An English translation follows this reo Māori article.
Inā te moemoeā o Ahorangi Hona Black: kia moemoeā anō ai te tangata i roto i te reo Māori.
“Koirā pea tētahi tohu ki a au kua tino tangata whenua te reo - kei ō moemoeā te reo e karawhiua ana.“
Koinei te tirohanga kei te kawea e te uri o Ngāi Tūhoe, Te Whānau a Apanui, Te Whakatōhea me Ngāti Tūwharetoa ki tana tūranga hōu hei Ahorangi tuatahi mō te reo Māori ki Te Kawa a Māui, te kura mātauranga Māori o Te Herenga Waka (Te Whare Wānanga o Te Ūpoko o te Ika) i Te Whanganui-a-Tara.
I pōhiritia a Black, tōna whānau me ōna hoa ki Te Herenga Waka i tērā wiki hei whakatau i a ia ki tana tūranga hōu.
“He nui te Māori ka kuhu mai ki ēnei wāhi - mō ētahi o rātou koinei pea tā rātou tūtakitanga tuatahi ki tō rātou reo. Nō reira he haepapa nui tēnei kei ngā whare wānanga ki te poipoi, ki te manaaki i tērā iwi. Nō reira ka harikoa ahau ki te whai wāhi atu ki tērā,” hei tāna.
He ekenga hōu tēnei mō Black, tētahi kua roa nei e kōkiri ana i te whakarauoratanga o te reo Māori mā te whakaako, te rangahau, te tuhi pukapuka me te ao pāpāho matihiko. Heoi, e mea ana ia, ehara tēnei i te ekenga nāna anake.
“Ehara i te mea i āta whai au kia tohua ai au hei ‘professor’. Ko tāku noa iho he aro ki ngā mahi kei mua i a au.”
Hei tāna, ko tana angitu he hua nō te tini tāngata nā rātou ia i poipoi i roto i ngā tau.
“Ko taku toa, he toa takitini. Ko ngā hua i taka mai ki a au, he hua nō ngā hekenga werawera o ōku mātua, o ngā whānau, o ngā hapori, o te hunga i nui nei te whai wāhi ki te whakapakeke, ki te whakatangata i a au i roto i ngā tau.“
Hei tāna anō, kua waimarie ia ki te kuhu atu ki tētahi whare kua roa e pāorooro ana i te reo o ngā whakatupuranga i para i te huarahi i mua i a ia.
”Kua huri kē te ao”
Ahakoa i tipu ake a Black i Te Papaioea, i waimarie ia i te hoki auau atu o tōna whānau ki roto i a Ngāi Tūhoe. E ai ki tōna tuakana, ki a Whitiaua Black, i ahu mai ai tō rātou reo i reira.
“I whakatipuhia mai mātou i roto o Manawatū. Kaha tā mātou hokihoki ki te wā kāinga, ki roto o Ruatoki, ki te noho ki ngā rekereke o ngā kuia me ngā koroua o reira. Nō konā tō mātou reo – nō te ngahere, nō ngā mahi whaiwhai poaka, whaiwhai tia, ērā mahi katoa.
Hei tāna, ko te mahi a tōna teina ināianei, he kawe i taua reo ki te marea i Te Herenga Waka.
Kua roa a Ahorangi Hona Black e whakaako ana, e rangahau ana, e whakawhanake ana i ngā marautanga. He tohu kairangi tōna mō te Wete Reo Whaihua, he tohu paerua mō te Wete Reo me te Mātauranga Māori, ā, nō nā tata nei ka wehe atu ia i tana tūranga hei Ahonuku i Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa.
Tua atu i te whare wānanga, kua mōhiotia whānuitia ia i runga i ngā pae pāpāho pāpori o Generation Reo me Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori, e āta whakamārama ana i ngā kīwaha, i ngā kupu whakarite me ngā āhuatanga huhua o te reo. Hei tāna, kua tino rerekē te tirohanga o te motu ki te reo Māori.
