aha, te aha. Kua kite au i te tangata ka whakapeke i tēnei, ka mea te iwi: “Āi, nō whea te koroua nei?”
He take anō, mō te kākā tarahae, kei au me whakapiki te reo ki tua atu i ngā kōrero kai-pareti o ia rā. He wā tōna ka tīhohe, ā, ka huri ki te reo mārama o ia rā. Engari, mēnā he kōrero mate, he kōrero whānui noa iho i te whai kōrero, me whakarerehua pea te reo hei tauira. Ko te kī a te tāne whai kōrero: “He nui te mate i tēnei rā i tōna reanga.” Me whakapiki: “Ko ngā tapiri o Rehua e mōtī nei te tatai I au, ka wehea nei!.”
Ki ōku whakaaro hoki, mēnā ka ākona koe, nā wai rā, hei tāu, me whakarere pea tā tō kaiako kawe i a koe, me kimi kē he kawe mōu anō. I ngā kōrero, i te tū, i ngā aha, ka mea au, “He rākau mahuri i toua, ka tupu te manga.”
Te Hāngai ki ngā Ritenga
Ko tētahi āhua kua rongo au – ko te komitimiti i te ritenga Pākehā ki te ritenga Māori, pēnei i te kupu “Me whakamoemiti ngā Atua.” Kei au nei, me waiho marire tētahi i tētahi.
I meangia ki au ko te “grace” I te kai he mahi Karaitiana tēnei, me Karaitiana te karakia. Hei aha mā wai? Kua kite hoki au i te māia e karakia ana kia papahoro rawa te rangi! Inamata te huri ki te iwi poto noa iho te kī . Ka rawe tēnei ki te manu horo karakia anake, ka pāngū ki te iwi rapu tikanga.
Tērā ngā hui kua ngahue te tangata, kua hakerekere. Ki ōku whakaaro, me poto noa iho te kupu kia māmā ki ngā iwi kua tae mai. Arā, me horipū te kōrero, me tipoka tika ki te take o te rā.
Ko tētahi, ko ngā waiata Pākehā i muri mai. Tēnā, he kōrero tino Māori nei, me tautoko ki te waiata tawhito. Engari me whakaharihari a me whakaharihari I , me rukeruke atu ki muri ki te waiata ngahau.
Ko tētahi anō, ko te kupu nei “whakaparanga” – te takatahi rānei. He kakara ki te tahae tōna patero anō. He nui ērā kua ako i te karakia ataahua, kua kaikā ki te taki haere. Ko tētehi ki au he itiiti nei tātou I te mano kua hē, I ngā tupuna rawa. Me kaua tātau hei tou kikī, hei hewa rānei he mōhio rawa, ki au nei me kawe whakaiti tonu.
Kia piua atu ki te whanowhanoā ki ētehi kua kōrero mōna anake! Kei au nei he takatahi. Nā wai I makiri kua whāiti te tangata ki te whakaaro ki ō meha kōrero!
Tērā e kīa ai, ae, I te wā I te whaikōrero ka kūiti mai te kōrero ki te tangata kotahi noa iho nei, engari kua mārama noa atu ki te iwi ko te whai kōrero he poitō whakarewa e kōrero ai te moana e au mai nei, ōna au nui, ōna tini, ōna au roa, kaua te poitō whakaputa kōrero tonu nei!
Te Kupu Whakarite
Ko te kupu whakarite he taonga ataahua. He kupu māku i konei: he wā anō whakaputa ai te kupu whakarite ki tētahi hanga. Kua kite au, I te āhua nei he whakapaipai noa iho te mahi I ētehi wā. Kei au me hangai ki te horopaki.
Kei te mau tonu te tikanga o te tū o te pakeke, ki taku whakaaro. Me whakaae rawa – me tū te tamaiti i mua. He wā i peratia ahau, i ōkaka ai ki te tū. Kāti, ko te inati, ko te hē hoki o Māui Pōtiki – he ōkaka ki ana pakeke!
Hei Whakakapi
Ko te mahi a te pūkenga kōrero he whakakotahi I te iwi I te aroha me te whanaungatanga. Me ako te tamariki ki ngā tūranga o te whakaiti nei , ki te ihi hoki, he tohu nō ō rātau tīpuna. Kei ētehi kua kite au, paku kore ana! Mā te aha ko au I taku pokorua koia I tōna. E rite ana te kupu raka he tao huata koa, e hapa, he tao kī, e kore e hapa! Ko te mana ko te owha I te reo e mau ana. Kīhai ki te kōrero mā te whakarongo ki te mea ako.
