Pepeha

What is it?

The pepeha is the way to introduce yourself in Maori.

Keeping in mind I nga wa o mua and the fact that our people in their tikanga face that direction for guidance, what better place could there be to start introducing ourselves! For we are the children of the whenua, of the moana and of the tupuna.

To introduce ourselves we should tell the story of how we arrived here, and the story does not start with ourselves!!! But before we journey back in time we should anchor ourselves to this whenua. Mau is hold, therefore our Maunga (mountain) will anchor us here.

How did our tupuna come? They crossed the Moana, (oceans) the vast stretches of Te Moana Nui a Kiwa and followed the Awa (rivers) to come to the final resting places of their Waka (canoes). From the Waka came the Rohe (districts) which sub divided into the Iwi then into the Hapu. Each hapu is affiliated with a Wahi (place) and in each wahi is a Marae. Your Kaumatua (Grandparents) come from the Marae, your Matua (parents) come from them and then there is You.

The next thing to do is to put all of this into Te Reo.

Using Te is saying that such and such is the mountain etc. However, remember about each Iwi having different tikanga? What is the mountain for one is not the mountain for another.

Using Taku implies that you are superior to what you are talking about.

Using Toku implies what you are talking about is superior to you.

Guidelines for Pepeha

If you do not know all of the information, leave it out. As your life unfolds, you will, overtime, pick up other bits and pieces of information and you can add it in. Hence, as you grow learning Maori, your pepeha will grow with you.

Make sure, if you have parents from two different places, that each side fits!!! For example, if your father is from Ngati Porou (East Coast) and your mother is from Waikato, you would not say Ko Waikato toku awa, Ko Ngati Porou toku iwi as Waikato is not the awa for Ngati Porou.

When naming your grandparents and parents, put your grandfather / father first then your grandmother / mother second. Make sure that when you name the women, you use their maiden name as the maiden name is the connection to their blood lines.

The Pepeha Form

The Order of Introduction

Ko ____________________ toku maunga

Ko ____________________ toku moana

Ko ____________________ toku awa

Ko ____________________ toku waka

Ko ____________________ toku rohe

Ko ____________________ toku iwi

Ko ____________________ toku hapu

Ko ____________________ toku wahi

Ko ____________________ toku marae

Ko _____________ raua ko ___________oku kaumatua

Now if your parents come from the same place, continue as follows:

(a) Ko _____________ raua ko ___________ oku matua

Ko ____________________ toku ingoa

If your parents come from two different places you do your father´s side first.

(b) Ko ____________________ toku matua tane

then go back to the top (Maunga) and come down your mother´s side.

(c) Ko ____________________ toku whaea

Ko ____________________ toku ingoa

If one side is Maori, choose (a) (b) or (c) and then finish off with:

Ko ____________________ toku ingoa