A Maori Podcast

Kioranga! This week is Moriori Language week and I had the amazing opportunity to chat with one of the whanaunga, Kiwa Hammond, a leader in the Moriori Language, Culture, and Identity Revitalisation & Repatriations space. I was so excited, and so fortunate to have Kiwa sit down with me and share his journey. It was his youtube seminar that really helped to kick start my own Ta Re Moriori journey. We speak about what it was like growing up as Maori & Moriori, how learning te reo Maori lead him into delving deeper into his Moriori side. He shares some of his insights into speaking Ta Re, some of the nuances of the Re, some advice towards speaking it, some of his compositions, his love for karakii and tikane and the pursuit for modern day application such as his efforts to assist in Moriori repatriations. If you are interested learning Ta Re Moriori, I've also started another podcast. This one's bilingual, so it's accessible to everyone. I've started it for the same purpose I started this podcast -- to improve…

Kia ora! Most of us know who Maui is, most of us have also heard or read some of the korero surrounding Maui. Today I wanted to share a story taken from George Grey's collection, Ko Nga Mahinga A Nga Tupuna. You can read along here: https://archive.org/details/kongamahingaang00greygoog/page/n26/mode/2up I try to say it when I can, so here it is again - George Grey went about collecting our korero, would make edits to fit a certain narrative, and often omit where and who he collected our korero from. Te Rangikāheke was Grey's main pou, with Te Rangikāheke writing over 800 pages. Whakatauki: Ko Maui Tinihanga - Maui of many devices. A cunning person like Maui. [Murdoch Riley, 57-2] Kia ora ra e te iwi! I have a Patreon where I hope to add some additional value. If you'd like the kaupapa, and you appreciate this mahi, you can give a koha here: A Maori Podcast

E hoa ma! I'm excited to share with you the Maori language challenge I've set for myself. Basically, I'm introducing an old custom, an old practice that was quite common amongst our tupuna. That is implementing tapu onto our speech. In the past, sometimes the name of a Rangatira would become tapu, which then meant that any utterance of any portion of their name was also tapu, and Maori had to come up with another word. This custom has been practiced all across Pasifika nations, and is not unique to Maori. A somewhat recent example of this was when the word "wai" became tapu, during that time, the iwi of the rohe could not utter that word. So for a short while, Waikato was known as Ngongikato. My hope is that by reimplementing this practice into my life I can expand my vocabulary, and I can become a much better speaker of our taonga tuku iho. At this time, I'm currently using Te Wiremu to find new terms, however the difficulty arises when only a word is provided and no context is given. I'm bound to make…

Kia ora e te iwi! I was so fortunate to speak with my new friend Ronik and talk about his journey towards speaking te reo Maori. Ronik has spent the last 6 years teaching himself the reo, and only recently moved to Aotearoa. Over the past 7-8 months he's been able to find himself in immersion spaces to further improve his reo, and build a community of Maori language speakers. He shares some of his learning strategies, some nuances of te reo that he still struggles with, how he began his reo Maori journey, and some benchmarks he's done to measure his progress. I was so impressed with his enthusiasm to speak te reo, and how he uses it as often as possible with as many people as possible -- even with strangers that don't know a single word of Maori, he'll still greet them in te reo. You can find him here on instagram, promoting te reo Maori, and documenting his own progress. https://www.instagram.com/reowithronzie/ Kia kaha te reo Maori! Tukuna ki te ao! Aheiha! Kia ora ra e te iwi! I have a Patreon where I…

Whakatauki: Kei Hawaiki noa atu ahau e noho atu - I am sitting away off at Hawaiki. (Said by a person to indicate they are far away in thought. [Murdoch Riley, Maori Sayings and Proverbs, 1-17] Vocab: Mataahi - food prepared on a spit. [https://www.dictionary.maori.nz/mataahi] Matainaina - Desire: Taku matainaina atu ki te mea a te tangata ra. - My desire is towards the thing within that person's possesion. [https://www.dictionary.maori.nz/matainaina] Idioms: He aha te aha - Waste of time / Nothing came of it. [https://maoridictionary.co.nz/word/1013] Hei aha atu - Forget about it / Don't worry about it. [https://maoridictionary.co.nz/word/1024] Ko tāua tāua - Likewise / You and me both. [https://maoridictionary.co.nz/word/3116] Hangareka ana - What a crack up! [https://maoridictionary.co.nz/word/48206] Kua puta a Pito - I'm stuffed / I'm full [https://maoridictionary.co.nz/word/11059] Kia ora ra e te iwi! I have a Patreon where I hope to add some additional value. If you'd like the kaupapa, and you…

Kia ora ra e te iwi! I have a Patreon where I hope to add some additional value. If you'd like the kaupapa, and you appreciate this mahi, you can give a koha here: A Maori Podcast Kia ora ki a koutou! I thought I'd briefly touch on clauses of reason. I source my material this week from Ray Harlows A Maori Reference Grammar. Whakatauki - To mahi o te tane paraeroa - the work of a warrior [Maori Sayings and Proverbs, Murdoch Riley, 79-8] Kupu/Kianga - Koi rarua ai koe! - With koi, indicating a narrow escape. [Te Wiremu, pg. 5] Wetenga Reo: [A Maori Reference Grammar, Ray Harlow, pg. 223] "Ka nui nga mihi ki a koe mōu i haere mai ki te tautoko i tenei mahi." This sentence contains two clause: one expressing appreciation to the hearer, Ka nui nga mihi ki a koe, and the other giving the reason for this appreciation, mōu i haere mai ki te tautoko i tēnei mahi. This second clause, the clause of reason is constructed as described - its subject 'you' is placed first, introduced by the preposition mō. Te Ngata…

Kia ora ra e te iwi! I have a Patreon where I hope to add some additional value. If you'd like the kaupapa, and you appreciate this mahi, you can give a koha here: A Maori Podcast Kia ora! It's Maori language month! I think it's a good time of the year to dive into some old korero that existed prior to the arrival of tauiwi. These korero were collected and compiled by John White. I think it's also good practice to keep in mind that most (if not all) writings compiled by tauiwi have likely been curated and edited to push a certain narrative. Heoi ra, today's korero will be about the Wharekura, and what would happen in a traditional wharekura (per this book.) Each iwi had there own style, today's reading is about the Kai Tahu wharekura. If you want to learn more, go directly to Kai Tahu iwi, they are the experts on their own iwi, tikanga, whakapapa and history. English version https://archive.org/details/ancienthistoryof01whit/page/n31/mode/1up Maori version…

