A Maori Podcast

Ihira

Kia ora! Welcome to this podcast! As per the title, it's a Maori podcast and I am Maori. I try to keep the podcast completely in Te Reo, this is mainly because I want to improve my own language skills, and the best way to do it is to completely speak the language. I share my insights into learning and improving my reo Maori skills especially as someone that doesn't reside back in the homeland. Hoi ano, nahaku noa, I hope that you enjoy this mahi, and I'm proud to be Maori and to share our language. Ko te reo kia rere!If you live abroad and need a place to hang out, I finally found a great hangout spot filled with Maori speakers here.Discord - Reo MaoriI also have a Patreon where I hope to add some additional value. You can find me here:https://patreon.com/amaoripodcastI am planning to start a regularly online space to korero. Details are here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/korero-space-for-153338068

  1. 1d ago

    Orite - We've been using the wrong word...

    Kia ora ra e te iwi! I have a Patreon where I hope to add some additional value. If you'd like the kaupapa, and you appreciate this mahi, you can give a koha here: A Maori Podcast So, we've been using the wrong word and I hope that this episode can help us improve our reo. Making mistakes is fine, learning from them is better. Ko te reo kia tika, kia rere, kia maori! Tukuna ki te ao! Whakatauki - He peka titoki e kore e whati. / A branch of the titoki tree will not break. [Kohikohinga Whakatauki, pg. 43] Atua Wahine - Hineruru: "Families and larger kinship groups recognised the existence of ancestral guardinas embodied in animals. These spirits took a variety of forms, but the guardians [kaitiaki] that warn of death are usually owls (moreporks). These have different names. In Northland they are often known as Hineruru [Owl woman]. This special bird has the power to protect, warn and advise. As well as appearing at night wen someone is about to die, she may announce the imminent arrival of visitors. If she is seen flying ahead or walking along the road, she is usually there as a protector at a time of danger." [A Concise Encyclopedia of Maori Myth and Legend, Margaret Orbell, pg. 41] Rite tonu - Her name and mine are the same / He rite tonu o māua ingoa. Anō - These same people are now asking for help / Ko aua tāngata anō ēnei e pātai āwhina nei. Pēnei - Do it the same way as I am / Me mahi tāhau kia pēnei i tāku nei. Kotahi - We all arrived at the same time. / Kotahi tonu to mātau taenga atu. ōritetanga - There was a dreary sameness about the landscape of the plains. / Tērā te ōritetanga mōrearea o te tirohanga whenua o nga mānia. [https://teaching.co.nz/pages/ngata-dictionary] - search-term is "same". We went to the same school. Incorrect: I haere māua ki te kura ōrite. Correct: I haere māua ki te kura kotahi. We returned at the same time. Incorrect: I hoki atu māua i te wā ōrite. Correct: I hoki atu māua i te wā kotahi. Tame and Mere come from the same family. Incorrect: Nō te whānau ōrite a Tame rāua ko Mere. Correct: Nō te whānau kotahi a Tame rāua ko Mere. [https://e-tangata.co.nz/reo/common-mistakes-in-reo-maori/]

    6 min
  2. May 20

    Atua Wahine: Hinekaikomako -The Fire Maiden

    Kia ora ra e te iwi! I have a Patreon where I hope to add some additional value. If you'd like the kaupapa, and you appreciate this mahi, you can give a koha here: A Maori Podcast Kia ora! Today I found I new atua wahine that I havent come across. I'm really enjoying discovering the richness of our ahurea maori, and our reo maori. Hopefully this little excerpt is something you enjoy as well. Whakatauki: Poroaki tutata, whakahoro tau ke - Actions deviate from your words. Literally "Saying farewells with words, yet delaying your return til a year later." [Kohikohinga Whakatauki a Raupo, pg. 115] Atua Wahine: Hinekaikomako - "The Fire Maid who is personified in the kaikōmako, the fire tree (Pennantia corymbosa). She is a child of Tāne, and wife of Ira-whaki, the Fire Revealer. Hine-kaikomako is the Fire Conserver and when man desires fire he applies to her for it; that is to say, he takes a piece of her body wherewith to generate it." Sources: Andersen, Johannes C. (1928). Myths and Legends of the Polynesians. London: George G. Harrap, pp. 217-218. Best, Elsdon. (1924). The Maori. Wellington: Harry H. Tombs, pp. 145, 176. [https://pantheon.org/articles/h/hine-kaikomako.html] Kaunati: [https://maoridictionary.co.nz/word/15216] Ka tae ki uta, werohia atu te kauati ki te whenua, haere tonu atu te whakarui i te kaunati, kua tū; aparia mai ngā wahie ki runga, kua kā, ope tonu i te kuku ki runga ki te ahi; kua maoa (TP 6/1906:4). / When they reached the shore the piece of wood to make fire was stuck in the ground and the pointed piece of wood was rubbed against it and once it started firewood was heaped on top and when it was burning mussels were scooped onto the fire and cooked. Panuitanga: https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/karere-o-poneke/1857/12/24/1

