Got tikanga gaps? Me too. Here's a plan to fix em.
+ more Māori news, events, media, and kōrero to keep your cultural kete full.
Sponsored anō by the one, the only, the very much making me wish I wasn’t hapū right now: Tohu Wines.
Tohu is the world’s first Māori-owned wine company. Our wines are crafted with aroha as a gift from our land. Browse our collection here.
🌖 Maramataka/Māori lunar calendar phase: Tangāroa Whāriki Kiokio - abundance is all around!
We use resources from Tuhi to keep up - every region varies.
🗣️ Phrase of the wiki: E taku waireka, e taku iti waireka/You’re my soda pop, my little soda pop.
Sourced from reomāori insta page
📩 Did someone forward you this email? You can subscribe free here.
17 Oct, 2025
Mōrena e te whānau,
Nau mai, hoki mai ki Te Arawhata, the newsletter making it easier for us all to stay connected with—and just ruddy enjoy—te ao Māori ia wiki, ia wiki.
This Paraire/Friday we’re bringing you;
talk of the tāone catch-ups feat. highlights amongst the hōhā
kaupapa Māori events that will definitely whakapiki/improve life
kete filling media recommendations for learning and play(/learning)
a deal o te wiki from someone who never does deal o te wiki…s 👀🙄
Then in kōrero, we’re talking options for filling our tikanga gaps.
Get in there fam.
🗞️ news to keep us in the know
Do Māori media use reo and rage as clickbait? This guy reckons so. Auē… do we?!
Kaupapa board game fans have a new thing coming…
We all need to get clued up on exactly what’s happening with the Takutai Moana Amendment Bill. Stat.
The crew of Ngāhiraka Mai Tawhiti waka just completed a traditional navigation feat the old people would be way proud of.
Do you know how to say ‘kia ora’ in the Moriori language? You will after this.
Te Pāti Māori and Eru Kapa Kingi are still butting heads and we’re just hoping we don’t have to include this again next week.
🤗 events cos nothing beats time kanohi ki te kanohi/face to face
TE WHANGANUI-A-TARA/WELLINGTON:
Māori Sidesteps – Māori Made Mischief theatre play
28 Oct-1 Nov I Circa Theatre I @circatheatre
Contemporary showband The Māori Sidesteps are serving crooning and comedic goodness. Expect a refreshing dose of truth-telling.
TĀMAKI MAKAURAU/AUCKLAND:
Raranga Wānanga with Ahi Nyx at Whau Festival
18 Oct I Avondale Art Park I @whauthepeople
Ahi Nyx will be weaving her magic with us in the heart of Avondale. Come and join, it’s free!
HERETAUNGA/HASTINGS:
Toitū Te Reo Māori Language Festival
13-14 Nov I Toitoi Hawke's Bay Arts & Events Centre I @kauwaka.ltd
A platform for thousands of New Zealanders to come together, Toitū Te Reo will inspire, entertain, unite, challenge, excite, and activate.
ŌTAUTAHI/CHRISTCHURCH:
Āhuataka: A Wānaka of Kāi Tahu Woven Adornment exhibition
17 Oct-10 Nov I Toi Moroki CoCA I @cocotoimoroki
Experience this exhibition bringing together a community of Kāi Tahu arts practitioners to celebrate the living practice of traditional Māori weaving.
*Got an event you’d like to feature here or in the calendar next week? Reply to this email with a link and we’ll give you options!
💓 media recs for a deeper dive now or later
For the learns:
Mātauranga Māori pukapuka
Hirini Moko Mead was born two years before the Great Depression hit. He knew Tā Apirana Ngata personally. This is his dream fulfilled and must be on your shelf.
Free I 20min eps I Mostly reo Pākehā
For the fun (ok and learns):
Pakiaka Māori word game
It’s MEANT for kids but I don’t have any in te ao marama/the world of light yet and this is my Sunday. If you secretly like fantasy-anime shows too, this is a great way to practise your reo!
Free I 20min eps I Reo Māoria
While we’re talking about kete filling…
Get 20% off Thea Ceramics!
Māori artist, Esther McDonald, makes (rad) contemporary, hand-thrown ceramics for everyday use over on Waiheke Island.
And she DOESN’T normally do discounts e hoa mā so this is a super special one just for us.
🌟 BONUS DISCOUNT: Tohu Wines are still also offering Te Whānau o Te Arawhata members 20% off all items except special offers until 31 October! 🌟
*Te Whānau o Te Arawhata members will get their exclusive discount code in an email shortly. Join the club from just $1.50/week to get in on this deal and a new one every week!
🗣️ notes from our connection journey to fuel yours
Got tikanga gaps? Me too. Here’s how I plan to fix them
*This post is sponsored by Te Wānanga o Aotearoa (but also only contains honest yarns). If you’re looking to learn more about tikanga, they offer free programmes that can help get you started.
This year I’ve really tried to step-up my commitment to learning te reo Māori AND tikanga Māori. They’re inextricably linked, right? Tikanga is the key that opens te ao Māori to us and te reo gives us the tools to climb deeper—both are necessary for confident operation i roto/within.
As you’ll all know, the combo-learning trip is pretty ruddy mind-blowing. Mind blowing and, if you’re anything like me, full of hē/fails;
Like the time I mistakenly walked onto a marae without being called (long story and under the tohutohu/instructions of an aunty, I swear).
Or the time I got ‘teke’ and ‘tere’ the wrong way round. Twice in a row.
And I won’t be forgetting that pre-emptive waiata tautoko anytime soon.
The ones that hurt the most? Definitely the tikanga missteps fam. When I make a language mistake it’s usually pretty clear my intentions were good but the impact of rudeness, disrespect, and even danger when I’ve got tikanga wrong truly makes me want to find a dark western world corner to curl up in and never try again.
People say it’s common sense, right? That if we’re paying attention, we should be able to pick up on what’s right and wrong. I try. Hard.
My main method of learning tikanga so far has been to follow closely at the heels of someone more knowledgeable than myself and basically copy them. However, somewhere along the line I always seem to miss a cue. The only strategy I’ve come up with from there is to apologise profusely underneath a red hot, possibly about to be crying when I find my corner, face.
I’d like to find a better strategy for 2026, nō reira/so I’ve been researching options. In case any of you are in the same waka, here are my top three;
spend more time in more Māori spaces and continue with trial and error - something I’ll no doubt continue to do but nooooot the most comfortable.
step up my tikanga focus in my reo Māori course - what I’m locking in for now. Aspects of tikanga are folded into everything we learn but honestly? This year I’ve shirked it a little to focus on the reo. Next year I aim to do better.
do a dedicated tikanga course (like one of these) - what I plan to do some time in the next few years to really step things up (an especially good option for those who’d rather learn about pōwhiri than passive sentence structures).
That’s my plan e te whānau, what’s yours? Reply to this email to let me know, I’d really love to hear what’s important/difficult/exciting for you in this decision.
Another pānui/newsletter another step forward together nē? 👈🏽 Cheesy AND true.
Hei ā tērā wiki/Till next week e hoa mā.