Language Development for Ngāi Tahu

By Charisma Rangipunga

Ka rikoriko whētukituki mai ngā whētu hei tohu o te tau hōu ko Matariki, ko Puanga ēnei, ngā mihi ki a tātou. Ae kua maiangi ake a Matariki i te tahatū o te rangi, ka taea te kī kua tae mai te wā ki te whakapai i a tātou anō mō te tau kei te haere mai, ki te whakakapi hoki i ngā mahi mō tērā atu o ngā tau, tau ai.

Ka huri ōku mahara ki a rātou kua haere ki tua o te tatau pounamu, kua whetūrangitia hei tohu ārahi i a tātou katoa i te wā o Rangitūahiahi - tiaho mai, kanapa mai.

Kia a tātou te hunga ora - mauri ora ki a tātou katoa.

Tēnei au te pononga mō te Puna Reo ki Ngāi Tahu hei reo whakaatu ki a koutou i ngā mahi a te iwi nei e pā ana ki tō tātou nei reo rangatira, te taonga whakahirahira a ō tātou nei tīpuna.

I whakatū te Rūnanga O Ngāi Tahu i tēnei Puna ki te hāpai i tō tātou nei reo, ki te whāngai i te whānau whānui o Ngāi Tahu ki tēnei o ngā kai reka rawa. He maha ngā tino kaupapa o tēnei puna, ā, ko te tūmanako matua mō te rōpū nei ko te Kotahi Mano Kāika - ā, hei whakamārama hei te tau Rua Mano me te rua tekau mā rima ka taea e ngā kāinga kotahi mano, nō Ngāi Tahu te kōrero Māori. I runga i tērā ko ngā mahi kei te mahia e te iwi hei whakapai te pūtake mō te wawata nei kia tutuki pai. He maha ngā mahi, ā, kei te whakatū wānanga reo, kei te whakapai mahere mā ia rūnaka, kei te rangahau hoki i ngā kupu motuhake, ngā kīwaha me ngā kīrehu ki tā ngā iwi o Te Waipounamu.

Mā ēnei mahi katoa ka tutuki pea te wawata o te iwi nei ki te whakaora te reo Māori me ōnā tikanga ki te iwi o Ngāi Tahu . Akene ka kite.

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Greetings to us all as the stars of Matariki and Puanga appear in the night sky, a sign of the new year. Matariki has risen on the Eastern horizon and it is said that it is now the time to prepare ourselves for the coming year and to bring to a conclusion our works of the previous year.

To those that have gone before us and who now adorn the sky as guiding stars, I farewell thee.

To us that still abide, may we have prosperity and well being.

The following is a brief overview on what Te Rūnanga O Ngāi Tahu is currently doing to increase the language use and development within the iwi.

Te Reo Māori has been highlighted as a stand alone strategy by the iwi because of the dire statistics for Ngāi Tahu - that is less than one percent fluent in te reo Māori.

Ngāi Tahu have long been impoverished in te reo Māori. Therefore at the turn of the new millennium Ngāi Tahu tanga and Mātauranga Ngāi Tahu were identified as important components for our future tribal development. Central to both of these is Te Reo Māori and Tikanga Ngāi Tahu which emphasis our unique tribal identity.

The Rūnanga of Ngāi Tahu thus established its Puna reo to uplift te reo Māori and also to once again feed the descendants of Tahu Pōtiki with this delicious fare.

The main focus for this puna is to implement our 25 year strategic plan, namely Kotahi mano kāika, Kotahi mano wawata - One thousand homes, achieving a thousand aspirations. In explanation the main goal of this strategy is thus to have a thousand Ngāi Tahu families speaking te reo Māori within the home by the year 2025, so that te reo ki Ngāi Tahu might be pulled back from the threshold of endangerment where it currently stands. For re-genesis to take place it is believed that Ngāi Tahu reo must be a communicative language spoken not only on our 18 Papatipu marae but also within our contemporary homes.

Based on this (draft) strategic plan the iwi has begun the implementation of a number of multi-faceted programmes and partnerships to ensure that this vision is fulfilled. This includes the facilitation of wānanga reo at a number of levels to assist the Ngāi Tahu Māori language learner in their language development, the development of individual Rūnaka strategies and plans for the revitalization of te reo within those particular regions, and research into Ngāi Tahu dialect, including proverbs, idiom, colloquialisms, and the regional variations therein. It is hoped that by entrusting energy into the re-vitalisation of te reo ki Ngāi Tahu that it may once again flourish within the iwi, as one of greatest taonga trusted into our care.

For any more information on Ngāi Tahu language programmes please contact Charisma Rangipunga, c/- Puna Reo ki Ngāi Tahu , PO Box 13-046 Christchurch.