Kua roa au e mea ana me mātatau hoki te wahine ki te whaikōrero, kaua hei tū, engari hei tiaki tahi māna, hei tohutohu tahi māna, Kāti hei whakaako tahi māna. I whēraka I te wā I mua. inamata nā te pāhua I huna I te taha wahine.
Koinei ōku whakaaro iti i tēnei wā e aku rangatira
Hei whakamutu atu, ko te whakataukī / tau tuatahi I ako ahau.
“Korekore rā te marama, ka mimiti te tai, ka ngaro te tangata “
Pai mārire ki te Kuini me te Kīngitanga, te takainga o te kura! Ngā manaakitanga tahi ki a koutou katoa
Nāku Hēmi
Te Whaikōrero
This blog was written in Māori and translated below
Whaikōrero is an object of awe, an object of beauty, and a very difficult subject.
This is a short blog to organise my own thoughts on whaikōrero, a dictation of my thinking, and also to hopefully spark conversation. I grew up watching whaikōrero from uncles and old men. Beyond a little bit of guidance, it is not as if I was trained. I sat, watched, and listened, which helped me become clear on how I will write this blog.
Here goes it! A blog of the wānanga of back and forth!
The language
I will start this blog with a word on the language, because this is the representation, the chisel of carving communication in whaikōrero. There’s no escaping it!
If someone’s Māori language is shallow, or doesn’t make grammatical sense, or is stuttering in whaikōrero, or their Māori language is influenced by Pākehā ideas as they translate that into Māori— all of these challenge the mana of wonderful whaikōrero. Therefore, the talented speaker’s job is to dig the water well, so the bed of the pool is deep. That is, to be strong, and that he may be well-versed in Te Reo and its ethics and rituals.
My proverb goes as such: “The Māori language is the pillow of whaikōrero.”
Te Reo o te Tāne — The language of Man
It should be heard by the ear. Sometimes the voice lacerates and can growl; sometimes it whispers. But it should be heard.
For my generation and after me — I am now 44 years old — there should be, at times, a vigour in the voice. When the main parts of a proverb or eulogy are met, perhaps it should be felt in the movement of the body: the showing of the teeth, the exposing of the eyes. This shows the vigour in life, and shows humility, a sign of love and of the power in communication.
When men grow older, it is not as if they must do all these things. But the younger generations and children should be taught these things: the grimace, the frown, the enactment of emotion, the movement of the body. It uplifts the day and shows humility.
If it is a Māori meeting, there should be no English language! Some meetings and hui, you can’t escape it — in serving the guests, if they do not understand Te Reo, then English, in my view, could be allowed. It has been said we should always cater to our guests.
My Masters thesis topic
My Masters topic was about improvisation in whaikōrero. Improvisation is probably the most important and beautiful aspect of whaikōrero. Some people get something written, learn it, and the next minute they die afterwards! This separates the better speakers — he who can make the subject of the day swing up and down, like the sun rising and setting with the topic of the day because of the speaker’s cleverness.
This is also the sign that the language is well, the side to improvisation.
Here I speak to something I don’t know much about: the holding of weapons. The mere, the tewhatewha held by the great warrior, and we include the tokotoko, the walking stick. To me, you must be trained in these. My take is that there are a lot of people who haven’t been taught, but have been gifted walking sticks, perhaps from within the family, and the next minute you see the stick fly in their hands to unknown destinations! Gee — too much, alright!
Te Whare Maire — The houses of learning
There is the saying about the old houses of learning. Another word for māire was song. Some speakers kind of sing their words or have a chant as they go, which I really like. Next minute they’re driving down the road and they come to some gravel, they dart off and wreck their car!
It’s important if they choose to chant or sing like that, they can hold it all the way through — so they can reach the end of their speech and not break from the tune. Then their car won’t crash into the big rock by the road!
The treasures of the old world
Here I look at the space for Christianity, and also the place of the old Māori world that has been left to us. There is still a substantive role being held by Christians, both Māori and non-Māori. For us that were raised Māori, we have seen the roles of both within whaikōrero. They both have their place.
