Te reo symposium growing

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Haka tutor and mau rākau exponent Hemi Tai Tin (Ngāti Hine, Hāmoa) has a message for teachers of te reo. ‘‘Be committed, be steadfast ... for a whole generation. Be in for the long haul, for those of us who were left in ignorance.’’

Tai Tin spoke yesterday at Te Kaiaotanga o Te Reo, the second Māori language symposium at the top of the south. Around 700 people attended the first day of the two-day event, which organisers said was around double last year’s turnout.

Tai Tin said learners of te reo should do any sort of course in the Māori world, join different events and initiatives, and set a long-term plan. Embracing errors and mistakes was all part of it, he said, but the potential was within each learner.

Tai Tin is a kaiako at a Māori medium primary school, Te Kura Kaupapa o Te Kōtuku.

Māori education expert Dr Hinurewa Poutu ( Ngāti Rangi, Te ti Haunuia-Paparangi, Ngāti Maniapoto) talked about how her parents learnt te reo at polytechnic, because they wanted it to be their children’s first language. Their longterm vision was for te reo to be spoken by their descendants.

Poutu described learning te reo as an ‘‘intergenerational journey’’.

‘‘It’s a language of growth, of connections, and it’s a sweet, enjoyable pathway,’’ she said.

The event was organised by Ngāti Apa ki Te Rā Tō and Rangitāne o Wairau, with the support of Te Mātāwai, Nelson City Council and the Nelson Regional Development Agency.

Rangitāne o Wairau kaiwhakahaere matua (general manager) Corey Hebberd said the number of people who attended the symposium ‘‘spoke volumes to the thirst’’ the community had for the language.