This article was first published on RNZ.
Organisers of Aotearoa’s national Māori language festival want people of all ages and ethnicities to “toitū te reo” - to uphold the language - as the kaupapa returns for its second year.
Toitū Te Reo, described as a two-day “celebration, inspiration, education, and activation of the language and culture”, will take place in Heretaunga Hastings on November 13-14.
Festival founder and director Dr Jeremy Tātere MacLeod (Ngāti Kahungunu) said the kaupapa, born out of a desire to uplift te mana o te reo Māori. was shaped by growing pressure on the language in recent years.
“It was morphed into a festival during the time where the language was under attack from left, right and centre,” he told RNZ.
“And it was a response to that, but it was a positive response. It was, how we can unite the country and bring people together, but also bring ourselves together as Māori.”
Toitū Te Reo is the evolution of Te Reo ki Tua, a revitalisation symposium hosted in the heart of Ngāti Kahungunu.
“It’s a street festival. It’s unapologetically Māori, yet incredibly accessible to non-speakers,” MacLeod said.
“We want young, old, locals, visitors, and those from every ethnicity to come along and have a go at te reo Māori.”
Organisers said the festival welcomed about 10,000 people last year, from reo champions to absolute beginners.
Despite receiving funding in 2024 from the previous government, this year’s kaupapa will go on without it.
“It’s a different climate,” MacLeod said.
“We were lucky last year with some residual funding from the former government, but that funding is not available under the current government.
“So it means we’ve had to work extra hard to find people to support what I still believe is a transformative, groundbreaking initiative.”
He said the shift has only deepened the resolve of the organising team, but it raised questions about who was responsible for backing the language.
“My challenge to us as Māori, with regards to mana motuhake - if we really believe in our language and we want to invest in a national forum that uplifts but also inspires a lot of language activists across the country - then support it. Instead of us being booted like a political football between central government back to iwi and vice versa.”
“If we keep harping on about how important the language is, then we need to commit to it and show some leadership… Stop talking about the language and commit to uplifting it.”
Toitū Te Reo will be host to a variety of kaupapa, including kapa haka performances, wānanga, symposiums, kai, toi Māori, and live podcast recordings, all designed to meet people wherever they are on their reo journey.
“There’s no other forum in the country that brings this many people together purely for the language revitalisation plight,” MacLeod told RNZ.
“It brings together some of the country’s most recognised exponents, but also grassroots language champions, not necessarily people who sit in academic institutions… It brings together a fantastic mix, as well as non-Māori who have committed their lives to the re-emphasis of the language.”
MacLeod said regardless of where you sit on the language proficiency spectrum, “everyone requires a bit of inspiration”.
“We require a bit of activation. We require a little bit more education and an opportunity to celebrate and connect.”
MacLeod speaks from personal experience. He grew up in Brisbane with parents who were part of the generations who lost their language.
“I remember very well how hard it is to acquire te reo Māori,” he said.
“And I still have vivid memories of what that was like. It’s not easy.”
That’s part of why accessibility is a core focus of Toitū Te Reo, he said.
“We’ve tried to make it as welcoming as possible,”
“Even if you’re fluent or if you’re in the middle, there’s dedicated symposium areas and lots of different presenters, panels to cater for everyone. But even the most fluent need to do some work to maintain their reo.”
While the scale of the festival will be slightly smaller this year, MacLeod said Toitū Te Reo is about national reach, but from a provincial base.
“National kaupapa don’t just belong in Wellington and Auckland. They can be hosted in provinces too.
“When Ngāti Kahungunu established the National Māori Language Revitalisation Symposium, it had a domino effect, several tribes went on to establish their own. And I feel that’ll be the case with Toitū Te Reo in time. Why can’t we have several celebrations of the language and culture around the country?”
With the kaupapa taking place in four months time, MacLeod is hoping for an even bigger turnout than last year.
“Toitū Te Reo will inspire you. It will educate you. It will entertain you. It will activate you. It will strengthen you,” he said.
“And it will provide a platform for thousands to come together and celebrate the language that is quite often attacked from all quarters of this country.”
Toitū Te Reo 2025 will take place in Heretaunga Hastings CBD on 13-14 November.
By Layla Bailey-McDowell of RNZ.