    8 min
  3. May 13

    Atua Wahine: Papatuanuku, Our First Mother & The Origin Of All Things

    Kia ora ra e te iwi! I have a Patreon where I hope to add some additional value. If you'd like the kaupapa, and you appreciate this mahi, you can give a koha here: A Maori Podcast Whakatauki - He takapau pokai, nga uri o Paheke. [Kohikohinga Whakatauki a Raupo.] Kia ora ra! I thought I'd give focus to Papatuanuku today, seeing as it was mothers day recently, and one of the foundational korero of many iwi is that Papa is our great first Mother. I source the below intro to Papa from Margaret Orbell's book [A Concise Encyclopedia of Maori Myth and Legend, pg 100] , and the pakiwaitara I share comes from George Grey's Nga Mahinga A Nga Tupuna, pg. 7-13. "Papa's name means Foundation, or Flat Surface. She is the earth that stretches out beneath her husband Rangi, the sky, and she is the first woman. The world came into being when Tane separated Rangi and Papa, pushing Rangi upwards and allowing light to come between them. Papa has a number of extended names, such as Papatuanuku (Widespread Papa). She supports and sustains her human children, providing food and the other conditions necessary for life, yet inevitably she is inferior to her husband Rangi because she lies below that sacred realm, and Night (Te Po) is within her. The earth is the house of Aitua (Misfortune), and her children enter her body when they die. The sky, on the other hand, is the house of life, because the persons who light it live forever. As the primal parents, Rangi and Papa set the pattern for their descendants. Women were thought to take their nature from the first female: while men in general were sacred and set apart (tapu), women's nature was in general everyday, ordinary, profane (noa). All this and much more was established in the beginning. The genealogies that trace the history of the world begin with Rangi and Papa, then come down through the generations to the present day."

    18 min
  4. May 6

    Stative/Neuter Verbs - What are they and how do you use them?

    Whakatauki: He waha huka - A frothy mouth, i.e, all words, no substance. [Kohikohinga Whakatauki a Raupo, pg 114] Atua Wahine: Parawhenuamea. Margaret Orbell gives this account [A Concise Encyclopedia of Maori Myth and Legend, pg. 101]: "Parawhenuamea is generally regarded as the origin of the waters of the earth. She is the streams flowing from the mountains, and she is floodwaters, so it is not surprising that she is often regarded as the daughter of Tane and Hinetuparimaunga. Sometimes her husband is Kiwa, guardian of the ocean."Stative/Neuter Verbs - What are they and how do you use them? Kia ora ano tatou! I wanted to dive into this topic because I still mess this up myself when speaking the reo. What are stative/neuter verbs? Firstly, what is a verb? It's a doing word. An action word. Those new to te reo may have had a sentence like this, where the verb is kai (consumed/eat). Ka kai te ngeru i te miraka. - The cat consumed the milk. Now a stative/neuter verb is a word used to describe the state of something. Ray Harlow says in A Maori Reference Grammar, pg. 158: "A number of neuter verbs express the idea of completion, for instance 'oti' - to be completed, 'tutuki' - to be accomplished, 'pau' to be used up. As neuter verbs, these words take as their subject the name of the thing completed, accomplished or used up." He gives the following examples. You can see that the state of the work is in a completed state, and the money is exhausted, all gone. Kua oti te mahi - The work has been completed. Kua pau nga moni - The money is all gone. The issue I keep messing up on is regarding the below stative/neuter structure. Harlow says, "Again, in common with the other neuter verbs, these words can also be accompanied by a comment naming the agent marked with i". (Agent is who did the action.) Kua oti nga mahi i a ratou - The work has been completed by them. I pau katoa nga rare i nga tamariki - The children ate all the lollies. (Literally, The lollies were all used up by the children.) For the above examples you can indicate how it was completed or used up by modifying it like this: Kua oti nga mahi i a ratou te tuhi. - They completed their work (essay) by writing it out. I pau katoa nga rare i nga tamariki te kai. - The lollies were all used up by the children by them eating it. (The lollies are all gone because the kids ate them.) If you change the order and show who did the action at the end of the sentence, Harlow pg.159 says that "...the agent phrase is not marked with 'i', but with the passive agent preposition 'e'." Kua oti nga rihi te horoi e koe? - Has the dish-washing been completed by you? I pau katoa nga rare te kai e nga tamariki. - The lollies were all used up; eaten by the children.

