Comment: Allow te reo an honourable death

Mataia Keepa says the Maori language is at risk.

Maori Language tutor Mataia Keepa ponders the relevancy of the struggle for te reo.

In this day and age, with the attitudes we seem to possess about te reo Maori, it's difficult to make an accurate prognosis on the future of the Maori language. For that reason, I cannot help but reflect on the perilous endeavours te reo Maori has undergone to date, from the miles walked in the many hikoi, to the delivery of the petition in 1972, from the 'Kia ora' saga to the establishment of Kohanga Reo and Kura Kaupapa. Heavens! What a rich history we have.

Be that as it may, it would be remiss of me to praise these great efforts without making mention of the continuous struggle for te reo Maori battled by the dedicated few that genuinely care about it. Thus I pose the question, if the longevity of te reo Maori is spearheaded by a threatened population of language enthusiasts, and continually frowned upon by those who were bequeathed this taonga along with the rest of New Zealand, then should we continue with the same struggle weathered in the past, or should we just stomach the fact that this is a dying language and force it into inexistence, with its current mana intact.

Don't get me wrong, colossal efforts have led us to the great fortune of having te reo Maori at our fingertips, but if the back side of the body that owns those fingertips doesn't get moving, worse consequences are to be expected. Thus I hold my stance of allowing it to die an honourable death, now!

Holding this viewpoint may lead me into tribal sensitivities but discussing issues of this nature is only going to help crystalise and cement any confusion about its existence and virtually its survival.

Unfortunately the fragile meaning and purpose for te reo Maori and things Maori disintegrated somewhere in our recent history, and was deemed irrelevant by Maori and non-Maori alike. But, as we sit and ponder on who the better thoroughbred is in this current race for political supremacy, I struggle to see how any magical strategy by the government can help persuade people to love te reo Maori enough to keep it alive forever.

Let me make it abundantly clear, I am all for its perpetuation but if it doesn't attract the attention it requires soon, then let's prepare every marae around the country because a tangihanga is to be expected, a tangihanga for our reo Maori.

Mataia Keepa is from Rotorua and runs the Normalising Te Reo in Social Media Facebook page and is a tutor at Te Wananga o Aotearoa in Manukau.

Maori Translation:

I eenei raa, me te momo waiaro e mau nei taatou e paa ana ki too taatou reo Maaori, he uaua te aata whakapae he aha te aha moo te anamata o te reo e kiiia ana e taatou, he reo rangatira. Koia teenei te take i manatu ai ahau ki ngaa takahanga wae a te reo Maaori tatuu mai ki eenei raa, mai anoo i ngaa mano tapuwae kua taaia ki te whenua i ngaa hiikoinga huhua, ki te kura mahoratanga o te petihana i te tau 1972, mai anoo hoki i ngaa take moorearea o te whakautu i te waea ki te 'kia ora', tatuu mai raa ki te whakarewatanga o ngaa Koohanga Reo me ngaa Kura Kaupapa. Aawaiaa! Inaa te whai rawa o too taatou hiitori.

Haaunga eeraa, e kore te wareware e tau mai ki ahau moo te aahuatanga ki ngaa pakanga i pakangatia ai e te tokoiti e aroha tuuturu ana ki te reo Maaori. Naa whai anoo i toko ake ai te paatai, mehemea ko te oranga tonutanga o te reo Maaori kei te kookiritia tonutia e te tokoiti, e tokoiti haere nei, e tokoiti haere nei, ka mutu, mehemea e whakatakeetia tonutia ana teenei taonga e te hunga moona teenei taonga, me te toenga o Aotearoa, ko te paatai ia, me pakanga tonu e taatou te pakanga roa, maana, me whakaae taatou he reo mate teenei, noo reira tukua kia mate rangatira ai inaaianei, me ngaa toenga mana kei a ia i teenei waa!

Taihoa oo koutou pihi e tuu, e whakaae ana ahau, mei kore ake i ngaa whakapaunga kaha aa eetahi i ngaawari ai te toro atu a te tangata ki te reo Maaori, heoi anoo ki te kore te kumu o eeraa toronga ringa e hikipapa, he parekura nui kei te haere moo te reo Maaori. Koinei ahau i mau tonu ai ki taaku i kii ai, tukua te reo kia mate rangatira ai, inaaianei!

Kaare e kore ka tuupono atu eenei whakaaro ooku ki eetahi huukikokiko aa-iwi, heoi anoo maa te waananga i ngaa take peenei e maarama ake ai oo taatou whakaaro e paa ana ki toona oranga, me toona whakarauoratanga, aa haere ake nei.

Ka auee ki te mana o te reo Maaori, me ngaa aahuatanga Maaori i tiimata ai te memeha haere i roto i ngaa tau tata ka hori ake nei, i kiiia ia he reo hua kore teenei e te Maaori tonu, e te tauiwi anoo hoki. Heoi anoo, i a taatou ka noho ki te maatakitaki ake i te reehi o ngaa hooiho e pakanga nei kia uru ai ki ngaa mahi toorangapuu, he uaua te kite i nga hua ka puta i teetahi rautaki reo Maaori naa te kaawanatanga i waihanga e maaia ana ki te minamina i te tangata kia aroha ai ki te reo Maaori, ki te tiketike o te aroha e ora ai ia moo te aake, aake, aake tonu atu.

Aa teenaa, kia tino maarama ake i konei taaku e kii nei, e whakaae katoa ana ahau kia puta ai too taatou reo ki ngaa pae tawhiti katoa, engari ki te kore eetahi e manawa rahirahi ki too taatou reo Maaori aakuanei, e kare maa, whakaritea oo taatou marae katoa, puta noa i te motu, naa te mea e tata mai ana he tino tangihanga, he tangihanga moo too taatou reo Maaori, te take