“Kua huri te ao. Kua tahuri mai te motu ki te tautoko i te reo.“
E mahara ana ia ki tana tamarikitanga, he ruarua noa iho ngā whānau kōrero Māori i tōna hapori.
“Ka kōrero Māori ana mātou, ka kite mātou i ētahi e titiro korotaha mai ana ki a mātou ngā tamariki. Heoi i ēnei rā, kua whakanuia tērā.”
Hei tāna, ahakoa te whakahē a ētahi ki te reo Māori, tē aro i a ia.
“Ahakoa arā pea ētahi mokoweri kei ētahi kokonga o te motu e kore e pai mai ki tērā āhuatanga, aua atu. Ki korā rātou tangimeme mai ai, he aha te aha, kua huri kē te ao.”
E mea ana ia, he nui hoki ngā rangatahi e tū ana hei kaihautū mō te whakaora reo, engari nā te hunga pakeke rātou i poipoi kia pakari ai.
Kei tua i te akomanga te oranga o te reoE whakapono ana a Black ko te tino whakamātautau mō te kaupapa whakarauora reo, ko te noho māori anō o te reo ki roto i te ao o ia rā.
“Kua nui kē atu hoki te hunga e ako ana i te reo. Ko te wāhi kāore pea i te tino kaha ko te rere o te reo i ngā kāinga me ngā whānau.” Hei tāna, kua noho kē ngā kura me ngā akomanga hei taiao matua mō te reo, engari ehara tērā i te wāhi ka ora ai te reo.
“Kāore te reo e ora i te akomanga. He wāhi tōna - he wāhi nui tōna - engari he taiao whāiti hoki te akomanga.“
”Ko te aro ki te rumaki i te motu, ki te karapoti i a rātou ki te reo Māori i ngā wāhi katoa, i te ao matihiko, i ngā hapori, i ngā taone, i ngā wāhi katoa e hopukina noa ai te reo i reira. Kei reira te oranga o te reo.“
Hei tāna, kāore he ara poto kia pakari ai te reo. “Me āta whakarite tō ao e nui ake ai te tūpono ka rangona, ka kitea hoki te reo Māori.”
He tirohanga mō ngā whakatupuranga
Ka ārahi a Black i ngā mahi arotake i te ahunga o ngā hōtaka reo Māori me te whakapakari tonu i ngā mahi rangahau me te whakaako i Te Herenga Waka. Hei tā Te Tumuaki o Te Kawa a Māui, tā Mike Ross, mā Black ka pakari ake ai ngā mahi kua roa e kōkirihia ana e te kura ki te whakatairanga me te whakawhanake i te reo Māori.
Nō Ngāi Tūhoe hoki Te Tumu Ahurei Māori o Te Herenga Waka, a Ahorangi Rawinia Higgins. Hei tāna, he wā tika tēnei mō te taenga atu o Black.
“Ko te āhua o te whakaako i te reo i roto i ngā whare wānanga Pākehā nei kua roa e noho ana ki ngā kōrero o onamata. Nō reira ko tāna he arotake, kei te pēhea te aronga o te whakaako reo mō te anamata,” te kōrero a Higgins.
Engari mō Black, ko te tino wawata mō ngā tauira me ngā whakatupuranga kei te heke mai, kia noho ko te reo Māori hei hoa haere i ngā ara ka whāia e rātou.
“He oranga nui kei roto i te reo, engari kaua hoki rātou e herea ki te reo. He ao whānui kei waho rā. Whāia ō moemoeā, whāia ngā mahi e rongo nei tō ngākau, ka kawe ai i te reo ki ērā wāhi pāorooro ai.“
Mā konā e tutuki ai tana moemoeā - kia moemoeā anō ai te tangata i roto i te reo Māori.
The English translation for the article:
“That, to me, may be one sign that the language has truly become indigenous to this land - in your dreams, the language flows freely,” he said.
It is the vision the descendant of Ngāi Tūhoe, Te Whānau a Apanui, Te Whakatōhea and Ngāti Tūwharetoa brings to his new role as the inaugural Professor of Māori Language at Te Kawa a Māui, the School of Māori Studies at Te Herenga Waka - Victoria University of Wellington.