Kia ora ra e te iwi! I have a Patreon where I hope to add some additional value. If you'd like the kaupapa, and you appreciate this mahi, you can give a koha here: A Maori Podcast Kia ora e hoa ma! I wanted to look at relative clauses as I still need to work on gaining a better understanding of them and how they work. Hopefully what I share today is somewhat help. Explaining technical terms is always difficult but it's a good way to improve my speaking ability. Whakatauki - Haere i muri o te tira parāoa. [Maori Sayings and Proverbs, Murdoch Riley, 26-10] Wetenga reo: [Ray Harlow, A Maori Reference Grammar, pg. 241] "Recall that there are some types of predicate in Maori which contain a noun. In particular, nouns occur in the predicate phrases of ownership and location. When such a clause is used as a relative clause, and the position within it to which the head is related is the place name or personal name in the predicate phrase, then a pronoun is used to stand for a person, and the word reira 'there, the…

*Māhauhau - temporary shelter / hostel. (I said the wrong word in this episode. I had called it Māraurau.) Kia ora e te iwi! I had the privilege of speaking with my friend Kayla. We speak on our shared interest in language acquisition, the importance of speaking and having friends to speak with regularly, her language routines, how she went about learning Spanish, and her preparation to go an entire year without speaking English. Kayla also shares her love of Te Reo Maori by helping others learn our treasured language. https://www.reowithkayla.com/ Ko te reo kia rere! Mauri ora!

Kia ora ra e te iwi! I have a Patreon where I hope to add some additional value. If you'd like the kaupapa, and you appreciate this mahi, you can give a koha here: A Maori Podcast Kia ora ra e hoa ma! I've come across these structure before but it still hasn't quite set in for me yet. Hopefully today's episode can shed a bit more light into it's usage. Whakatauki: Nga mahi a te mata raumati - "The occupation of mid summer." Said of the habits of one that sleeps until late morning when the sun is hot. [Murdoch Riley, Maori Sayings & Proverbs, 54 - 2] Wetenga reo: No to ratou taenga atu ki marae, ka kite ratou kua timata ke hui. - When they arrived at the marae, they saw that the meeting had already begun. [Ray Harlow, A Maori Reference Grammar, pg. 216] [Ray Harlow, A Maori Reference Grammar, pg. 217] A, no ka hukea te hangi, he hawareware kau ano. - Then, when the oven was opened, there was nothing but skin and bones. (Orbell 1992:13) No ratou ka rongo, ka werowero i roto i o ratou ngakau - When they heard…

Kia ora ra e te iwi! I have a Patreon where I hope to add some additional value. If you'd like the kaupapa, and you appreciate this mahi, you can give a koha here: A Maori Podcast Whakatauki: Erangi te iti i te kore rawa - Little is better than nothing at all. [Murdoch Riley, Maori Sayings and Proverbs, 36-5] Kia ora e te iwi! I came across an old recording of myself when I first started on my journey to improving my reo. Such a stark difference in the sound of my speech. I'm happy and proud with the progress I am making. The main things I've done is, read Te Wiremu, listen to old recordings, speak aloud anything I read, and do this podcast (this rapidly improved my speech, you can probably here the difference between the earlier episodes, and this one.) I also answer the question of imitation, and mimicry, as I've been asked in the past if I'm from the North, or from the Coast because the way I speak. Ultimately, you sound like what you are exposed to right? I've spent hours and hours listening to old…

Kia ora ra e te iwi! I have a Patreon where I hope to add some additional value. If you'd like the kaupapa, and you appreciate this mahi, you can give a koha here: A Maori Podcast Kia ora! This week I thought I would cover a topic that has tripped up a lot of us. I hope that this episode can give us greater confidence when figuring out which form to use. Whakatauki - He haka kia titoia? - Can one haka without previous practice? [Maori Sayings and Proverbs, Murdoch Riley, 2-10] Harlow gives the following examples on demonstrating how to know when to use the neutral form: [A Maori Reference Grammar, pg. 64] 1. The determiner must not be immediately followed by a postposed particle. Tōku nei whare - This house of mine. (but not taku nei whare.) Āna ake tamariki - His/Her own children. (but not ana ake tamariki.) 2. There must be a noun as head of the whole phrase. The full-form determiners are among those which can be used without a head noun. Kua pakaru taku pene. Tēnā hōmai tētahi o āu. - I've broken my pen.…

Kia ora ra e te iwi! I have a Patreon where I hope to add some additional value. If you'd like the kaupapa, and you appreciate this mahi, you can give a koha here: A Maori Podcast Kia ora! I think one of the most impactful things we can do to improve our spoken reo is to learn more words. One of my favourite ways is to find a small selection, and start using them straight away. So, here are some new words I found. Whakatauki - He tangata ka rapa te whai. - A man whose clever devices will puzzle you. For a man who will emulate Maui. [Maori Sayings And Proverbs, Murdoch Riley, 57-6] Etia: [Te Wiremu pg. 28] Etia he waha tangata. - As if it were a person's mouth. Etia kei te moe koe. - Perhaps you were sleeping. Etia tonu tou humarire! - How great! Manioro: [Te Wiremu pg. 175] Manioro ki! - What a noise! (An expression of irritation.) Matahiapo: [Te Wiremu pg. 186] "I mau rawa to ringa. E kao, i matahiapo noa iho." - I'll grab your hand. Nah, fail whale, I missed.