The old Māori world has faced hate in its history and still does in some ways, but we are moving through that. The old Māori survived a strong attack by the Pākehā world. To me, we should heal this old Māori world to reinstate its rightful place where it needs strengthening.
There are Māori and Pākehā people to maintain Christianity with no concern. My view is we must be strong to the old Māori. This is a carving of Rauru, and his word strikes at the heart!
Speech making
Speech making should be direct. There are many who take a long time to get their point across. They feel they have to greet such and such a thing, even though it may have doubled or tripled by speakers before them! This makes people sleepy and bored.
There have been many great examples, like the series Whaikōrero on Whakaata Māori, which encourages individuality and uniqueness in whaikōrero. To be direct, so people know why you are there. Then people will see you as talented. Some leave it to the last minute to get across the essence of why they are there or their message.
Another thing to say is we should disclose our identities: your name, which may be new to the people, your ancestry or tradition, your land, and tragedies, etc. I have seen men get up and people say, “Gee, where is this fulla from?”
Another issue for good speakers is to lift, at times, the level of the reo beyond the average. Sometimes when we joke we may speak in a way where everyone understands, but in my view, when speaking about death and esoteric things, it’s lovely to hear poetry-level language.
As an example, I heard a man say in whaikōrero: “There is a lot of death at the moment from my generation.” This could be lifted to: “The assemblages of the star Rehua destroy my generation, which removes itself.”
My view also is if you were taught or inspired at some stage, you should shed your teacher’s style and try to develop your own, in the way you stand and everything else. I say: “A sapling tree was planted, and it will grow its branches.”
The relevance to tradition
One thing I have heard is the mixing of Pākehā and Māori tradition. Like the saying “We should give thanks to the gods (plural).” To me, tradition should be separate in application.
I was told grace at a meal is Christian tradition, so Christian prayers should be carried out then. Who cares, really. I have seen a fulla praying in such a way that the heavens were going to fall in!
What followed straight after was such a little thing to say. This is great to the bird who eats karakia, but boring to those who seek meaning. There are meetings with heaps of people; to me at these we should keep it very brief, to make it easy for all who have arrived.
Also with the songs sung in support of whaikōrero: if it was a very Māori speech, then a good traditional song is appropriate. But if it was only a light speech to make people happy, then a nice fun song, perhaps.
Another thing is our word whakaparanga or show-off, and the word takatahi. To some, they love the smell of their own fart. Heaps have learnt a beautiful prayer or two and are keen to chant it. To me, we are all just little people compared to the many who have passed on, even the ancestors. We shouldn’t be uptight and take ourselves too seriously, and act like we know too much, but remain humble.
Let us dart off to something that irritates when someone just talks about themselves. To me, it’s a form of showing off. Who thought we all came here to listen to your speaking!
That is to say, at times in whaikōrero, you may end up reducing the talk down to only the individual, but it is well understood by the people that whaikōrero is like a buoy on the great ocean, to let the many in that ocean speak, with its heaving current, and it speaks to that ocean, not the buoy speaking itself!
The metaphor
The metaphor is a beautiful gift. What I would say is: there are times to share metaphor when thinking of something. I have seen sometimes metaphor is used just to make the speech flash. I think the metaphor should relate to the context.
The ethic of the elder who represents the tribe still stands. To me, the elder should approve someone younger speaking. I was one — I was keen to speak at one time. There we have the parables of Māui, the miracles and wrongs he did! He was too keen at times, according to his elders!
In conclusion
The work of the orator is to unite the people in love and relationship. We should teach our children this type of humility, and also the vigour that goes with this artform. This is a sign of their ancestors. Some that I have seen don’t have any of these features! It’s all good — I stand in my hole and he in his!
The proverb is right that a spear when thrusted makes mistakes, but the spear of words does not!
The power and sentiment is held in the language. It is said by listening to the thing that teaches.
I have long said our women need to know about whaikōrero. Not to stand on the marae, but for her to care for it, and for her to advise and teach it to the young and men. This was done in the past, but it was through colonisation that this was affected.
These are my humble thoughts for now, my leaders. To finish, this is the first poem I learnt:
“Korekore rā te marama, ka mimiti te tai, ka ngaro te tangata.”
When the moon is in Korekore, the tide recedes and the people may get lost.
Pai mārire to the Queen and the King Movement, the movement of the sacred! Greetings to you all.
James