Black, his whānau and friends were welcomed to Te Herenga Waka last week to formally mark his appointment.
“Many Māori come into these places - and for some, it may be their first encounter with their own language. So universities carry a significant responsibility to nurture and care for those people. I’m delighted to be able to contribute to that,” he said.
It is a new milestone for Black, who has long championed the revitalisation of te reo Māori through teaching, research, writing and digital media.
However, he said it was not an achievement that belonged to him alone. “It’s not as though I deliberately set out to be appointed a professor. I’ve simply focused on the work in front of me.”
He said his success was the result of the many people who had nurtured him over the years.
“My strength is the strength of many. The fruits that have come to me are the result of the sweat and toil of my parents, whānau, communities and all those who have played such a significant part in raising me and shaping the person I have become over the years.”
He said he was also fortunate to be entering an institution that had long echoed with the voices of generations who paved the way before him.
“The world has changed”
Although Black grew up in Palmerston North, he was fortunate that his whānau returned regularly to Ngāi Tūhoe.
His brother, Whitiaua Black, said that was where their language came from.
“We were raised in Manawatū. We returned home often, to Ruatoki, where we sat at the feet of the kuia and koroua there. That is where our language came from - from the forest, from hunting pigs and deer, and from all those activities.”
He said his brother’s work now was to take that language to the wider community at Te Herenga Waka.
Professor Hona Black has extensive experience in teaching, research and curriculum development. He holds a PhD in Applied Linguistics and a master’s degree in Linguistics and Māori Studies, and recently left his position as an associate professor at Massey University.
Beyond academia, he has become widely known through the Generation Reo and Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori social media platforms, where he carefully explains idioms, metaphors and the many nuances of the language. He said attitudes towards te reo Māori across the country had changed considerably.
“The world has changed. The country has turned towards supporting the language.”
He recalled that when he was growing up, only a small number of families in his community spoke Māori. “When we spoke Māori, we would see people looking sideways at us kids.”
He said that although some people remained opposed to te reo Māori, he couldn’t care less. “There may still be a few dinosaurs in their corners of the country who don’t like it, but never mind them. They can stay over there whinging all they like - the world has already changed.”
He said many young people were now leading language revitalisation, but it was the older generations who had nurtured them and enabled them to flourish.
The language must live beyond the classroom
Black believes the true test of language revitalisation is whether te reo Māori once again becomes a natural part of everyday life.
“There are far more people learning the language now. The area that may not be as strong is the use of the language in homes and among whānau.”
He said schools and classrooms had become the main environments for the language, but they were not where it would ultimately thrive. “The language will not survive in the classroom. The classroom has a role - an important role - but it is also a confined environment.”
“The focus must be on immersing the country, surrounding people with te reo Māori everywhere - in the digital world, in communities, in cities and wherever the language can be absorbed naturally. That is where the language will thrive.”
He said there was no shortcut to becoming proficient. “You have to deliberately shape your world so there is a greater chance you will hear and see te reo Māori,” he said.
A vision for future generations
Black will lead a review of the direction of Māori-language programmes at Te Herenga Waka while continuing to strengthen its research and teaching. Te Kawa a Māui head of school Mike Ross said Black would build upon the school’s longstanding work to promote and develop te reo Māori.
Te Herenga Waka Deputy Vice-Chancellor Māori Professor Rawinia Higgins is also of Ngāi Tūhoe descent. She said Black had arrived at the right time.
“The way te reo Māori has been taught within these Western universities has long been grounded in the past. His task is to review how language teaching should be approached for the future,” Higgins said.
For Black, however, his greatest hope is that te reo Māori will accompany students and future generations along whatever paths they choose.
“There is immense wellbeing to be found in the language, but they should not be confined by it either. There is a vast world out there. Pursue your dreams, pursue the work your heart calls you to, and take the language into those spaces, where it can resonate.”
And perhaps that is how his dream will be realised - for people to once again dream in te reo Māori.
Nā Piripi Taylor rāua ko Herewini Waikato nō Pūkāea
