Te Wiki o te Reo Māori (English: Māori Language Week) 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. It has been celebrated since 1975 and is currently spearheaded by Te Puni Kōkiri (the Ministry of Māori Development) and the Māori Language Commission, with many organisations including schools, libraries, and government departments participating.[citation needed]
History
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.[1][2][3] 14 September quickly began to be celebrated as Māori Language Day, and by 1975, this had grown to become the first Māori Language Week.[3]
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.[4]
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).[5][6]
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.[7]
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.[8] The song topped the iTunes downloads chart in New Zealand,[8] reaching number 4 on the Official New Zealand Music Chart's subchart for New Zealand musicians.[9]
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.[10]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.[11][12] During the week, 30 theatres across the country held free screenings of the reo version.[10]
2019
During Māori Language Week 2019, it was reported in New Zealand media that even kaumātua (elders) were learning te reo (Māori language).[13] It was also reported that more than one fifth of book sales during that week were Māori.[13]
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.[17][18] On the same day, the Māori Party launched a petition to change the country's name to Aotearoa.[19]
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.[20][21] 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.[22] 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.[23][24][25] September saw the release of many albums by popular musicians sung in te reo, including Lorde's Te Ao Mārama,[26]Stan Walker's Te Arohanui,[27]Alien Weaponry's Tangaroa,[28] and Ka Hao's Ka Hao: One Tira, One Voice.[25]
2022
The 2022 celebrations of Te Wiki o te Reo Māori marked 50 years since the Māori Language Petition was presented to parliament.[29] 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.[30] 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.[31][32][33]
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.[34] 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.[35][36]
Te Wiki o te Reo Māori Reception at the United States Embassy in Wellington, New Zealand on 19 September 2024