Kia ora ra e te iwi! I have a Patreon where I hope to add some additional value. If you'd like the kaupapa, and you appreciate this mahi, you can give a koha here: A Maori Podcast Whakatauki: [Kohikohinga Whakatauki a Raupo, pg. 99] Tuturu - Tini whetu ki te rangi, ko Ngati Maru ki te whenua. - As the multitude of stars in the sky, so are the people of Ngati Maru. Mea raweke - Tini whetu ki te rangi, ko te reo maori ki te whenua. - As the multitude of stars in the sky, so are the people speaking maori. Wetenga reo: [ A Maori Reference Grammar, Ray Harlow, pg. 157] I rongo au ki tona reo kua tino papouri ia i te take ra. - I heard in his voice that he was very much saddened by the matter. Ka kuru te tamaiti i a Mere. - The child struck Mere (Mere is actually affected by the punch). Ka kuru te tamaiti ki a Mere. - The child hit out at Mere (Though the punch did not land, so Mere was not affected.) Kei te titiro ratou i te pukapuka. - They are thoroughly studying/scrutinising the book. Kei te titiro ratou ki te…

Kia ora ra e te iwi! I have a Patreon where I hope to add some additional value. If you'd like the kaupapa, and you appreciate this mahi, you can give a koha here: A Maori Podcast Whakatauki - Me te ihe - Like the ihe fish, always restless. [Kohikohinga Whakatauki a Raupo, pg. 153] Kia ora! I wanted to focus on expressing some nuance in Te Reo. I share some advice I gave regarding how to go about giving a mihimihi when you identify as LGBTQIA+. The purpose of language is the give word to how we think, and I wanted to share my thoughts on how to formulate sentences in Te Reo for concepts and ideas that may be new to us. How to mihimihi as transgender: Kia ora! Ko au tenei e tu whakawahine/whakatane nei, ki mua i a koutou, kia ora ki a koutou katoa! Ko Mea nei toku ingoa. Tena tatou. (Kia ora! I identify as transgender. I stand before you to greet you all. My name is ___. Nice to meet you all!) How to mihimihi as non-binary: Kia ora ki a koutou! Ko Mea nei toku ingoa. Tu tangata noa iho nei 'hau, heoi,…

Kia ora ra e te iwi! I have a Patreon where I hope to add some additional value. If you'd like the kaupapa, and you appreciate this mahi, you can give a koha here: A Maori Podcast Whakatauki - Ko Maru kai atu, ko Maru kai mai, ka ngohengohe. - Maru who ate abroad, and at home was agreeable. [Te Kohikohinga Whakatauki a Raupo, pg. 72] Kia ora e te iwi! This week I wanted to share some tips, ideas, and personal experiences of how I go about finding people to speak with. Here is the Discord link, where I met some of my close Maori speaking friends. https://discord.com/invite/wrDm5d7 For our wetenga reo, I found this really cool phrase. Wetenga Reo: "E ka" Ka ora rapea ahau, e ka tuaina ki te moana. - I'll surely live if I'm dashed into the ocean. [Te Wiremu, pg. 26] Koia tenei pepeha mo te mea kite, e ka kitea te taonga makere. - Here is what's said for things which are found, when such a treasure is cast aside.[Te Wiremu, pg. 26] Kua mimiko katoa nga kiri o te wahine mate kino, e ka puta te marama. -…

Kia ora ra e te iwi! I have a Patreon where I hope to add some additional value. If you'd like the kaupapa, and you appreciate this mahi, you can give a koha here: A Maori Podcast Bom dia! Aloha, Kioranga! Tena tatou! I thought today I would benchmark my progress on the languages I'm currently learning. I've currently spent: 123 hours 46 minutes listening to Brazilian Portuguese. 4 hours 40 minutes reading Brazilian Portuguese. 85 hours 41 minutes listening to Hawaiian. 4 hours 29 minutes listening to Moriori. Using something to track your progress is a real game changer. It helps to keep things in perspective and shows you the "actual" time spent immersed in a language. I start learning Brazilian Portuguese in September 2025 but the amount of time actually spent with the language is only about 4 x 40 work week. In all the languages I'm learning, I think my main priority is improving the sound of my speech. Today I share a brief snippet of my speaking ability in each language. Our whakatauki today is:…

Kia ora ra e te iwi! I have a Patreon where I hope to add some additional value. If you'd like the kaupapa, and you appreciate this mahi, you can give a koha here: A Maori Podcast Kia ora! This week I wanted to focus on a question I've been thinking about a lot, "What is tino rangatiratanga from an individual perspective?" - I share some brief thoughts on what I think it means. I sum it up into 4 categories. Skill acquisition, Investments, Health Mind/Body/Heart/Soul, Relationships. I share some experience on the skills I've learnt and how it's personally helped me in my life. I speak on where one should start when investing, and the pros of doing index funds. I conclude with some everyday things we can do to improve personal lives. Whakatauki - Maramara nui a mahi, ka riro i a noho. [Kohikohinga Whakatauki a Raupo, pg. 75] Wetenga reo - Ka haere te wahine ki te rama ika, ka hoki mai ki uta, ka whawhati i ngā rau otaota, ka tunu ki te ahi, kātahi ka tāpi ki ngā waewae hai whakaora i ōna waewae i te ngaunga a…

Kia ora ra e te iwi! I have a Patreon where I hope to add some additional value. If you like the kaupapa, and you appreciate this mahi, you can give a koha here: A Maori Podcast I have also transcribed the audio in time for the release of this episode! You can download it here for free, or for a koha. You can also just navigate to my Patreon as well: https://www.patreon.com/cw/AMaoriPodcast Whakatauki/Whakatauaki - Tūwhitia te hopo, mairangatia te angitū (Milroy 2011). / Eliminate the negative, accentuate the positive. Atua Wahine: Hine-a-tauira [Maori Religion and Mythology (1882), Edward Shortland] [pg. 22] [pg.23] "Tane took Hine-ahu-one to wife. She first gave birth to Tiki-tohua—the egg of a bird from which have sprung all the birds of the air. After that, Tikikapakapa was born—a female. Then first was born for Tane a human child. Tane took great care of Tikikapakapa, and when she grew up he gave her a new name, Hine-a-tauira (=the pattern maid). Then he took her to wife, and she bore a female child who…

