Kia ora, Ngaire no mates here...
Mei/May 2, 2025
Phrase of the wiki: I te whakahōhā rātou/They were being annoying
sourced from Rere Atu Taku Poi - a rad bilingual pukapuka
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Kia ora e te whānau,
Nau mai, hoki mai ki Te Arawhata, the newsletter helping us all to keep up with, connect with—and just ruddy enjoy—te ao Māori ia wiki, ia wiki.
We’ve got a hefty cultural catch-up for you today including kākahu/clothes, waiata, and co-governance drops 🤔.
Then in ‘kōrero’ we wānanga whether friends are important for the cultural connection/reconnection journey and why I’m a bit of a Ngaire No Mates in my new reo Māori class.
But tuatahi/first—an important ask: due to beautiful new bubbas and overseas commitments, we’re down to one staff member at the moment (that’s me, Lizzie—kia ora!) and though I can create this thing I’m fairly awful at actually telling people about it, which as it turns out, is pretty hirahira/important.
If you have any friends or whānau who would enjoy Te Arawhata, can you please help me by telling them to subscribe here today?
I appreciate it SO MUCH! Seriously. Thanks team. K, let’s do this.
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TALK OF THE TĀONE
🗞️ to keep you in the know
NZ First and ACT are accusing Auckland Council of co-governance, iwi are explaining it’s not even that, and we’re just wondering why it’d be a bad thing if it was…
The new theme and dates for Te Wiki o te Reo Māori 2025 are out!
Māori label Kieki just dropped some gooood lookin new knits.
It was 🐔 heihei-skin scenes as the Māori Queen was welcomed to the Merrie Monarch Festival in Hawaii.
A Waitangi Tribunal claim against the Regulatory Standards Bill just got the OK for an urgent hearing and it’s gonna be a biggy
A new taonga puoro(y)/pop(y) track by IA and Rei is being released right about NOW.
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*LOCALS’ KOKONGA - AOTEAROA
🤗 to help you connect kanohi ki te kanohi/face to face
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KETE FILLER RECOMMENDATIONS
💓 to add some cultural inspo to your wiki
Holland Hats paeāhua/instagram
Something about watching this crafter of bespoke Māori pōtae/hats do his thing in Port Waikato fills me with cultural pride. 80k followers seem to agree.
2mins I Free I Pakihi Māori
Moriori history podcast episode
Worryingly, loads of us have false info in our kete when it comes to Moriori history and their relationship with Māori. A (troubling + inspiring) truth top-up here.
30mins I Free I Te reo Pākehā
Urban Whakapapa Pūhoro Journey article
Two things we don’t often talk about: 1) what it means to be urban Māori 2) how painful getting a pūhoro actually is. Both and way more covered beautifully here.
5mins I Free I Pakihi Māori
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KŌRERO
🗣️ to share the ups, downs, and in betweens of the connection journey
Community poll: Is making new mates important for the cultural reconnection/connection journey?
from the documentary ‘Māori Battalion March to Victory’
The horopaki/context: E te whānau, It seems to make sense that as we learn Māori, go to kaupapa Māori events, or even just yarn about kaupapa Māori pukapuka/books and kiriata/films we’ve enjoyed at the office watercooler, it’d be nice—and probably helpful—to make friends with new people on a similar ara/path.
But, for me at least, it’s not easy. This year, I’m feeling a little Ngaire No Mates in my new reo Māori class. That’s not due to anyone being unfriendly, but rather nā ngā mea/because;
I’ve moved learning institutions and am starting from scratch,
Everyone speaks Māori ALL the time, which is good but (because I’m a bit slower) makes it hard for me to contribute anything but shallow conversation,
I’ve made myself so pukumahi/busy during the week I can hardly find time and energy to hang with my already established friends, let alone new ones. (I’m introverted, so max out socially with way fewer people than most),
Possibly the fact I often wear odd tōkena/socks inside out 🤓.
Anyway, I’m committed to the mission. A couple weeks back, determined to make some progress I signed up for a bilingual pub quiz with some fellow tauira/students, only to be thwarted by Cyclone Tam and a seriously packed out harbour bridge. As I pulled off the motorway and drove home, 50% mad at myself for not leaving earlier, 50% relieved I could go to bed, I wondered if the effort was worth it.
I mean, I’m pretty keen to connect, go to the odd pub quiz, have more people to enjoy Māori events with—but I also get that we’re all busy and maybe just a quick ‘kia ora in class’ hononga/relationship is fine too.
I just wish I knew where everyone else stood… and because it’s too weird to ask straight out, I came up with the genius idea of conducting an anonymous poll here instead.
Maybe the answers can help us all feel a little more confident connecting in person? (It’s going to be that or the tauaro/opposite, I have no control on this one!).
If you’re interested, pop your whakaaro/thoughts in the poll so we can all have a bit of a nosy.
*this is an interactive poll in the original email newsletter e hoa mā, if you want to make your vote count in the future, subscribe free now!
If someone (cool) you meet at a kaupapa Māori class or event makes an effort to be friends, your honest feelings are:
☺️ Stoked - it’s cool to meet new people with a shared passion
💓 Happy - unsure I’m able to follow through, but happy
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If anyone has yarns about making friends on their reconnection/connection journey—whether touching or pōuri/sad or awkward or funny—you KNOW I’d love to hear them. Hit reply please!
The pānui/newsletter next wiki is going to be ātaahua/beautiful 😉.
Thanks for reading and your support this wiki fam. Heaps. Hei konā/Bye for now.
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