For this inquiry, we had the opportunity to research a social justice issue that we were interested in. For inquiry, I wanted to find how we can support the comeback of the Māori language and culture. We can do this by firstly, having more than 1 Māori language week per year. Secondly, having 1-4 periods per week where you learn Māori. Lastly, having a public holiday to acknowledge the language, culture, and history.
Back in the 1860s T.B. Strong, director of education commented that ‘the natural abandonment of the native tongue inflicts no loss on the Māori’. However, Māori resisted by still speaking te reo in the home. Education became an area of cultural conflict, with some Māori seeing the education system as suppressing Māori culture, language, and identity. Children were punished for speaking te reo Māori at school.
Between 1920 and 1960 there was a significant decline in the number of speakers of Māori. Several factors contributed to this decline. Also, during urban migration, Māori families were encouraged to integrate into mainstream society. The intention was to house Māori families among non-Māori families to promote Pākehā ideals, culture, and language.
The Māori language was suppressed in schools either formally or informally due to the ‘Native Schools Act’, many of those were physically punished to ensure that Māori youngsters assimilated with the wider community. Some older Māori still recalls being punished for speaking their language. In the mid-1980 Sir James Henare being sent into the bush to cut a piece of pirita (supplejack vine) with which he was struck for speaking te reo on the school grounds. One teacher told him that ‘if you want to earn your bread and butter you must speak English.’
There were a few reasons that Māori wasn’t also spoken at home. One reason was they saw no place for it in the future of society. For many of the kaumatua, my grandparents, great grandparents, and great-great-grandparents were those who suffered trauma, so they didn't have te reo passed on to them. And then they didn't pass it on to the younger generation.
Fortunately for me, my father and mother stepped up and studied the Maori language, kapahaka, rules, how to act on a marae, etc. So when My dad had his own children he could pass it on to my generation.
Te Reo Māori was banned in schools in 1867. It became an official language, but by then only 15% of Māori could speak their mother tongue. Today, 19% of New Zealanders are multilingual. But not all of those who were multilingual spoke Maori and English, some people spoke English and another foreign language.
But with every argument and fight, there are two sides. The reason why they only taught English in schools is that there were a lot of protests saying that they should only teach English. More and more English speaking people were immigrating to NZ, those people thought that it would be better to communicate using English, and they thought monolingualism was better because everyone would understand what you are saying in public, workplaces, schools, etc.
Because of the encouragement of monolingualism, te reo Maori was not focused on. In schools and workplaces, you were only allowed to Korero Pakeha (talk English). If we’re caught talking Maori in such places, you would be punished. This act caused the language and culture to almost die out completely.
A huge effect of this act is the way people pronounce Maori names, places, and words. People can’t pronounce the Maori vowels and can’t roll their r’s properly. For example, instead of people pronouncing ‘Taupō’ (Toe- paw) like it is supposed to be pronounced, people say Tauw-po. Also, having a Maori name, gets pronounced incorrectly all the time by students, teachers, and other people.
One of the reasons for this is because Te Reo was not allowed in the schools in 1867 therefore people weren’t familiar with the language and would pronounce it incorrectly. Then passing it down to other generations to pronounce incorrectly as well.
The graph displayed above shows the proportion of Maori people who can fairly well speak Te Reo Maori. Now bear in mind that the graph says the proportion of Maori people, not the whole of New Zealand.
The younger group has the highest percentage. I think this is because a lot of the Maori students are put into Maori classes. For example, at Tauranga Intermediate School, the majority of the Maori students were in Matai house (the Maori unit). That is the case for all the people in this graph, but there are more people in school now than there were when the 45-54-year-old age group was in school.
The 55+ age group is the second largest group. Firstly, a lot of the older people are considered ‘Kaumatua’ and are the ones speaking on the marae and with others. Secondly, they would have more people in their age group from the age 55 to however old you can get.