Kia ora! I wrote out the transcription for this episode. It's just the reo Maori which can be downloaded as a pdf here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/transcription-of-160346907 If you'd like the kaupapa, and you appreciate this mahi, you can give a koha here: A Maori Podcast Tena ano tatou! I didnt know that we had another Goddess of Death. So far we have Hinenuitepo, Miru, and Rohe. I love finding out the nuances of our culture and language. Whether these goddesses are universal amongst iwi, or only iwi specific, I'm not sure but I still love learning these things. Enjoy! Whakatauki: Matua whakapai i tou marae, ka whakapai ai i te marae o te tangata. [pg. 128, Kohikohinga Whakatauki a Raupo] Atua Wahine: Rohe [Tregear, E. (1891). Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary pg. 421] [https://pantheon.org/articles/r/rohe.html] "A wife of the demigod Māui. She was beautiful as he was ugly, and on his wishing to exchange faces with her, she refused him his request. He, however, by means of an incantation, managed…

Kia ora ra e te iwi! I have a Patreon where I hope to add some additional value. If you'd like the kaupapa, and you appreciate this mahi, you can give a koha here: A Maori Podcast So, we've been using the wrong word and I hope that this episode can help us improve our reo. Making mistakes is fine, learning from them is better. Ko te reo kia tika, kia rere, kia maori! Tukuna ki te ao! Whakatauki - He peka titoki e kore e whati. / A branch of the titoki tree will not break. [Kohikohinga Whakatauki, pg. 43] Atua Wahine - Hineruru: "Families and larger kinship groups recognised the existence of ancestral guardinas embodied in animals. These spirits took a variety of forms, but the guardians [kaitiaki] that warn of death are usually owls (moreporks). These have different names. In Northland they are often known as Hineruru [Owl woman]. This special bird has the power to protect, warn and advise. As well as appearing at night wen someone is about to die, she may announce the imminent arrival of visitors. If she is…

Kia ora ra e te iwi! I have a Patreon where I hope to add some additional value. If you'd like the kaupapa, and you appreciate this mahi, you can give a koha here: A Maori Podcast Kia ora! Today I found I new atua wahine that I havent come across. I'm really enjoying discovering the richness of our ahurea maori, and our reo maori. Hopefully this little excerpt is something you enjoy as well. Whakatauki: Poroaki tutata, whakahoro tau ke - Actions deviate from your words. Literally "Saying farewells with words, yet delaying your return til a year later." [Kohikohinga Whakatauki a Raupo, pg. 115] Atua Wahine: Hinekaikomako - "The Fire Maid who is personified in the kaikōmako, the fire tree (Pennantia corymbosa). She is a child of Tāne, and wife of Ira-whaki, the Fire Revealer. Hine-kaikomako is the Fire Conserver and when man desires fire he applies to her for it; that is to say, he takes a piece of her body wherewith to generate it." Sources: Andersen, Johannes C. (1928). Myths and Legends of the Polynesians.…

Kia ora ra e te iwi! I have a Patreon where I hope to add some additional value. If you'd like the kaupapa, and you appreciate this mahi, you can give a koha here: A Maori Podcast Whakatauki - He takapau pokai, nga uri o Paheke. [Kohikohinga Whakatauki a Raupo.] Kia ora ra! I thought I'd give focus to Papatuanuku today, seeing as it was mothers day recently, and one of the foundational korero of many iwi is that Papa is our great first Mother. I source the below intro to Papa from Margaret Orbell's book [A Concise Encyclopedia of Maori Myth and Legend, pg 100] , and the pakiwaitara I share comes from George Grey's Nga Mahinga A Nga Tupuna, pg. 7-13. "Papa's name means Foundation, or Flat Surface. She is the earth that stretches out beneath her husband Rangi, the sky, and she is the first woman. The world came into being when Tane separated Rangi and Papa, pushing Rangi upwards and allowing light to come between them. Papa has a number of extended names, such as Papatuanuku (Widespread Papa). She supports and…

Whakatauki: He waha huka - A frothy mouth, i.e, all words, no substance. [Kohikohinga Whakatauki a Raupo, pg 114] Atua Wahine: Parawhenuamea. Margaret Orbell gives this account [A Concise Encyclopedia of Maori Myth and Legend, pg. 101]: "Parawhenuamea is generally regarded as the origin of the waters of the earth. She is the streams flowing from the mountains, and she is floodwaters, so it is not surprising that she is often regarded as the daughter of Tane and Hinetuparimaunga. Sometimes her husband is Kiwa, guardian of the ocean."Stative/Neuter Verbs - What are they and how do you use them? Kia ora ano tatou! I wanted to dive into this topic because I still mess this up myself when speaking the reo. What are stative/neuter verbs? Firstly, what is a verb? It's a doing word. An action word. Those new to te reo may have had a sentence like this, where the verb is kai (consumed/eat). Ka kai te ngeru i te miraka. - The cat consumed the milk. Now a stative/neuter verb is a word used to describe the state of…

Kia ora ra e te iwi! I have a Patreon where I hope to add some additional value. If you'd like the kaupapa, and you appreciate this mahi, you can give a koha here: A Maori Podcast Tuturu: He rau ringa e oti ai - Many hands make light work . Raweke: He rau korero e ora ai te reo - Many speakers make our language thrive. Kioranga! Kohi mai ene ra! I've properly added Ta Re Moriori to my list of languages that I'm actively study. So I thought I'd do another episode on it, as the material available for the spoken language is still quite scare, so I'd like to do my bit as well, just as I do for our Reo Maori. This week I will be covering a story on Tohinga in Moriori culture. You can find it here. I have also written it out to be read along also. Ka hui ka imi ki Rakauwhatiwhati ki ri tohing' o Rangihikiwao, ki ri kai i tchuaporo. K' hara mai tena imi, tena imi, tona' putē, tona' putē; ā, ka put' hikiwao, hikiwao nui, nui tche whei. Ka whati ta rakau tarewarewa ka putē; ka rere tena rataunga ki tona' putē ki…

