For non-Māori, some may ask why is Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori a thing? Why is there no English language week? Why do these Māori get a week to themselves?
Well, e te whānau, let me enlighten you my bro.
Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori is our birthright. It is the reo that was once spoken by our tīpuna and the reo that will flourish in our mokopuna. Our reo is our continuum. For us as mana and tangata whenua, Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori is a week that is our lifestyle; it is us revitalising and nourishing a part of us that was almost taken from us. It is our political foundation and standpoint as we continue to navigate Te ao Pākehā as Māori.
This week symbolises our past, our present, and our future. It showcases the battles and fights that our tīpuna waged against the Crown and Government to allow our māoritanga to exist after the acts of external and internal colonisation. This week symbolises us, the kōhanga generation, the ones who are still unapologetically Māori and have no qualms about being the only Māori in the room to showcase our people. The ones who are more than happy to protest in any way, shape or form to make sure our tīpuna mahi does not die and that the Government is held accountable. This week reminds us that this needs to be the reality of all and should not be held to Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori or Mahuru Māori but our perpetuity, as it is who we are as Māori.
But this week also signifies what we need to fix as Māori and reminds us that those of us who know our reo, know our tikanga and our Māoritanga need to awhi and manaaki those that do not. Being Tumuaki Takirua o Te Rōpū Māori, you see the reality of our tauira at the University. You see Māori tauira who are storch within their Māoritanga and live and breathe their Māoritanga on a daily basis. You see Māori tauira who are trying to find themselves as Māori and navigate their Māori identity (churr come TRM Whare 523 Castle Street we can awhi hehe).
But you also see Māori tauira who find it hard to identify as Māori, going through the University and not feeling comfortable or allowing themselves to connect. And that may be because you are too whakamā that you do not know your whakapapa or may not roll your r’s the way that an East Coasty can. But that does not mean that you should allow yourself to build your own obstacles to understand yourself as Māori. This week is the week to learn a part of who you are and to allow yourself to connect as Māori.
I have watched tauira at the University learn who they are as Māori at our Te Rōpū Māori whare. I have watched my tauira become unapologetically Māori. We have one tauira in particular who has made me so proud to be one of their tumuaki. He grew up in Denmark for his childhood, therefore being disconnected from his Māoritanga. He came to university not knowing who he was and his space to be in. Then one day, he began coming into the whare and became a common tauira. I watched him begin to understand that he is Māori. I watched this tauira do the hard mahi for our kapa haka rōpū for Te Huinga Tauira ki Tāmaki, and represent our Māori students at a national level. I watched him use being Māori as his superpower and learn the ways of his people and tīpuna. I watched his personality begin to shine and go from a university student to a Māori tauira.
Outside of Te Rōpū Māori, I work part-time with rangatahi who have not had the greatest upbringing due to the generational mamae of colonialism and urbanisation. I have watched my babies learn their whakapapa, their pepeha, and enter Te Ao Māori. I have watched them blossom as they weave their putiputi and sing their waiata. I have watched them look at being Māori as a blessing and not a curse, discovering that they deserve a lot more than the inequitable lifestyle that society has given them. I have watched my babies look at bettering themselves for their tīpuna but to make sure that their tamariki will know who they are as Māori. Because, he whakapapa Māori, he Māori ahau, he Māori koe, he Māori tātou.
So yo, this week is a lot more than just a language week for us. It is everything that our tīpuna have dreamed of and the foundation of the world that we want for our mokopuna. It is the infrastructure of our bridge to enable all Ngā iwi Māori to cross. And although you or your friend may be against it, just remember your whakapapa nē, as you may not be Māori and this week may not have any correlation with you. But your mokopuna could be Māori, therefore your whakapapa may one day be Māori.
And to be honest with you, I think it is time to extend Te wiki o Te Reo Māori to more than just a week, aye!
And to our TRM whānuk,
TREE TREE TREE
mō tātou, ā, mō kā uri ā muri ake nei
For us and our children after us
E mihi ana nui,
Gemella Reynolds-Hatem
Tumuaki Takirua o Te Rōpū Māori