Nga Hine Pukorero is a small group of 4 women that do slam poetry to reclaim Te Reo Maori. Nga Hine Pukorero means ‘the women who do spoken word’. The 4 women were interview for a documentary, each of them was asked why is culture important to you? The first poet says “Language to me is part of my Identity, so growing up as a white Maori I have to show people that I am Maori I’d say the language out loud”
The second poet says “I am grateful for my life because my dad didn't like grow up without his language his dad didn't teach him I'm so grateful that Dad put me through Kura I thought I could learn my language and almost speak to him you know”
Another says “I feel privileged that I can speak the language without getting whipped or beaten, I feel mad that so many of us Maori do tend to have my identity christened because they don’t know the reo”
The last of the group says “When I think about my ancestors and the trouble they went through I am very grateful to them for holding tight to their culture and not letting it be lost”
In the same documentary, there was a young African girl from Zimbabwe called Takunda Muzondiwa, she says “When we are at home we would speak our native tongue, Shauna. My little brother doesn’t know how to speak it though. We are sending him to Zimbabwe for 3 months to learn the language and culture because we believe that is important to know that. I don’t know how I would identify myself as African is I didn’t know the language, it is just a powerful part of the culture”
A big stepping stone to support the Maori culture was the Maori language petition. It was delivered to Parliament in 1972 and asked for active recognition of te reo Māori. It had over 30,000 signatures and became the starting point for a significant revitalization of te reo. The petition that supports the teaching of Māori language and culture in schools was submitted to Parliament. The petition was presented by Ngā Tamatoa member, Hana Jackson.
Another great example is when Rawhiri Waititi got booted out of parliament for speaking without wearing a tie. But Rawhiri Waititi argued that he had a tonga around his neck instead, but the speaker said that he was not convinced by the argument. Rawhiri made several attempts to speak in the debating chamber despite the speaker’s order, and was ejected from the house "That is not part of my culture, ties, and it's forcing the indigenous peoples into wearing what I describe as a colonial noose," Waititi said. In the end, the majority of the votes from the public voted for Rawhiri Waititi. They collected more than 10,000 signatures calling for Parliament to make the process of establishing Māori wards for district and regional councils the same as the process for establishing general wards.
While talking with my expert Matutaera Pene, I asked him what have some people done that helped Maori get back on their feet. He responded by saying that people are taking the culture onboard. He exemplified his wife Lynley Pene. She is full NZ European and is fluent in Maori. She knows the rules such as no wearing pōtae(hat) inside a whare(house), she knows how to act on a marae and she knows the correct pronunciation and grammar for the language. She knows the Maori culture without any influence from her cultural background.
A lot of other things have happened because of the influence of the Maori culture. Things like the Maori News Channel, more Moari politics, free Te Reo classes, Maori versions of popular music, Maori music, traditional Maori classes such as wood carving and bone carving, campaigns for Te Reo to be spoken.
A good first solution is to have more than 1 Maori language week per year. 1 out of 52 weeks is dedicated to the Maori culture. If you ask me that doesn’t seem very fair. Te Reo is an official language of Aotearoa but people are not treating it like it is. The least we can do is to have 4 weeks a year dedicated towards Maori language week and spread them out between the year. Maybe 1 week every term so that it becomes regular and it gets cemented in our brains that the Maori is an important part of the New Zealand culture.
Another great solution is to have 1-4 periods a week where students learn Te Reo Maori. This is a great way to bring the culture back because you can learn and understand the language, history, and culture. You could go on trips to maraes, learn how Maori did stuff, learn recipes, etc.
The last solution would be to have a public holiday or just a day to acknowledge what our ancestors went through to keep the Maori culture alive. The day/holiday doesn’t have to be just for those who suffered from the native school’s act, it could be for those who lost property, land, and people from the land wars and other historically tragic events. A huge con about this if this was a public holiday, people would be taking advantage of it. An example of this is the queen’s birthday, I don’t know anyone who actually celebrates it. People just see it as a public holiday and that will probably happen with this if it becomes a public holiday.
In conclusion, I was incredibly lucky to have researched this topic about ‘How can we support the comeback of the Maori language and culture?’ But of course, with every argument, there are 2 sides, I’ve tried my best not to be biased. Some good ways we can support the comeback is firstly, have 4 Maori language weeks per year. Secondly, teach 1-4 periods a week about the Maori language, history, and culture. And lastly, to have a day or public holiday dedicated to those who suffered heaps to keep the Maori culture alive. Now there are other really good solutions out there that I haven’t mentioned, by in my opinion these options are really good for this day and age. They may not be as doable as a lot of other ideas, but they will have a big impact on the comeback of the Maori language and culture.
Works Cited
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