What is a challenge you overcame?
Moerangi | Whakatāne
Moerangi and her whānau are deeply committed to the revitalisation of te reo Māori and the power it unlocks. But in a world dominated by English, this requires immense dedication.
“Me kī, ko te ao e noho nei tātou, he nui ngā pārekarekatanga o waho i tō mātou kāinga engari aua pārekareka kei roto i te reo kē, kei roto i te reo Pākehā, te reo e kōrero whānuitia e te motu.
Ahakoa ngā whānau kei waho e kōrero ana i te reo Māori, engari puta ana i te kēti, i te papakāinga o Te Hūrepo, ko te reo Pākehā te reo tuatahi ka rongo. He wero nui tērā ki a mātou, mātou i tipu mai i te reo Māori.
I haere taku pāpā ki roto o Ahitereiria, i hauā tana tinana i te rākau, ka pakaru katoa tana tinana. Nā tana māmā, nā tana pāpā ia i whakaora, nā ōna tuākana tēina. Ā, nō muri mai ka tūtaki taku māmā, ka puta he uri mā rāua.
Engari ka kōrero mai ia ki a mātou, ko tōna whakaoranga, ko te kahu, te kākahu whakaora i a ia, ko tōna reo, ko tōna kāinga tipu. Ko te mōhio ki tōna reo Māori, ko te mōhio ki tana taiao, ki tana kāinga i tipu mai ia, hei oranga mōna. Ko ēnā te taonga nui ki a mātou e pupuri nei.
Ko te oranga mōku, mō aku tamariki, mō aku mokopuna, ko te reo Māori, ko tō rātou kāinga tipu, ko te pupuri i ngā kōrero o tō rātou kāinga tipu o konei, o Whakatāne, o Tūhoe, o Ngāti Awa, o Te Whakatōhea, o Te Whānau a Apanui. Koinei katoa waku iwi o te kāinga nei.”
English translation:
“Perhaps it’s the world that we live in. There are many pleasures outside of our home, but those pleasures are in a different language, they’re in English, the language spoken by the majority of the country.
Despite families out there speaking te reo Māori, the moment they (our kids) leave the gates, they leave our homestead of Te Hūrepo, English is the first language that is heard. That’s a significant challenge for us, who grew up speaking te reo Māori.
My father moved to Australia, and his body was disabled due to a tree, and his body was shattered. It was his mother and father who nursed him back to life, as well as his siblings. And afterwards, he met my mother and had children of their own.
But he would tell us that what healed him, the cloak that healed him, was his language, his home where he was raised. Knowing his language, his environment, and his home – that’s what saved him. Those are the treasures that we hold onto now.
What gives life to me, my children, and my grandchildren is te reo Māori, the home in which they are raised, and the stories of the land where they are raised – of Whakatāne, of Tūhoe, of Ngāti Awa, of Te Whakatōhea, of Te Whānau a Apanui. These are all my tribes from here.”
