‘Te reo our kids’ birthright’
Morrison family passionate about spreading the word
Stacey Morrison is keen to see Kiwis embrace Ma¯ori language all year round. The Hits radio presenter, of Nga¯i Tahu and Te Arawa descent, learned Ma¯ori in her 20s and is now fluent and raising her three children in a te reo-speaking household with husband and Te Karere presenter Scotty Morrison.
“It’s an important connection and for us we feel it’s our kids’ birthright,” she said. “You have to embrace it and go for it. It’s like parenting, it’s chaos but you just go with it.”
The couple wrote a book called Ma¯ori at Home as a “survival guide” for those wanting to introduce te reo into the household. It covers key topics like mahi-a¯-ka¯inga [chores], hei mua i te kura [before school] and kı¯waha [slang].
Morrison said there were many Ma¯ori words that perfectly described aspects of Kiwi life. A good example was “mana”, used to describe people such as the All Blacks or Sir Edmund Hillary and a word that most Kiwis understood.
Speaking te reo Ma¯ori uses a different mindset to speaking English; more metaphors are used and Morri- son loves the layers of meaning that adds. “If you want to say ‘ I’m proud of you my child’ you say ‘ kei te tino poho kereru¯ au kia koe’. It’s like saying ‘ I’m very proud of you [like the puffed up chest of the kereru¯]’. “It’s visual, it connects us to things of our land and often references birds. It references things meaningful to us. “I promise there’s all these gems sitting inside the Ma¯ori language waiting for us to unlock.” When it comes to teaching children, Morrison urged parents not to worry if their own language skills weren’t perfect. She said studies had found children could acquire language from an imperfect model and the use of some Watch video with the Morrisons at nzherald.co.nz te reo was better than none.
Morrison supports te reo becoming a compulsory part of the curriculum if teachers are adequately resourced and there is the “building of goodwill and desire around it”.
“If it’s only Ma¯ori our language won’t survive, we need to welcome everyone in. The line becomes muddy — I’m Ma¯ori and Pa¯keha¯ as well. I love my English and Scottish whakapapa.
“Ma¯ori language is for everyone. It can be fun and enriching — just give it a go.”
For those keen to speak te reo fluently Morrison recommended learning the basics then launching into full immersion — as that’s where the magic happens, she says.
“It’s like fitness. If you put a little bit of effort in, a small amount daily achieves more than a bigger amount infrequently.” Deane Waretini, 1981 This classic from the early 1980s was the first song in te reo to top the New Zealand singles chart. It was written by Waretini’s cousin, Te Arawa elder George Tait, and was based on Italian Nini Rosso’s 1965 hit Il Silenzi.
Prince Tui Teka, 1983 Two years after The Bridge, the legendary Prince Tui Teka scored the No 1 spot on the charts with E Ipo. It was written by Teka and Ngoi Pe¯whairangi and was — somewhat unexpectedly — based on a traditional Indonesian folk song.
The Patea Ma¯ori Club, 1984 The following year, perhaps the biggest te reo Ma¯ori song to hit the charts: The phenomenon that was Poi E by the Patea Ma¯ori Club. Led by Dalvanius Prime, the club somehow managed to mix traditional Ma¯ori elements with breakdancing and actually made it work. Not only did it hit No 1, but it stayed there for an impressive four weeks and became the year’s biggest single. It also re-entered the charts in 2010 when Taika Waititi’s movie Boy came out.
Stan Walker, Ria Hall, Troy Kingi, Maisey Rika, 2014 Aotearoa came about as an attempt to be the first te reo song to hit No 1 since Poi E. Matai Rangi Smith got Stan Walker on board who wrote the song with Vince Harder, Troy Kingi and Ria Hall and they launched it for Te Wiki o Te Reo Ma¯ori 2014. It didn’t quite make it to No 1, but it did hit No 2 and has become something of a modern classic. Pu¯kana & Wha¯nau, 2016 Maimoatia is a gospel-like song which aims to promote te reo. It was released during last year’s Te Wiki o Te Reo Ma¯ori, and went straight to No 1 in the New Zealand iTunes charts. That’s an even bigger deal when you consider that it bumped American pop superstar Justin Timberlake from the top spot. Te reo expert Te Haumihiata Mason — who translated Dave Dobbyn’s te reo version of Welcome Home which was released last week — helped create the song, which singer Nathaniel Howe says is about encouraging young people to take up the language.