Meet Peti Nohotima, a passionate writer and a te reo Māori advocate.
Although she looks like a normal kuia who speaks te reo Māori a lot more than reo pākehā, it is not fully by choice.
Nohotima (Ngāti Koura) developed a traumatic brain injury, which would change the trajectory of her life.
“Ko tēnei purari mate he aha te kōrero kua roa kē e tipu ana he momo pukupuku e tipu ana ki roto i taki roro.
“Mea rawa ake ka haere mai taku tama, arā kei muri rā ahau e putu ana.
“‘Kei te mamae koe, Mum,’ me taku whakaaro e hē ‘kāre au i te mamae’, heoi anō i pakeke pērā ake mātou. Kaua koe e kōrero mō te mamae kia tata hemo rawa koe,” she told Te Ao Māori News.
Despite her reluctance, the symptoms couldn’t be ignored anymore.
“Ka tino pā mai te mate o te oherere, me tāku whakaaro kei hea kē ahau ka aukatihia tāku hiahia kōrero i roto i te reo e kōrerotia rā e rātou.”
She had developed mate whakangū (aphasia), losing her ability to speak and communicate in English.
“Te mataku ki te iwi me te reo e kōrero rā me te tere hoki, āhua rite nei ki te tameheihei te pake mai o ngā reo.”
Although her reo Pākehā is limited, it is not stopping or hindering her ability to complete the new challenge she has set for herself.
She is compiling forgotten kupu Māori for future generations.
“Ko ngā reo o ināianei he āhua rite ki te reo pukapuka nei, me kī pea, he tino rite kua kore te reo kapekape i pakeke ake ai tāua e morimori ō tatou taringa e rawekehia ai i ā tātou kōkōhua, kāre koe e rongo i te taunga whakapake tērā tōu puaha.”
Although it’s been an uphill battle for Nohotima, her love of storytelling continues to push her above and beyond any battle she encounters.
