Working together with our te reo Māori Heritage

Pānui Pāpāho Media Release

Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga

Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori

27 June 2018

He mahi tahi me tō tātou taonga tuku iho te reo Māori Working together with our te reo Māori Heritage

Kua paihere a Te Pouhere Taonga me Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori i runga i tētahi whakaaetanga Mahi Tahi ki te whakatairanga me te whakarauora i te reo Māori, ā, mā te reo Māori, ka whakanuia ngā kōrero tuku iho o Aotearoa. Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga and Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori (the Māori Language Commission) have joined in a Mahi Tahi (working together) agreement to promote and revitalise the Māori Language and, through the Māori Language, celebrate New Zealand’s heritage.

Ko tā Te Pouhere Taonga he whakatakoto tohutohu ki te kāwanatanga, ki te kāwanatanga ā-rohe me ngā kaipupuri whenua tae atu ki ngā iwi, hapū, whānau me ētahi atu ki te tautuhi, ki te whakamarumaru, ki te whakatairanga hoki i ngā wāhi tuku iho o Aotearoa. Ko tāna ko te whakarite i te whakamarumaru o ngā wāhi mātai whaipara tangata, ahakoa kua tautuhia, kua hopua kāore rānei, he whakahaere hoki i te 43 whenua tuku iho tāpua ā-motu. Hei tauira ko te Māngungu Mission kei te Hokianga, ki reira i tū ai te hainatanga nui rawa o Te Tiriti o Waitangi i te 12 Huitanguru 1840. Ko tētahi atu ko Te Waimate Mission i Te Tai tokerau, koia te whare tuarua tawhito rawa atu o Aotearoa, me ana kōrero whakahirahira o ngā hui tuatahi i waenga i te Māori me te Pākehā.

E mea ana ngā Kaiwhakahaere Matua a Andrew Coleman o Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga me Ngahiwi Apanui o Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori he māori rawa te noho tahi a ngā whakahaere e rua.

Heritage New Zealand provides advice to both central and local government, property owners including iwi, hapū and whānau, and others on identifying, protecting and promoting New Zealand’s heritage sites. It regulates the protection of archaeological sites, whether or not they are identified or recorded, and manages 43 nationally significant heritage properties. An example is Māngungu Mission overlooking the Hokianga Harbour where the largest signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi took place on 12 February 1840. Another is Te Waimate Mission in Northland, New Zealand’s second oldest building, which shares stories of important early encounters between Māori and Europeans.

The Chief Executives, Andrew Coleman of Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga and Ngahiwi Apanui of Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori, say the two organisations are the most natural alliance imaginable.
“He koanga ngākau a Te Pouhere Taonga kia whai wāhi atu ki tēnei whakaaetanga Mahi Tahi,” te kī a Andrew Coleman.

“Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga is delighted to be part of this Mahi Tahi agreement,” says Mr Coleman.
“Ko te reo tuatahi o Aotearoa ko te reo Māori, ā, i te taha o ngā taonga tuku iho Māori, he matua ki te tuakiri ahurei o tēnei whenua. E tino hāngai ana tēnei whakaaetanga ki te wawata mātāmua o te Kaunihera Māori o te Pouhere Taonga mō ngā taonga tuku iho Māori – kei roto tēnei i te whakaputanga a Tapuwae.

“Te Reo was the first language in New Zealand and, along with Māori heritage, is central to this country’s unique identity. This agreement fits perfectly within our Māori Heritage Council’s vision for Māori heritage – which is contained in the publication Tapuwae.
“E ai ki ngā kōrero a te Tapuwae, ka whakatinana, ka whakamana hoki ngā wāhi tuku iho Māori i te hītori, i ngā tikanga, i ngā kōrero o nehe, i te ahurea me te tuakiri o ngā whānau, o ngā hapū me ngā iwi. Kei roto i ēnei ko ngā wāhi tapu, ngā wāhi rongonui, ngā wāhi tūpuna, ngā tūtohu whenua ā-iwi, ngā whenua ahurea me ngā āhuatanga tuku iho i hangaia. Mā ngā ingoa Māori o ngā wāhi e āwhina te taki kōrero, e tūhura hoki te tikanga,” e ai ki te heamana o te Kaunihera Māori o te Pouhere Taonga a Tā John Clarke.