    7 min
  5. Apr 29

    Ta Re Moriori - Ko Tohinga i a Rangihikiwao

    Kia ora ra e te iwi! I have a Patreon where I hope to add some additional value. If you'd like the kaupapa, and you appreciate this mahi, you can give a koha here: A Maori Podcast Tuturu: He rau ringa e oti ai - Many hands make light work . Raweke: He rau korero e ora ai te reo - Many speakers make our language thrive. Kioranga! Kohi mai ene ra! I've properly added Ta Re Moriori to my list of languages that I'm actively study. So I thought I'd do another episode on it, as the material available for the spoken language is still quite scare, so I'd like to do my bit as well, just as I do for our Reo Maori. This week I will be covering a story on Tohinga in Moriori culture. You can find it here. I have also written it out to be read along also. Ka hui ka imi ki Rakauwhatiwhati ki ri tohing' o Rangihikiwao, ki ri kai i tchuaporo. K' hara mai tena imi, tena imi, tona' putē, tona' putē; ā, ka put' hikiwao, hikiwao nui, nui tche whei. Ka whati ta rakau tarewarewa ka putē; ka rere tena rataunga ki tona' putē ki tona' putē, tchiei mau i a ratau. Ka rere ko Tu-moana ki tona' putē, ki a te ririm', -- Pē! -- a te tau mai i ko! Ka rere te kī a Kahukura, A-a, tahi tō' e whano ku rung' o Rakauwhatiwhati, "ko koe enak' E potiki!" Ka whai mai ko Horopapa, "Kona ka tō' ene', kona ka tō' -- ko enei ka tō' enei, enei, ko enei ka tō' ". Ka whai ake ko Kahukura, "A-a, e aukura!" Ka kapo mai ko Horopapa, "A-a, e aukura nunō! marama ta' ngakau ki a Tchu." Ko Tinirau itchē tangat' takitahi i tche tohinga' i tchia rimit'. Kanei kite ei a Hine-tche-eweewe i a Tinirau; ka rere' to' moto' o Tinirau ki a Hine'. Ka hoki ka imi ki tona whenū', ki tona whenū'; ka hoki ko Tinirau ki tona whenū', ki Tongi-hitchi-atē'. Kiri whero ta' kiri o Hine', kiri wherowhero ta' kiri o Tinirau-Ariki, maemae ka uru. Ka tae a Tinirau ki tona kainga, ki Tongi-hitchi-atē. Moe ake nei a Tinirau, taea tona whare tapu, e unge eti' ei i o' tamiriki ka roro ka tchiro i tchia whare tapu ona'. E roro wa tamiriki i runga' i ri waka', potēhi etu' ki a Hine' i ro' t' whare, i Tongi-hitchi-atē. ka hiko ta rauira o Hine'; ka hiko ta rauira o ka tamiriki. A, "Wari ko tere'?". "Ko au. Ko Hine'. Wari ko hunū?" "Mauu. Na Tinirau mauu." "Tehēkoa to korū matchūtane?" "Terā." "O-o. Korū ro ra ki rer', ka ki atu' k' haramai." A, ka tae ka tamiriki ra, inginei eneti karang' etu' i rung' i to rauu waka' "Tē-e te whenū i Tapeirihou, tē t' whenū i