{"id":203,"date":"2025-08-26T14:04:48","date_gmt":"2025-08-26T02:04:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.takiora.co.nz\/?p=203"},"modified":"2025-08-26T15:04:47","modified_gmt":"2025-08-26T03:04:47","slug":"te-reo-maori-and-me-a-short-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.takiora.co.nz\/index.php\/2025\/08\/26\/te-reo-maori-and-me-a-short-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Te Reo M\u0101ori and Me: A Short History"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Te Reo M\u0101ori and Me: A Short History<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this blog, I share some of my experiences with Te Reo M\u0101ori, hopefully, you will find something in it and enjoy!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(James Barnes is 44 years old, He worked as a Te Tiriti o Waitangi Educator and Cultural Supervisor and teacher)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being P\u0101keh\u0101 and growing up in M\u0101ori Education (K\u014dhanga Reo, Kura Kaupapa M\u0101ori, Bilingual Unit)  was obviously different from most other P\u0101keh\u0101 families. it has been quite the ride, and really a super blessing to have a small insight into the M\u0101ori world. People often say we were lucky to grow up like we did, as we have the reo now \u2014 and that\u2019s true. But growing and maintaining Te Reo isn\u2019t just about luck. It\u2019s something M\u0101ori speakers have to work and nurture. So yes, we were fortunate, but it wasn\u2019t luck alone to get to this point of being conversational in Te Reo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Growing up at the K\u014dhanga Reo, N\u0101 Te K\u014dhanga Reo M\u0101tau<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I remember that time as so much fun. Where we lived, we had t\u012btiko (mud snails) from the mudflats. I remember throwing the leftover shells as hard as I could at my mates around the marae. Our marae even had a flying fox for a while, and these big wheel things we used to play on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I also remember moe (sleep time). My twin and I apparently spent extra time at the nanny\u2019s house when our dad was still working at the marae \u2014 her place was just over the road. I don\u2019t really remember that, but I do remember her warmth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The real good fortune was growing up alongside the other kids \u2014 my twin and I surrounded by whanaunga of the hap\u016b.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adolescence \u2013 Taku Ohinga<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We were lucky to have a p\u0101p\u0101 \u2014 a teacher \u2014 return from Auckland with his wife. They were passionate, full of energy, and gave so much to us. Our kapa haka grew from the standards waiata group, into top-notch new compositions about our iwi \u2014 songs that still help me understand the stories of home today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We did art projects like building a model of the Mataatua waka, and even drew outlines of our upper bodies so it looked like we were all paddling together. For a lunch bell, we had a p\u016bt\u0101tara (conch) neat alright, eh?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I think back on my reo, I don\u2019t really remember learning<\/em> it. We just picked up the basics from hearing it around us. I don\u2019t remember speaking it much, though, because everything else around us was P\u0101keh\u0101. Still, it must have been there, because it was the rule at school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At 12 years old we sat School C M\u0101ori. I was chosen to do the oral submission. One of my classmates got a 1 (top mark), I got a 2. I still have my exam \u2014 the writing is so kanukanu  (shabby), but it’s cute.. Sometimes in the exam, my words run together in the writing. Honestly, I think I wrote better then than I do now!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Short Time with the Kaum\u0101tua<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I used to watch Te Karere<\/em> and Waka Huia<\/em>, so I had a sense \u2014 though na\u00efve \u2014 of iwi stories and structures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At about 18, I began visiting kaum\u0101tua with cake, sitting with them and speaking in M\u0101ori. I started with those connected to our school, since they knew who I was. At the time, I had moved to Auckland and was failing my training to be a Kura Kaupapa teacher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I came home, I\u2019d pick up my niece, still a baby then, and take her to see the kaum\u0101tua. Sometimes I went alone. Looking back, I feel honoured for those moments, just in the fact to have sat with them. I grew up with their mokopuna, so it didn\u2019t feel so random. After visits, I\u2019d jot down notes in my car. It didn\u2019t add up to much, but later I was able to teach some of it at a dialect course for our hap\u016b.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ka Pakeke \u2013 As I Grew Older<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I went to a couple of Te Taura Whiri o Te Reo M\u0101ori hui to learn grammar and the rules of language \u2014 things like the passive forms. That was incredible. I met people like Timoti K\u0101retu, Te Waihoroi Shortland, and many who have since passed \u2014 Mate Kaiwai, Anita Moke. K\u0101ti me tangi r\u0101tau i te w\u0101, engari pea koutou o te ope kahurangi, kua oti k\u0113 t\u014d k\u0101kano te tou ki te one matua \u2014 we grieve for them, but perhaps the seeds they planted are now rooted in the right soil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other than that p\u0101p\u0101 from home, and an old man in the Kiingitanga, most of my learning came through working in M\u0101ori radio. I had time to read the beautiful books out there in Te Reo and to interview many amazing people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One funny thing: growing up, people would often say about others, \u201cN\u0101 te pukapuka k\u0113 ia i ako\u201d \u2014 \u201che\/she only learnt from a book.\u201d That sentiment still lingers, especially toward those coming home from university. But I think books and uni are treasures. My view is this: me koko aua taonga raka, ka meinga ki t\u014d pune wh\u0101ngai, hei ora m\u014du<\/em> \u2014 we should dig into those precious resources, and feed ourselves with knowledge for our wellbeing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I even tried to sit my M\u0101ori language translator\u2019s licence recently, but pulled out as I was going downhill and going to fail. I still don\u2019t know the rules well enough. It\u2019s a real science, and I deeply respect those who do master it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carrying the Seed<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of our koroua used to say: \u201cKi te t\u014d te k\u0101k\u0101no o te reo ki roto i a koutou, e kore e wareware.\u201d<\/em> \u2014 If the seed of Te Reo is planted in you, you will never forget it. That\u2019s true. The things we saw and heard, the tikanga we were raised in \u2014 those helped us, and help everybody.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the K\u014dhanga song says, \u201cOma r\u0101peti\u201d \u201cRun rabbit\u201d Me k\u012b, oma r\u0101peti m\u014d te reo nei, shall we say the rabbit should run for the reo!  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I plan to write in M\u0101ori on this blog at some stage, kia p\u0101kia au e te whakaaro tika! untill i get a good idea!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

E aku rangatira, e ng\u0101 iwi, t\u0113n\u0101 koutou katoa.
\u2014 H\u0113mi<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Below is a link to a classic song from our childhood<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n