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Māori Language Week
Initiative to promote the use of the Māori language From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Māori Language Week (Māori: Te Wiki o te Reo Māori) is a government-sponsored initiative intended to encourage New Zealanders to promote the use of the Māori language, which is an official language of the country. Māori Language Week is part of a broader movement to revive the Māori language. Preceded by Māori Language Day from 1972 to 1974,[1] it has been celebrated since 1975 and is currently spearheaded by Te Puni Kōkiri (the Ministry of Māori Development) and the Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori (Māori Language Commission), with many organisations including schools, libraries, and government departments participating.[2][citation needed]
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In the early 1970s as a part of the Māori protest movement, activist group Ngā Tamatoa, the Te Reo Māori Society of Victoria University, and Te Huinga Rangatahi (the New Zealand Māori Students’ Association) presented a petition to Parliament, petitioned the government to teach te reo in schools. On 14 September 1972, this petition, signed by over 30,000 people was delivered to Parliament, and became a major event in the revitalisation of te reo in New Zealand.[3][4][1] 14 September quickly began to be celebrated as Māori Language Day, and by 1975, this had grown to become the first Māori Language Week.[1]
The 1977 week in Dunedin featured "promotion girls" wearing Maori Language Week sashes, handing out Kia ora stickers in The Octagon all week and a two-day hui organised on the city's marae.[5]
2008
The week in 2008 saw the release of Google Māori, a Māori-language translation of the search engine created as a collaboration between Potaua and Nikolasa Biasiny-Tule of Tangatawhenua.com, the Māori Language Commission and Google. The process took over a year and involved more than 40 people on the project, due to the difficulty of translating the technical terminology.[6]
2014
For te Wiki o te Reo Māori in 2014, musicians Stan Walker, Ria Hall, Troy Kingi and Maisey Rika collaborated on the song "Aotearoa", as a challenge to get a second song in te reo to reach number one in New Zealand (after "Poi E" in 1984).[7][8]
2015
On 2 August 2015 the Black Caps (the New Zealand national cricket team) played under the name of Aotearoa for their first match against Zimbabwe to celebrate Māori Language Week.[9]
2016
Maimoa (then known as Pūkana and Whānau), a musical group created from the presenters of the Māori Television show Pūkana celebrated te Wiki o te Reo Māori by releasing the single "Maimoatia", written with Te Haumihiata Mason.[10] The song topped the iTunes downloads chart in New Zealand,[10] reaching number 4 on the Official New Zealand Music Chart's subchart for New Zealand musicians.[11]
2017
The 2016 Disney film Moana was dubbed into Māori, premiering in Auckland on 11 September as a part of te Wiki o te Reo Māori 2017.[12] Rachel House, Jemaine Clement, Temuera Morrison, and Oscar Kightley, all cast members of the original English language version of the film, reprised their respective roles in the te reo version.[13][14] During the week, 30 theatres across the country held free screenings of the reo version.[12]
2019
During Māori Language Week 2019, it was reported in New Zealand media that even kaumātua (elders) were learning te reo (Māori language).[15] It was also reported that more than one fifth of book sales during that week were Māori.[15]
To mark the 20th anniversary of the 1999 Rugby World Cup semi-final, where Hinewehi Mohi performed the national anthem in te reo, Mohi created Waiata / Anthems, an album where 11 New Zealand musicians re-recorded songs into te reo Māori.[16] The album debuted at number 1 on the Official New Zealand Music Chart,[17] and was one of the most successful albums of 2019 in New Zealand.[18]
2021
At midday on 14 September 2021, te Wiki o te Reo Māori was celebrated with Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori – the Māori Language Moment, where over 1.1 million people pledged to use te reo at the same time.[19][20] On the same day, the Māori Party launched a petition to change the country's name to Aotearoa.[21]
Due to the success of Waiata / Anthems in 2019, the project was expanded to become Waiata Anthems Week, an annual release of a playlist in te reo Māori, with the goal of making the New Zealand music scene more bilingual.[22][23] In 2021, more than 30 musicians participated in the project, including Six60, whose single "Pepeha" debuted at number two on the Official New Zealand Music Chart.[24] Te Tairāwhiti (Gisborne Region)-based choir Ka Hao also saw charting success, with their single collaborating with songwriter Rob Ruha, "35" (a reference to State Highway 35), reaching number 25.[25][26][27] September saw the release of many albums by popular musicians sung in te reo, including Lorde's Te Ao Mārama,[28] Stan Walker's Te Arohanui,[29] Alien Weaponry's Tangaroa,[30] and Ka Hao's Ka Hao: One Tira, One Voice.[27]
2022
The 2022 celebrations of Te Wiki o te Reo Māori marked 50 years since the Māori Language Petition was presented to parliament.[31] To celebrate Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, Whittaker's released a special edition version of their milk chocolate, rebranded as Miraka Kirīmi (creamy milk) in te reo.[32] The rebranding caused widescale controversy due to racist backlash criticising the rebranding, and sparked a response to support the naming of the chocolate bar in te reo.[33][34][35]
The third Waiata / Anthems week was held prior to Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, including over 20 musicians releasing new music in te reo, and a new series of TVNZ documentaries following popular musicians producing Māori language songs.[36] Among the most successful songs from the 2022 waiata include "Whāia te Māramatanga (Walk Right Up)" by Ladi6, a reimagining of Split Enz' "Six Months in a Leaky Boat" (1982) performed by Tim Finn and Hana Mereraiha, a remix of Moana and the Moahunters' 1991 single "AEIOU" by Tiki Taane, and "Ka Taria", performed by Rob Ruha and Drax Project.[37][38]
2025
The year 2025 marked 50 years since the first Māori Language Week in 1975. By this milestone, "Te Wiki o te reo Māori has become one of the most recognised public celebrations and nationwide movements in the country".[39]
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