Kia ora ra e te iwi! I have a Patreon where I hope to add some additional value. If you'd like the kaupapa, and you appreciate this mahi, you can give a koha here: A Maori Podcast I am planning to start a regularly online space to korero. Details are here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/korero-space-for-153338068 Kioranga! Kohi mai ra! (This is a Re Moriori greeting. The reo equivalent would be Kia ora! Nau mai ra!) Tena tatou e te iwi! This week I thought I would pop back in with some Re Moriori. I've been interested for awhile in this reo and wanted to do another episode on it. Hopefully it can be a good resource for those of you interested in pursuing this beautiful language. Please keep in mind that this is purely my attempt at speaking the Re. The sound I produced is based on my observation of the written text, my knowledge of Te Reo and Olelo, the rongo (waiata), and lectures given by Kiwa Hammond. Today I'll be reading a story from this amazing resource, which was pieced together by John Middleton of…

Kia ora ra e te iwi! I have a Patreon where I hope to add some additional value. If you'd like the kaupapa, and you appreciate this mahi, you can give a koha here: A Maori Podcast I am planning to start a regularly online space to korero. Details are here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/korero-space-for-153338068 Kia ora! I really enjoyed learning about this weeks atua wahine. I'd love to find more stories of her down the line. Anyways as always, I've provided my source, and made a quick maori translation. Ko wai a Pani? Nana ko Kumara. E ai ki nga korero a Hamiora Pio, tetahi tohunga korero no Ngati Awa i puritia ai enei korero. Ka eke ki runga, ki runga rawa, a Rongo-maui. Ka eke ki nga rangi tuhaha ki te whai kumara mai i tona tuakana, mai i a Whanui. Heoi ano, kihai i hoatu ra e Whanui. Ahakoa ra, ka tangohia, ka kuhua i tona ure, huna ai. Heke ana a ia, noho ai ki tana makau, ki a Pani-tinaku. Ka hapu, ka karangahia tana ipo, "Ki Mona-ariki ahau." Ka tae atu ki reira, ka rere ki te wai, ka takina te…

Kia ora ra e te iwi! I have a Patreon where I hope to add some additional value. If you'd like the kaupapa, and you appreciate this mahi, you can give a koha here: A Maori Podcast I am planning to start a regularly online space to korero. Details are here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/korero-space-for-153338068 Kia ora! This week I wanted to share about Hineteiwaiwa. I have come across a great korero of her seeking out Whakatau to help her avenge the death of her tamaiti. I've linked to the English and Maori sources to if you wanted to check it out. Hineteiwaiwa & Whakatau (English Version) [ George Grey, Polynesian Mythology pg.71] Hineteiwaiwa & Whakatau (Maori Version) [ George Grey, Nga Mahinga A Nga Tupuna pg 59.] Below is also a quick introduction to Hineteiwaiwa, from the great author, Margaret Orbell. Hineteiwaiwa: "The powers and responsibilities of women were established in beginning by Hineteiwaiwa. This early ancestor is the woman that who provided the pattern that women now follow. All girls…

Kia ora ra e te iwi! I have a Patreon where I hope to add some additional value. If you'd like the kaupapa, and you appreciate this mahi, you can give a koha here: A Maori Podcast Whakatauki - Nga koko tataki o Te Akatea [Kohikohinga Whakatauki a Raupo. pg 161.] Kia ora! This week I thought that we would take a quick look at the particle "ai" because this is something I still have yet to master. Hopefully this is helpful for all of us. Also I wanted to try and introduce a new topic called Atua Wahine. Basically, I find an atua wahine, and speak a little bit on it. Today I will speak on Miru. The Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary [E. Tregear, pg 243] is where I came across this info, however the text can be found here with references to further resources. https://pantheon.org/articles/m/miru.html 1. The first example below is used for the existence of something. Me e ai ana he toki maaku. - If there were an axe for me. [A Maori Reference Grammar, R.Harlow, pg. 120] 2. This example is quite familiar to…

Kia ora ra e te iwi! I have a Patreon where I hope to add some additional value. If you'd like the kaupapa, and you appreciate this mahi, you can give a koha here: A Maori Podcast I am planning to start a regularly online space to korero. Details are here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/korero-space-for-153338068 Whakatauki - Ko Tu ki te awatea, ko Tahu ki te po. - Work hard, play hard. [Kohikohinga Whakatauki a Raupo, pg 31] Kia ora! today I thought we could focus on improving our vocab. I decided I'd go through the different ways we can express the various times of the day. Enjoy! Morning: Before dawn - ata po [https://maoridictionary.co.nz/word/468] I te atapō tonu ka maunu te pā nei, ka haere, ka ahu whaka-Waikato (JPS 1899:180). / Just before dawn they retreated from this pā, departed and headed towards Waikato. First light - ata puao [https://maoridictionary.co.nz/word/45631] I te ata pūao ka whakaara atu a Taewha i a Māhu, “E ara! Haere tāua.” (JPS 1926:99). / At first light Taewha woke Māhu, “Get up!…

Kia ora ra e te iwi! I have a Patreon where I hope to add some additional value. If you'd like the kaupapa, and you appreciate this mahi, you can give a koha here: A Maori Podcast I want to set up a space for us to engage with the reo as frequently as possible. I'd like to find times that work for whatever timezone you're in, so if you either sign up to my patreon, or send me an email [amaoripodcast@protonmail.com] and we can figure out which times work. Here is the Patreon post where I can regularly update meeting times. whakatauki - he kaka waha nui. pg 103. whakautu - nga kupu e hangai pu ki te tango kakahu. ka maunu nga kakaku, ka rere ki te wai. - The clothes were pulled off, and he/she/it got into the water. [Te Wiremu. pg 197] Na, ka tae ia ki te wai, ka marere ona kakahu, ka rere ki te wai. - Now, when she reached the water she took off her clothes and got into the water. [https://maoridictionary.co.nz/word/3715] how to make maori a commonly spoken language: - engage with the reo - be open to making…

Kia ora ra! I love our purakau -- especially when I can find it in Maori as opposed to it being rewritten in English. Anyways today's purakau is about Rangi and Papa and the separation. This purakau comes from Kai Tahu. You can read along here, page 22. https://archive.org/details/ancienthistoryof01whit/page/22/mode/2up This purakau is a continuation of one which I brought up in a previous episode, Papatuanuku was with Tangaroa, Rangi become envious, he wooed her, started living with her, Tangaroa came back, fought Rangi, maimed him, and left Papa with Rangi.