Tapeirihou. "Taea ai?" "Tē i a Hine' Hi'tcheeweewe-hingara-wharara, ka rākī mai ko' k' hunatu'. E whane ei ko Tinirau ka tae. Ka tari ka wahine o Tinirau ki aii, ka unga' atu' i ka tamiriki ka tchiro i to rauu matchu; ka tae wa tamiriki, hurang' i te tau i waho, hurang i te tau i roto', hurang' i te tau i roto rawa; ko' ro atu' ka tchiro, "U-u! E rū' ka waewae, ka mate kae to tauu matchūtane." Ka put' mai etoru, "U-u! ka ora' to tauu matchūtane." Ka put' mai ewha, "O-o! Koi, koi, ka ora!" Ka me mei ko Hine, "Korū ro ra ki o korū metehine, ka ki atu' k'haramai." Ka tae wa tamiriki ki o rauu metehine, kī atu, "Ka ra ki mai koru ko' ro atu." "Ae, a te noho nei." Ka tae wa wahine ra ko waho o t' whare noh' ei; ka tamiriki ra ka ma ko ro' t' whare, ka put' mai ka tamiriki ka kī mai ki o rauu metehine, "Ooi! Ka ra ki mai korū ka roro ki ri pohatu." "Ae, a te noho' nei." Mai ko ke heoki mei wa tamiriki, "Ka ra ki mai koru ka roro ki ri wahii a, korū ka tahu i ta umu." "Ae a te noho nei." "A, korū ka roro ki t' whariki." A, tae mai ka whariki. Ka taro to wa ka puta' ko Hine' ko waho tapatu rakei' ki ri mata o ro waewae. Ka rere ko Mongomongo-tchu-a-uri rauu ko Mongomongotchu-a-tea ki a Hine'. K' whawha mai ko Hine' tokorū, ko ro' ta umu! Ka mate' ka wihine nei i a Hine'. Ka tangi a Tinirau ki ona' wahine; ko tangi tenei:- "Ka mate Mongomongo-tchu-a-uri, koi ra, koia, Ka mate Mongomongo-tchu-a-tea, koi ra, koia, koi ra taū reo e ki atu ki a koe re Mongongo-tchu-a-uri ka tauria, koi ra, koia." Ka moe a Hine' rauu ko Tinirau, ka hapu ta rauu timit' a, k' whanau. Ka ki etu a Hine' ki a Tinirau, "Rura e ung' i au ko waho whanau ei." Tchiei huri mai ko Tinirau, ka ki etu ko Hine', "Taii, ko' tchumatenga." Ka tchu t' whare ko waho k' whanau a Hine' ko rot' i tchia whare na. Whanau ei, ka tau ta kohu, k' hara mai i roto i ri hoku ko te hungo' o Rupe ki t' okowhanau i timit' a Hine'. Ko tchia hunga' na pārea' no ta rangi khia ro mai enei ka tang' enei i a Hine' rauu ko to timit,' me re kohang' etu'. Ka ki etu a Tinirau, "Hokaaro ki au, ki to tau timiti'." Ka me mai a Hine', "Taii, ko' e hunake' ki Tchuaporo." Koi eneti, no Tchuaporo ka kite a Tinirau i to timit', i tona wahine hoki, i a Hine'. Ko tchia wihine, no ro Waioro-nui-a-Tane. Tchi reira ko to' Ro, me re Rurerehu, me te Hinakapuwai, we ta Rangaranga, me t' Wharourou, me re Koekoēa, me re Tara-mokora. Nunei ka me e tau ki tchia hunua.

    8 min
  6. Apr 15

    We know the God of Kumara, but who is the Mother of Kumara?