“As Tapuwae states, Māori heritage places give meaning and prestige to the history, traditions, culture and identity of whanau, hapū and iwi. They include sacred and historic sites, ancestral places, tribal landmarks, cultural landscapes and built heritage features. Māori place names help tell that story and give it meaning,” says Māori Heritage Council chairman Sir John Clarke.
Ki a Ngahiwi Apanui, ko te reo tō mātou hononga o neherā ki tēnei whenua atu ki te ao o nāianei. For Mr Apanui, the Māori language links our most ancient historical associations with this land to our present day lives.

“Ehara i te mea me tiaki noa iho tātou i ēnei wāhi tuku iho, me whakanui, me whakamahi, me wānanga me tautohe anō hoki. He pērā anō te reo Māori,” ki tā Ngahiwi. “Our physical heritage sites need more than preservation they need celebration, use, investigation, discussion and debate. So too with the Māori language,” says Mr Apanui.
“Mā te whakamahinga o te reo Māori i te taha o ō tātou kōrero tuku iho e āhei ai tātou ki te kite i tētahi taha anō o te tirohanga ahurea me te hono i a tātou ki ngā mahi o te tangata whenua o Aotearoa ki ā rātou mahi tapa ingoa, whakaputa kōrero paki me te nohonga whenua tae atu rā ki te hauhaketanga me te whakahaeretanga o āna rauemi.”

“The use of the Māori language in association with our heritage allows us to see an additional cultural perspective as well as bringing us in contact with the actions of the first people in Aotearoa in their naming, story-telling and settling of the land and the harvesting and management of its resources.
“He pou nui te reo Māori o te mahi tāpoi, tā tātou tino ahumahi hoko ki tai. Kāore he mea i tua atu i te reo Māori e kīia ai ‘kei Aotearoa koe’, he mea kaha tautoko te whakamahinga o ngā kupu Māori, o ngā kīwaha, o ngā whakataukī, otirā o ngā ingoa me ngā paki i te wheako tāpoi. Mā te reo Māori e rongo ai te tūturutanga o te wheako taketake, o te whakapā tūturu ki iwi kē me tā rātou hītori hoki.”

“The Māori language is a substantial support of tourism, our largest export industry. The Māori language says ‘you are in New Zealand’ like nothing else, and the use of Māori words, sayings, names and stories add greatly to the tourist experience. Te reo Māori brings a sense of authenticity, of indigenous experience and of genuine contact with another people and their history.
“Mā tēnei wheako ngā tāpoi ā-whenua, ā-ao hoki e whakatenatena te whakapātanga atu ki ngā momo pakihi tāpoi Māori katoa, he whakarite hoki i te ahurei o tētahi wheako tino Aotearoa rawa.”

“This experience in turn encourages domestic and foreign tourists into contact with Māori tourism ventures of all sorts and establishes the uniqueness of a New Zealand experience.
“Kia hāngai te kōrero e titiro ana mātou ki te whakapikinga o te reo Māori i ngā takinga kōrero, i ngā tohu me te whakapikinga mātauranga a ērā e mahi ana i te ao tuku iho i te whakamahinga o te reo Māori ki te hāpai ake i te māramatanga me te hari o ngā manuhiri, ahakoa ko te reo Ingarihi te reo matua e whakamahia tonutia ana, ētahi atu reo rānei pēnā i te reo Hainamana.”

“In practical terms we are looking at increased use of te reo Māori in commentaries, signage and increased expertise by those involved with heritage in using te reo Māori to enhance visitor understanding and enjoyment, even though the principal language used may still be English, or other languages like Chinese.

“He hītori reo Māori tā te whenua, te moana, ngā ngahere me ngā tāngata katoa o Aotearoa. Mā tā mātou whakaaetanga hou me te mahere reo Māori e marohihia ana e āwhina ki te tūhura i ēnei, e whakapiki hoki i te rēhia, i te harikoa o ngā tāngata katoa o Aotearoa, otirā o ngā manuhiri ki ō tātou taonga tuku iho.” “The land, sea, forests and people of New Zealand all have their Māori language histories. Our new agreement and our proposed language plan will help liberate these and increase New Zealanders’ and visitors’ enjoyment of our heritage.”

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