Kia ora e te iwi! This week is a bit different, as I wanted to speak on my experience learning and teaching myself Hawaiian. I wanted to try and give a nice benchmark of where I am at, so I have attempted to speak completely in the olelo about my experience. I offer a reo Maori dub for comprehension. The main points really that I wish to drive home is: 1st - Find your why. It just need's to be enough to get you started. 2nd - Find yourself some listening material and focus on acquiring the sound of the language. 3rd - Have a way to track the minutes/hours you speed listening. 4th - That's it. Just do that repeatedly. I'm especially grateful for people like Malu the founder of Ka Alala,sharing their great aloha for their language and giving me the opportunity to learn the language of our tuakana. I'm also grateful for Emily the founder of Kaulumaika and her podcast Hawaiian At Home (If you didn't know, Malu is Emily's tane.) Hawaiian At Home actually gave me the courage to start my podcast. I really enjoyed…

Kia ora! Today I have our first guest speaker! I korero with my friend Mikaere. We are new friends to each other, and, what a treasure it is to build a friendship around speaking Maori to each other. We wananga today about various interests, te reo of course, etymology and some common etymological myths such as Aloha being a combo of Alo and Ha (grateful to Hawaiian language advocate and expert Dr. Keao Nesmith for taking measures in correcting this myth). We also touch on tangihanga broadcasting via social media, and whether or not it has a similar vibe to the advent of nupepa to Aotearoa amongst Maori, with the tangihanga details being written down in the nupepa. We share our favourite papakupu, the use of papakupu for different purposes, We look at the rise of A.I today. We draw parallels with A.I and Tupua, and the speed at which A.I tech is progressing. We conclude with a thoughtful question about what it mean's to be Maori, in this day and age.

Aloha! Tena tatou e te whanau whanui! Our whanaunga, our tuakana, are celebrating Hawaiian language month so I thought i'd do my little bit to hapai the kaupapa too. I've been learning the olelo for just over 2.5 years now, and I thought it would be nice to share a purakau from one of the books I have. I've done it line by line, olelo, then te reo (I've tried to get the reo as close to the olelo, so the reo may sound slightly odd), that way it still lines up with the take of this podcast. This korero comes from He Mau Ka'ao Hawai'i - Folktales of Hawaii, by Mary Kawena Pukui, with Laura C.S. Green. Enjoy! Mahalo! Also, I came across an awesome reo maori cover of Olivia Dean's - Man I Need sung by the talented Jordynwitha_why (She gave the ka pai to play her song on this podcast btw. Check her insta out: @jordynwitha_why) I enjoyed this cover so much that I thought I'd do a little wetereo on the lyrics. I'm only going off my own knowledge of the reo, so the breakdown is only based of my own interpretation.…

Tena tatou! This week I wanted to speak on some of the genius of te reo maori, and how useful I have found our use of personifying our environment and everyday phenomena has been in my own life. Whakatauki - Taringa muhu kai (Ears groping for food.) [Te Kohikohinga Whakatauki a Raupo, pg 9] Whakautu Patai - "Me kaua..." - Is this correct? No. This is incorrect. Te Whanau Wiremu has this to say: [A Dictionary of the Maori Language, pg xviii] "Weak (Hortatory or Deliberative.) Me karanga ia. - He had better call; let him call. (Not used in the negative.)" if you want to express the idea of something that should not be done. Below is a great example from the Maori Newspaper The Maori Messenger. Te Karere Maori (1855-61) (MM.TKM 3-4/1855) [Te Aka, example 2] "Kaua koe e whakaae kia whai mana i a koe ngā tāngata whakaaro kore, engari, kei ngā tāngata whakaaro, kei ngā tāngata e arotau ana ki tō mātou reo (MM.TKM 3-4/1855:9). / Do not let thoughtless people be in power, but people of thought, people who look…

Kia ora ano tatou! This week I came across a really short excerpt regarding a korero of Tangaroa and Papatuanuku being lovers. I had known of this story beforehand however it is always nice finding references to korero. You can find the korero here: Transactions and proceedings of the New Zealand Institute. pg. 31. If you are interested in atua maori, an easy place to find the source material is this website. Its good for just thinking of an atua/kaitiaki that you want to know more about, and it provides reading material for you. Pantheon Whakatauki - Te Papa No Rotu. [Te Kohikohinga Whakatauki a Raupo. pg. 117]

Kia ora ki a tatou! I know I have spoken on this topic before, but it's something that i come across often enough that I wanted to touch on it again. My personal goal is to strive to speak the reo which was spoken by our tupuna (obviously not completely possible, but I want it to be as close as can be). I want my reo maori to be reo maori, rather than english masked as maori. Olelo Hawaii language advocate Keao NeSmith addresses similar concerns in the olelo. Timestamp is 33 minute mark here in an interview on Keep it Aloha. Keao also delves into this topic in an interview on Ka Alala here. whakatauki - E kore e kitea he toki huna. [Kohikohinga whakatauki a Raupo, pg 25] Is it horoia o ringaringa, or horoi o ringaringa? horoi vs horoia: key differences [https://upokopakaru.wordpress.com/2012/09/13/how-to-wash-your-hands/] "Me tino whakamākū ngā makawe ki te wai, ā ka hopi: horoia kia kore he hopi i roto i ngā makawe (TTT 1/4/1923:2). / Thoroughly wet the hair with water and then lather it up with soap: rinse…