    Kia ora ra e te iwi! I have a Patreon where I hope to add some additional value. If you'd like the kaupapa, and you appreciate this mahi, you can give a koha here: A Maori Podcast I am planning to start a regularly online space to korero. Details are here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/korero-space-for-153338068 Kia ora! I really enjoyed learning about this weeks atua wahine. I'd love to find more stories of her down the line. Anyways as always, I've provided my source, and made a quick maori translation. Ko wai a Pani? Nana ko Kumara. E ai ki nga korero a Hamiora Pio, tetahi tohunga korero no Ngati Awa i puritia ai enei korero. Ka eke ki runga, ki runga rawa, a Rongo-maui. Ka eke ki nga rangi tuhaha ki te whai kumara mai i tona tuakana, mai i a Whanui. Heoi ano, kihai i hoatu ra e Whanui. Ahakoa ra, ka tangohia, ka kuhua i tona ure, huna ai. Heke ana a ia, noho ai ki tana makau, ki a Pani-tinaku. Ka hapu, ka karangahia tana ipo, "Ki Mona-ariki ahau." Ka tae atu ki reira, ka rere ki te wai, ka takina te karakia, ka whanau mai nga tamariki kumara. "...According to a Ngati Awa authority, Hamiora Pio, a man named Rongo-maui clibed to the sky to acquire the kumara from his elder brother Whanui (The star Vega). Whanui would not part with the kumara, but Rongo-maui stole it anyway and placed it in his penis. He then went back down to his wife, Pani-tinaku (Seed-kumara Pani). When Pani became pregnant, she told her husband to take her to the waters of Mona-ariki. Then she recited a ritual chant and gave birth to her kumara children (tamariki kumara)." [A concise Encyclopedia of Maori Myth and Legend, Margaret Orbell. pg 96] Shopping at the supermarket: Vegetables. [Scotty and Stacey Morrison, Maori at Home, pg. 90] Whakatauki - Kia whakaoho koe i tahaku moe, ko te whatuturei a Rua. [Kohikohinga Whakatauki a Raupo, pg. 62]

    7 min
  7. Apr 8

    Atua Wahine - Hineteiwaiwa

    Kia ora ra e te iwi! I have a Patreon where I hope to add some additional value. If you'd like the kaupapa, and you appreciate this mahi, you can give a koha here: A Maori Podcast I am planning to start a regularly online space to korero. Details are here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/korero-space-for-153338068 Kia ora! This week I wanted to share about Hineteiwaiwa. I have come across a great korero of her seeking out Whakatau to help her avenge the death of her tamaiti. I've linked to the English and Maori sources to if you wanted to check it out. Hineteiwaiwa & Whakatau (English Version) [ George Grey, Polynesian Mythology pg.71] Hineteiwaiwa & Whakatau (Maori Version) [ George Grey, Nga Mahinga A Nga Tupuna pg 59.] Below is also a quick introduction to Hineteiwaiwa, from the great author, Margaret Orbell. Hineteiwaiwa: "The powers and responsibilities of women were established in beginning by Hineteiwaiwa. This early ancestor is the woman that who provided the pattern that women now follow. All girls were dedicated to her at birth. Women in childbirth were aided by the recitation of a ritual chant believed to have been repeated for the first time when Hineteiwaiwa was giving birth to her so Tuhuruhuru. This chant associates the woman with Hineteiwaiwa who provided the precedent and has the power now to help her. Hineteiwaiwa was one of the ancestors who gave a girl strength when her lips were being tattooed. She was often thought to have introduced the art of weaving (though other women more specialised figures, were also associated with this.) She was sometimes believed to have been the first woman to act as a ruahine, a role performed by a high-ranking woman when taking part in a ritual to remove an excess of tapu. In removing much of the tapu of a new house so that people could safely live in it, Hineteiwaiwa established a precedent that has been followed ever since." [Margaret Orbell, A concise Encyclopedia of Maori Myth and Legend, pg.41-42] Whakatauki - He ko te aruhe ka taea e te tangata kotahi te amo; te whawhai, na te tokomaha. [Te Kohikohinga Whakatauki a Raupo, pg 155]

    12 min

About

Kia ora! Welcome to this podcast! As per the title, it's a Maori podcast and I am Maori. I try to keep the podcast completely in Te Reo, this is mainly because I want to improve my own language skills, and the best way to do it is to completely speak the language. I share my insights into learning and improving my reo Maori skills especially as someone that doesn't reside back in the homeland. Hoi ano, nahaku noa, I hope that you enjoy this mahi, and I'm proud to be Maori and to share our language. Ko te reo kia rere!If you live abroad and need a place to hang out, I finally found a great hangout spot filled with Maori speakers here.Discord - Reo MaoriI also have a Patreon where I hope to add some additional value. You can find me here:https://patreon.com/amaoripodcastI am planning to start a regularly online space to korero. Details are here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/korero-space-for-153338068