Kua ikapahi mai kā tākata nō Te Tai o Marokura kia whai rātou i te reo kamehameha o Pōua mā, o Tāua mā. Four generations – kaumātua, pākeke, rakatahi and tamariki took part in Kia Kūrapa ki Kaikōura.
Rawiri Manawatu (Ngāi Tahu – Ngāti Kurī), with the support of Kotahi Mano Kāika, organised this te reo Māori wānaka for Ngāti Kurī whānau and the wider community.
The wānaka was designed for beginner to intermediate te reo Māori speakers, and taught in a supportive whānau environment.
“The one thing about te reo is it can scare people, this wānaka is about making it easy, and hopefully everybody goes away with a hunger to learn more,” said Rawiri.
Participants learnt karakia, waiata, new words, proverbs and sayings. It was a lot to take in. However, the kaiako continuously checked in with their students to see how they were feeling, and adapted the pace to suit them.
“The great thing about this whānau environment is because there is no curriculum, no test, you can change it up to suit the needs of the whānau,” said Rawiri.
Mother of three Darlene Morgan (Ngāi Tahu – Ngāti Kurī, Ngāti Pikiao) has been learning te reo Māori on and off throughout her life and thrived in this environment.
“The most valuable thing I found was hearing people speaking. And trying to, with the little bit that I know, put in to context what they might be talking about,” said Darlene.
Kaikōura early childhood, and primary school teachers were also invited to the wānaka.
“The idea is that our early childhood centres, our primary schools, and our high schools are feeding our tamariki the reo and the tikanga. Our whānau may not be in all the schools, but we still have the teachers who can help our tamariki,” said Rawiri.
Pip Johnstone, manager of the Kaikōura Barnardos Early Learning Centre attended the wānaka to learn more because she believes that te reo and Māori culture is a powerful way to connect with tamariki Māori.
“I want to learn more, so that I can teach more. We have been taught that children, particularly from the Māori culture, who are taught with their culture involved do a lot better in their schooling. I want to make their schooling the best it can be for them so they get the best outcomes.”
The wānaka was run over three days at Hapuku school. Rawiri Manawatu will be starting a te reo Māori course in Kaikōura next month. If you want information about the course please contact Rāwiri Manawatu on: 021 0261 8717 or email: [email protected]
Kia Kūrapa ki Kaikōura group ouside.
Kia Kūrapa ki Kaikōura Group listening and learning.
