Wednesday, 14 September 2022 - 8:45am

E kōrerohia ana te kōrero

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Tāriana Brendon (Ben) Wetini, rātou ko Tāriana Mark Clayton, ko Tāriana Mihi Butler e mau ana i Te Kahurangi, ko Kairapuhara Cas

To mark Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori, we're publishing a series of stories about how Police staff are seeking a better understanding of te reo and te ao Māori. Scroll down or click here for the English translation.


Kua uru atu ētahi o ngā kaimahi o te  ki ngā akoranga rūmaki reo Māori he kotahi tau te roa i runga i te tautoko hoki o ō rātou rohe.

He āhua rerekē ia akoranga - engari e mārama ana i roto i ērā akoranga, kua huri katoa te ao o ngā kaiuru, ka whakatuwherahia te hinengaro kia whai whakaaro kē atu.

Kei waenganui i a rātou ko Tāriana Matua Kairapuhara Ngahiraka Latimer nō te pokapū o Tāmaki, kei waenganui pū i te akoranga kotahi tau te roa. Tāriana Matua Mark Clayton i tana akoranga e kōrero ana mō ngā wāhanga o te Waka o Rangi nāna anō i waihanga, te hononga hoki ki ngā whetū o Matariki.

Hei tāna, “i te tīmatanga, i pēnei au ka ako ki te kōrero me te mārama i te reo - engari kua ako kē au, ehara tō tātou reo i te kupu noa iho.”

He mauri, he pūrākau, he mana anō hoki tō ia kupu. I ako hoki mātou mā te ako ka whai tirohanga Māori koe kia rangiwhāwhā ake ai tō tirohanga Pākehā.

Nō tētahi whānau au kua whā reanga e ngaro ana te reo Māori.Hei te wā ka whakapōtaetia, kua poho kererū ki te kī, ko au te tangata reo Māori tuatahi o tōku whānau.

Nō Te Wānanga Takiura o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori o Aotearoa - Rumaki Reo i Mt Roskill, Tāmaki Makaurau te akoranga a Ngahiraka.Hei te wā ka oti i a ia, kua whakawhiwhia ki te Tītohu o te Reo Māori, te mahi i tino tautokona e tōna rohe. 

Ko ngā kupu āwhina a Ngahiraka mō ngā tāngata e whakaaro ana ki tēnei akoranga? “Kia māia, kia kaha, kia manawanui i tō whai i ō wawata.”

Tāriana Matua Mark Clayton i tana akoranga e kōrero ana mō ngā wāhanga o te Waka o Rangi nāna anō i waihanga, te hononga hoki ki ngā whetū o Matariki.
Tāriana Matua Mark Clayton i tana akoranga e kōrero ana mō ngā wāhanga o te Waka o Rangi nāna anō i waihanga, te hononga hoki ki ngā whetū o Matariki.

Ko ētahi atu o ngā kaimahi Pirihimana i tēnei akorangi, ko Tāriana Ben Wetini rāua ko Tāriana Mihi Butler nō Waitematā. Ko Kairapuhara Casey Morrison nō Counties Manukau rāua ko Tāriana Matua Mark Clayton nō Tāmaki Makaurau.

Kua mahi a Mark, nō te tīma Taiohi me Ngā Hapori, i ngā kaupapa mō ngā taiohi ki Tāmaki Makaurau i ēnei tau e whā kua taha ake nei. Kua kite ia, nōna ka aro ki ngā taiohi Maōri, ka uaua tana mārama ki te whakaaro Māori.

Ehara a Mark i te Māori - ko tōna whakapapa nō Kōtirana. Hei tāna “ahakoa kua roa au e noho manuhiri ana i tēnei akoranga, kua kaha rangona te maioha mai ki ahau.”

He ātaahua te kura. He tino whakahoahoa te kaiako, ā, i tino āwhinatia, whakatenatenahia, tautokona anō hoki ahau. Ka nui taku mihi.

Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari he toa takitini.

Te Wiki O Te Reo Māori

Talking the kōrero

For Māori Language Week - there’s more to te reo than words.

Tāriana Brendon (Ben) Wetini, rātou ko Tāriana Mark Clayton, ko Tāriana Mihi Butler e mau ana i Te Kahurangi, ko Kairapuhara Casey Morrison me Tāriana Kairapuhara Matua Ngahiraka Latimer.

Sergeant Brendon (Ben) Wetini, Senior Sergeant Mark Clayton, Sergeant Mihi Butler (holding Te Kahurangi), Detective Casey Morrison and Detective Senior Sergeant Ngahiraka Latimer.

Some staff from around the motu are taking the opportunity to complete year-long Te Reo Māori total immersion courses with the support of each of their districts.

Each course is slightly different – but what is clear with all of them is that they are life-changing for the attendees, opening their minds to a different way of thinking.

Senior Sergeant Mark Clayton on the course, discussing the different parts of the Waka o Rangi which he built himself and how they align with the stars of Matariki.Among them is Detective Senior Sergeant Ngahiraka Latimer, from Auckland City CIB, who is half-way through a year-long course.

“Initially I thought I would learn how to kōrero (speak) and mārama (understand) te reo Māori - but what I have learnt is that there is much more to our language than just words,” she says.

“There is mauri (life force), pūrākau (ancient legends) and mana (prestige) behind every kupu (word). I have also learnt that by grasping this knowledge it gives you a te ao Māori view to broaden and enhance your te ao Pākehā view.

“I come from a whānau that has lost the ability to speak te reo Māori for four generations. When I graduate this course, I am proud to say, I will be the first in my family to be able to speak our language.”

Ngahiraka’s course is from Te Wānanga Takiura o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori o Aotearoa - Rumaki Reo in Mt Roskill, Tāmaki Makaurau. When she finishes, she’ll achieve a Diploma in Oral Māori Fluency, a move fully supported by her district.

Ngahiraka’s advice to others considering doing this course? “Kia maia, kia kaha, kia manawanui. Be steadfast, be strong, be brave in pursuit of your goals.”

Tāriana Matua Mark Clayton i tana akoranga e kōrero ana mō ngā wāhanga o te Waka o Rangi nāna anō i waihanga, te hononga hoki ki ngā whetū o Matariki.
Senior Sergeant Mark Clayton on the course, discussing the different parts of the Waka o Rangi which he built himself and how they align with the stars of Matariki.

Other Police staff on this course are Sergeant Ben Wetini and Sergeant Mihi Butler, both from Waitematā Detective Casey Morrison from Counties Manukau and Senior Sergeant Mark Clayton, from Auckland City.

Mark, from Youth and Communities, has worked on projects for young people in Auckland for the past four years. He has found that found while engaging with young Māori, he struggled with the concept of whakaaro Māori.

Mark is not Māori – his whakapapa goes back to Kōtirana (Scotland). “Although I have always felt like an outsider on the course, I have been made to feel so very welcome,” he says.

“The kura (school) is beautiful. The kaiako (teacher) is incredibly warm and the students have provided so much awhi (care), whakatenatena (encouragement) and tautoko (support). I am eternally thankful.”

Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, Engari he toa takitini - Success is not the work of an individual, but the work of many.