A Cultural Taonga: Te Reo Māori
Te Reo Māori is a taonga, a treasure. Te Reo Māori abounds with idioms and phrases which elevate the language itself: māpihi maurea, kuru pounamu, reo rangatira. Those who speak it treat it with great respect, because it has been handed down through generations and is unique in the world.
There is understandable solemnity surrounding the use and practice of te reo Māori because it is so precious, however the movement to revitalise the language is currently starting to establish a foothold for the language in everyday use.
Māori waiata about te reo Māori
The waiata E Mīnaka Ana is an ode to the Māori language and an exhortation to keep it strong and healthy.
Kia kaha tātou ki te kōrero Māori
May we all keep up our strength to speak Māori
E minaka taku waha
My mouth yearns
Ki te kai a te rangatira
For the food of chiefs
Te kai a te rangatira is a metaphor for te reo Māori, derived from a whakataukī:
Te kai a te rangatira, ko te kōrero, the food of chiefs is dialogue.
Taku reo rangatira
My high-born language
Those who speak te reo Māori are respected as high of status and speaking it is recognised as a great ability.
Taku kuru pounamu tuku iho
My prized treasure, my red-feather, my greenstone
Those who speak Māori well do not only respect the language, but they also feel a special warmth and affection for it, it is a special treasure.
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Toku Reo, Toku Ohooho is another waiata about te reo Māori.
Toku reo, toku ohooho
My language, my awakening
This reflects the feeling of understanding and clarity that comes from mastery of te reo Māori.
Mapihi maurea, whakakai marihi
A prized treasure, a valued ornament
The ability to speak Māori is a decoration, a mark of prestige.
Official protections: 1987, 2016
Every language is a cultural taonga, for it is a mode of expression that is unique. It is a gift to know what is meant by tuia te muka (weave the pounded flax fibres) or wheriko te moana (the glittering sea), ideas and feelings that te reo Māori expresses in a unique and beautiful way. Protecting languages is not limited to indigenous languages. The Académie Française, the principal French council for matters pertaining to the French language, protects French.
Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori, the New Zealand Māori Language Commission, was established by the Māori Language Act 1987, Te Ture mō Te Reo Māori. The Act also established Whakapuaki Irirangi, Māori radio broadcasting.
The Act established Māori as an official language of New Zealand, granted the right to speak Māori in legal proceedings, and gave it the effect of recognition. Certificates of competency, qualifications and endorsements were established. This Act greatly lifted the standing of te reo Māori in New Zealand society, which had been stamped out in schools and official settings in the early twentieth century. In schools, singing waiata and performing a karakia before a te reo Māori lesson at the end of the twentieth century was common practice.
Te Ture mō te Reo Māori 2016 updated this law. The old act was repealed by section 48 of the new act, and the rights of all people to use the Māori language in official settings was confirmed. The new act provided for development of the Māori language strategies, and the continuation of Te Taura Whiri and Te Reo Whakapuaki Irirangi as autonomous Crown entities. It established a new organisation named Te Mātāwai to provide leadership regarding the health and well-being of the Māori language.
The 2016 Act was seen as positive for its promise to support Crown and Māori working together on the revitalisation of the Māori language, though MPs were reserved about celebrating until society started to see the tangible success of its policies.
What progress have we seen since 2016?
Te Ahurei Toi o Tāmaki, the Auckland Arts Festival 2025, acknowledges the Māori language as a treasure, and as an integral and normalised part of our everyday lives here in Tāmaki Makaurau.
In October 2019, the Prime Minister launched Kotahi Rau Pukapuka Trust, whose mission is to translate into te reo Māori and publish 100 books. Some of the books that have been published so far include: Rōmeo rāua ko Hurieta (William Shakespeare), Te Koroua me te Moana (Ernest Hemingway), Hare Pota me te Whatu Manapou (J.K. Rowling), Nōu te ao, e hika, e! (Dr. Seuss) and Te Ruānuku (Paulo Coelho). The Complete Poetry of Maya Angelou is currently being translated.
Te Waituhi o Tāmaki, The Auckland Writers Festival, promises to conduct a greater number of sessions purely in te reo Māori.
Public occasions always feature a significant Māori kōrero. New Zealand businesses and corporations translate their mission statements into te reo Māori and publish them on their websites. Information videos, for example on airlines, are available in te reo Māori. Banking can be done in te reo Māori.
Perhaps it is only a matter of time before it is a lingua franca.