Te Pōkaitahi Tikanga (Kaupae 3)

George Skuse - Te Reo

“I’m from Gisborne and when I was young my brother had a scrub cutting gang. From age 14 to 25 I worked with the guys there and they spoke Te Reo. I didn’t speak or understand it but it was all around me as normal communication and something seeped in.”

“Wanting to understanding kaupapa Maori is simply woven through my life and I don’t really need to know why. Since 2009 I’ve done several courses including Whaikorero (the art of formal speech-making), an online Mauri Ora course, and I’ve done other Te Reo courses with different institutions.”

“This course has pushed me to do my mihi and a waiata and to write 500 word essays in Te Reo. I’m one of two pakeha students with 11 Maori and during the course someone died so we got to share in the experience of a tangi. We‘re a good mix of people and we developed a strong team spirit.”

“My cousin is a linguistics professor and says that if you’re learning a language, you need to work out why you want to learn it. My motivation is to read it. I want to be able to read the five volumes of Sir Apirana Ngata’s songs and sayings.”

“Having done the course I feel more confident that the foundations of Te Reo are there and I could now learn to speak it if I wanted to. I’m tempted to go on to level 5 next year and that could be even more full-on.”

Kim Tito - Te Reo

“There’s a generational expectation I hold for myself and that my kaumatua hold for me, that’s it’s time to step up and provide leadership for our hapū (Te Parawhau). Part of that leadership is to ensure our grandchildren have access to the history and whakapapa of our area, and to do that meaningfully, it needs to be in Te Reo.”

“I’ve been dabbling in Te Reo for years but until now I’ve had no formal training. I’m really enjoying the whānau approach here with ages ranging from teens to seniors. It’s notable to me that there are both Maori and Pakeha on this programme and I find the Pakeha commitment inspiring. We have fun, we mix well, and we share kai, and the tutor is flexible, focussed, and injects humour.”

“Technically this is a full time course and I work full time and long hours, so it’s a challenge for me to prioritise the time to study, memorise, and learn, for the assessment process.”

“It may be a five year process for me to be able to converse fluently, and eventually I want to be competent enough to teach Te Reo. I have recordings of my uncle speaking and I want to emulate his tone and poetic rhythm as closely as possible.”

“I want to encourage all New Zealanders, particularly Maori, to maintain their traditional language.”

Lequesha Rutherford - Te Reo

“I love listening to the kuia and kaumatua speaking Te Reo at the marae and I want to understand it better. I also like the idea of knowing a second language.”

“NorthTec is close to home for me and I like socializing with the people here. Learning Te Reo is already boosting my confidence. It’s bringing back early memories of when I first heard it spoken. I love learning more about Maori protocols and am very respectful of them.”

“It’s challenging for me trying to speak fluently but this is a safe environment to learn in. The students and the tutors are really kind with offers of rides or shared food. It’s a surprise to me that the course is free and it’s great that our classes are in the late afternoon.”

Iwi - Ngapuhi
Hapū – Ngati Hine

Brittany Marsters - Te Reo

“I’ve always been a bit nervous around Maori culture. I was brought up in a Maori family but we didn’t speak te reo and when I went back to our marae on the Kaipara, only the kuia and kaumatua spoke te reo.”

“When I did a mental health and addiction course, I realised a lot of Maori youth needed help and that if we could better understand our culture and te reo, it would really help. I’ve now started my own journey to do that so I can help myself and others.”

“My biggest break-through is realising that I’m quite spiritual and have a gift through my tipuna. I’m in place here for my tipuna and they’re in place for everything I do. Coming here is helping me learn how to understand and access that gift. I had a lot of anxiety at first that is was OK to be in a tertiary learning system and to step out as myself. But now with the help of the tutors and the supportive students here, I’m gaining confidence and learning how to be in the world with my gift.”

“The people and the environment here are really relaxing and very personal. It’s like a second home to me and I’m amazed at my own growth and confidence. Doing this course is enabling me to step up to my future career and be of service to Maori youth.

“From here I’m hoping to do a programme at the Wananga to also learn how to look after kuia and kaumatua. I’ll then have the skills in my kete to live out my dream of helping Maori – both young and old.”

Linda Cook - Te Reo

“I lived in central Africa, came to Auckland, then recently moved to the north and I’m really appreciating the slower pace and different values up here. We’re living in a community with a strong Maori presence, and in the last decade te reo has become a lot more visible. It’s more important now to pronounce the reo correctly and greet people appropriately, so I want to learn the language and the wider tikanga in the process. Doing this course is changing my perception of myself, my own whakapapa and my tupuna.”

“By learning te reo, we’re also learning about Maori history and the cultural values. The language is built around stories and these stories have a gravitas and richness that hold knowledge. The grammatical structure is more of a challenge for me than pronunciation but the language is starting to stick now and I’m finding it’s getting easier to research and write assignments.”

“I’m an older white woman and I find the other students are really helpful and constructive to be around. It was all so foreign for me initially, and sharing sleeping space on marae visits was very new, but now I’m very comfortable with it. It’s a wonderful opportunity and gives me a deeper understanding of the sociology of this country and its people.”

“I’m an artist, and in the art world now it’s expected that we have an appreciation of te reo and tikanga, so taking this course will also help me in my profession and expand my own world view. I’ve also learnt what is and isn’t mine to do, and when to seek out appropriate people for different cultural protocol.”

“I want to continue to upskill and improve my grammar so I’ll go on and study level 4. It may take me a while but gradually I’ll cement what I’m learning into my life. I am gaining so much by doing this course. It’s all embracing.”