Kia ora! I'm excited for todays episode. I thought I would do a language comparison of Te Reo Maori and Olelo Kanaka. Do excuse my olelo pronunciation. I'm still working on improving it, as I definitely sound like a Maori speaking Hawaiian haha. Enjoy! Olelo Kanaka: Mokuna Ekahi - Ke Keiki i Pakele Reo Maori: Te Wahanga Tuatahi - Te Tama i Ora tonu Olelo Kanaka: Ua ha'aheo o Mr laua o Mrs Durley o Helu Eha, Ala Pilikino, i ka ha'i aku he po'e ma'amau no laua, mahalo nui loa. Reo Maori: Whakahi ana a Mita raua ko Miha Tuhiri, no te kainga tuawha i te Ara o Piriweti, ki te ki he tino maori noa iho nei raua - kia mohio mai koe. Olelo Kanaka: Aohe loa ou mahu'i he komo laua i ka hana ano 'e a hookahaha paha, no ka mea, aohe loa o laua pili aku me kela ano. Reo Maori: Ko raua hoki tetahi tokorua e tino kore nei e uru ki nga ahuatanga e koroke ana ranei, e porehu ana ranei, na te mea kaore raua e paku pai ana ki aua hanga heahea. Breakdown: Olelo Kanaka: Mokuna - This is related to our kupu maori Motunga. Ua - Kua…

Kia ora! This week I wanted to speak on something that I still mess-up often on. Apposition's, Kianga Whakamarama, Firstly, what purpose does a kianga whakamarama serve? Well, per the kupu, it elaborates and gives further information to a sentence. In English, Ray Harlow [A Maori Reference Grammar, pg. 166] gives the below example to show us that it is the second phrase which gives the extra detail to the first phrase. "Dr Hohepa, the Maori Language Commissioner, addressed the conference." In the reo, it is similar, but the difference is that we repeat the preposition. "ki a taua, ki te Maori, he mea nui tenei." (Karetu 1974:51) "Ko tenei manu, ko te kotuku, me uaua ke ka kitea." (Karetu 1974:51) Wetereo: Kianga whakamarama Noho raupapa ai nga kianga, penei i te kianga puhono, i te kianga tuingoa, kia whakamaramatia ai te tuatahi e te tuarua. Ma te reo maori nei, ka noho hangai ko tera kianga ko tera kianga, takoto ngatahi ai, a, ko te puhono ia, e whakaruatia. whakatauki - Hei aha ma te rora? What purpose…

Kia ora! I love this time of year. I'm definitely that type that gets excited for new year, new goals, new aspirations and so I thought a good topic to speak on would be some conversation starters in Te Reo. I've grouped it by category, hopefully these are helpful. whakatauki - E hoa ma, ina te ora o te tangata. [Te kohikohinga whakatauki a Raupo pg. 56] - Maori rawa ake i te mea "kia makona, ara bon appetit" wetereo - ranei [https://maoridictionary.co.nz/word/6466] nunui ana tikanga, a ko ta tatou, ko te tuarima e ai ki Te Aka, ara "Te whakamohiohio atu ki te maha o nga kowhiringa, me te mea hoki, horekau ke kotahi noa iho te whakautu. Ka tuaruatia anoki. He Minamina, He Ratarata [Interests, Hobbies] Ki te whakata ana koe, he pewhea koia kia manawareka pai ai ki a koe ake? [Whenever you take a break, whats your go to way to enjoy it, in your opinion?] Manakonako ranei koe ki tetahi ahuatanga hou? Tena, whakina mai. [Do you have any keen interests you've yet to experience? Please, do share.] E rata pai ana…

Kia ora! Since it is the new year, I thought I'd change up the format, we will still have a whakatauki, then I thought I'd share my thoughts on language acquisition, and answer some common questions that pop up, and share some person experiences. Whakatauki - E tia, me te wheke e pupuru ana. [Te Kohikohinga Whakatauki a Raupo, pg. 54] - regular exposure is the key. - focus on the sound of the language. - track your time spent exposed to the language. - the only resources you need are: something to listen to something to track your exposure Te Wiremu Maori Dictionary - when trying to express yourself in the reo, ask: 'how would I express this if I had no knowledge of English?' - common questions, thoughts, and concerns: question - how long will it take to become fluent? answer - It's better to change your perspective, ask instead 'how long will it take to express myself in the reo?' This answer gives your the flexibility to build upon your experience. If you have no knowledge of the reo expressing yourself…

Kia ora ra e te whanau! It's Xmas so I thought today's episode can follow theme. Whakatauki - Me oioi ki te ringa ka puta te tama a Upokoroa. [Kohikohinga Whakatauki a Raupo, pg 54] Pangapanga: Mele Kalikimaka. No tewhea reo te mihi nei? - He reo Hawaii. Tuturu ranei ki te reo Hawaii taua mihi na a Mele Kalikimaka? He kupu mino ke mai ranei? - Kupu mino mai. Mo te kararehe nei a Ruana. Ko Ruana ihu aha ra ia? - Ko Ruana ihu wherowhero Mo te waiata nei, He manu aha kei ro rakau ponga? - He Pukeko. E whia ra ia nga kararehe kawe waka o Hana Koko? - E iwa. Whakahuahuatia aua kararehe ingoa? Ko Tata - Dasher (https://maoridictionary.co.nz/word/7620) Ko Kani - Dancer (https://maoridictionary.co.nz/word/2171) Ko Hiteki - Prancer (https://maoridictionary.co.nz/word/1272) Ko Nunakia - Vixen (Play on words perhaps? Nanakia meaning tricky/crafty - Nunakia was the name of a ship https://maoridictionary.co.nz/word/30011) Ko Unahiroa - Comet (https://maoridictionary.co.nz/word/15093) Ko Kuata - Cupid…

Kia ora! So this week I found and interesting piece from one of the very first Maori grammar books written. A grammar and vocabulary of the language of New Zealand, [Thomas Kendall, 1778?-1832., Church Missionary Society, London, 1820]. The phrase is "Mou tenei toki". The implied meaning is "For you is this axe", however the use of using "mou" here signals that the axe is to be used on said person, rather than being used by the person. This nuance of A & O can drastically change the intention of a phrase. It reminds me of the awkward Coca-Cola ad "Kia ora Mate!" Anyways I've included references to additional writings regarding A and O by Ray Harlow. Ta Rei Harau - e noho a ana nga taputapu hei whakamahia ai e te tangata. Small, portable objects which are owned by the possessor, eg books, toys, tools, cups. The reason for the a in these cases is control - the possessor controls, carries or manipulates the possessum. [pg. 141, A Maori Reference Grammar, Harlow.] This one is from the Te Wiremu: He nohoanga moku…

