Celebrating Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori

Morena.

Today we are proudly displaying our alternate masthead, Hau Rewa Manawatū, in keeping with the ambitions of TeWiki o Te Reo Māori, or Māori Language Week.

Hau Rewa Manawatū is a gesture, an affirmation, amid the evolving conversation on New Zealand’s identity and the role of teo reo Māori.

We adopted the name in 2018 following consultation with a team of translators at He Kupenga Hao i te Reo, a language resource group in Palmerston North. We are ever grateful for their help.

The word ‘‘hau’’ has several meanings, two of which can apply to its use in the Standardmasthead. First, it is the dissemination of news. Second, and more figuratively, it is the vitality or the essence of something.

Hau also connects us with the illustrious ancestor Haunui-a-nanaia who arrived to Aotearoa on the Kurahaupo waka, and was responsible for naming Manawatū.

‘‘Rewa’’ means to elevate, and used here signifies the aim of the newspaper to elevate and promote the region.

I consider TeWiki o Te Reo Maori to be a spark for opportunity, not provocation or division. Understanding and respect for a language is respect for a culture, which in turn is respect for a people – our tangata whenua.

Te reo Māori is a taonga, a national treasure, and crucial to our region’s identity. Even by simply speaking the name Manawatū, and the names of many of our towns, our rivers and our ranges, we give breath to te reo.

MatthewDallas, editor