Kia ora ra e te iwi! I have a Patreon where I hope to add some additional value. If you'd like the kaupapa, and you appreciate this mahi, you can give a koha here: A Maori Podcast Kia ora! Today I thought I'd put side by side the Reo and Ta Re so you can get an idea of the differences. You can read the full Ta Re version here: If you are interested in learning more about Ta Re Moriori, Hokotehi Moriori is the place to check out. I also wanted to share some thoughts on my own interpretation of words and phrases. The ones I cover in todays episode are the following (left is Ta Re, right is Te Reo) k' = ka tchuwhatii = tuara whati?/ tuara whati ai? (Alexander Shand says tchuwhatii is 'a piko noa' regarding the bent over nature of a kaumatua) ro = haere?/aro?/roto? i = he ka = ka (Kai Tahu dialect) / nga tchiei = kihei/kihai eneti = hoki I noho a Manaii i tona kaing'(a) i Hawaiki, a k' whanau anǎ tamiriki, a tchuwhatii, ka mè etu a Manaii ki a' tamiriki; "Ka ro kotau ko ro ta ngaherehere ki tapahi i ta rakau,…

Kia ora ra e te iwi! I have a Patreon where I hope to add some additional value. If you'd like the kaupapa, and you appreciate this mahi, you can give a koha here: A Maori Podcast Paetaonga (Patreon) is where I aim to early release episodes. It is usually a week in advance. So if you want to tune in early. Please consider me checking it out there. Tena tatou! I have always had a great interest in languages. My desire to improve my own Maori language speaking ability naturally created an interest in Ta Re Moriori, a completely separate language which is native to Rekohu, an island off the coast of Te Waipounamu. This episode is an attempt at what I think the language possibly sounds like when spoken, I am indeed no expert at all, and this is all just my own thoughts on how it could possibly sound. I draw on my knowledge of Reo Maori and Olelo Kanaka to help me infer the sound, rhythm and cadence of Ta Re Moriori. If you are interested in learning more of Ta Re, Moriori Hokotehi is a great resource. They are…

Kia ora ra e te iwi! I have a Patreon where I hope to add some additional value. If you'd like the kaupapa, and you appreciate this mahi, you can give a koha here: A Maori Podcast Tena tatou! I thought I'd also give a breakdown of a few of the phrases I delivered in the Maori interpretation which I gave in the previous episode. Hopefully you find these helpful. Kia ora! Tutuki anake i a matou, ko etahi mea noa iho, ko etahi atu, korekore rawa. [Some things are in our control, and others are not.] references: Te Aka Maori Dictionary ( tutuki, i - example 8. ), The Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary, Edward Tregear, pg 11. (Anake - Entirely, completly, without exception.) Ko aua mea e taea ai e matou te tutuki, i runga ano i to matou ake mana, koianei: [Things in our control are] Ko era atu mea, e kore e taea, ara ko nga mea nei, ko te tinana tupu pai ai, ka tahi... ara noa, ko nga mea katoa, no waho ke. [things not in our control are, body...and, in one word, whatever are not our own actions.] Tena, kia…

Tena tatou! I have a Patreon where I hope to add some additional value. If you would like to support the reo maori kaupapa. You can find me here: A Maori Podcast Kia ora ra e te iwi! I wanted to share a piece of writing that I really enjoyed, and have long thought about often. The Enchiridion. Wikipedia has an nice overview of it, and you can find yourself a copy from the MIT classics link here. The Enchiridion has been a great favourite of mine for years now, and so I wanted to have a go at giving it a Maori twist. Translation or Interpretation, isn't something of a passion to me as I find it really difficult to do, but I really enjoy the writings of Epictetus that I thought I would put my hand to it. I've only completed up to the end of the second verse. I've opted for loose interpretation, rather than direct translation as I wanted it to sound appropriately Maori when spoken. Hopefully it makes sense, anyways, enjoy! Tutuki anake i a matou, ko etahi mea noa iho, ko etahi atu, korekore rawa. Ko aua mea e…

Tena tatou! I have a Patreon now. I am trying to release a few extra stuff more frequently. Check it out here: https://patreon.com/amaoripodcast This week I found an interesting sentence on how to fake it, I also share an example of how important 'i' and 'ki' are and how it can completely change the meaning of something. I also cite and source some great comments made by Hemi Kelly regarding speaking on the breath, and taking a rest. Whakatauki: ko te ra maeneene a te rahui Tangaroa. [Kohikohinga Whakatauki a Raupo. pg. 158] Whakautu patai - kia ta te manawa 5. (noun) breath. Kua rere ake te manawa nei ki runga ki te ihu (W 1971:174). / The breath travels up to the nose. Below are the references to Hemi Kelly's sources in this video of his. Whakaha - Emit breath [Te Wiremu, pg. 29] Whakanga - Take breath [Te Wiremu, pg. 225] Korero: he rereke koe i au, he rereke koe ki au. - You are different to me. You are weird, in my opinion. Wetewete: Ko te ata kau, e kawe, huna iho [Te Wiremu, pg. 17] Ka kainga e…

Kia ora tatou! I have a Patreon now. I am trying to release a few extra stuff more frequently. Check it out here: https://patreon.com/amaoripodcast I did an English interpretation which you can read here. Below is a selection of phrases I liked from the Maori Newspaper read in the previous episode. You can check it out here: I didn't do a reading of part 2, but if you want to read it you can find it here: whakatauki: 'Ae, nga ra o toru whitu.' The Raupo Book of Maori Proverbs, Te Kohikohinga whakatauki a Raupo. pg. 155. me te waipiro nei ano te kaha. - ano: https://maoridictionary.co.nz/word/231, https://maoridictionary.co.nz/word/45397 He mea noa iho te mahinga. - noa iho: https://maoridictionary.co.nz/word/4430 kia to te ra. - kia: see Harlow, A Maori Reference Grammar. pg 216 for examples. ka pokapoka haere i te tangai. - haere: 'Following other verbs, haere implies that the activity is carried out as one goes around.' Harlow, A Maori Reference Grammar. pg 41-42. katahi ka whakairia te tahaa ki raro iho i…