Māori Language Week

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Māori Language Week
Tariana Turia, Governor-General Patsy Reddy and Nanaia Mahuta celebrating Māori Language Week 2019
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Native name Te Wiki o te Reo Māori
Duration1 week annually
LocationNew Zealand
MotiveLanguage awareness

Māori Language Week (Māori: Te Wiki o te Reo Māori) 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. Preceded by Māori Language Day from 1972 to 1974,[1] it has been celebrated since 1975 and is currently spearheaded by Te Puni Kōkiri (the Ministry of Māori Development) and the Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori (Māori Language Commission), with many organisations including schools, libraries, and government departments participating.[2][citation needed]

History

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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.[3][4][1] 14 September quickly began to be celebrated as Māori Language Day, and by 1975, this had grown to become the first Māori Language Week.[1]

The 1977 week in Dunedin featured "promotion girls" wearing Maori Language Week sashes, handing out Kia ora stickers in The Octagon all week and a two-day hui organised on the city's marae.[5]

2008

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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.[6]

2014

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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).[7][8]

2015

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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.[9]

2016

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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.[10] The song topped the iTunes downloads chart in New Zealand,[10] reaching number 4 on the Official New Zealand Music Chart's subchart for New Zealand musicians.[11]

2017

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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.[12] 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.[13][14] During the week, 30 theatres across the country held free screenings of the reo version.[12]

2019

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During Māori Language Week 2019, it was reported in New Zealand media that even kaumātua (elders) were learning te reo (Māori language).[15] It was also reported that more than one fifth of book sales during that week were Māori.[15]

To mark the 20th anniversary of the 1999 Rugby World Cup semi-final, where Hinewehi Mohi performed the national anthem in te reo, Mohi created Waiata / Anthems, an album where 11 New Zealand musicians re-recorded songs into te reo Māori.[16] The album debuted at number 1 on the Official New Zealand Music Chart,[17] and was one of the most successful albums of 2019 in New Zealand.[18]

2021

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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.[19][20] On the same day, the Māori Party launched a petition to change the country's name to Aotearoa.[21]

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.[22][23] 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.[24] 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.[25][26][27] September saw the release of many albums by popular musicians sung in te reo, including Lorde's Te Ao Mārama,[28] Stan Walker's Te Arohanui,[29] Alien Weaponry's Tangaroa,[30] and Ka Hao's Ka Hao: One Tira, One Voice.[27]

2022

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The 2022 celebrations of Te Wiki o te Reo Māori marked 50 years since the Māori Language Petition was presented to parliament.[31] 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.[32] 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.[33][34][35]

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.[36] 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.[37][38]

Te Wiki o te Reo Māori Reception at the United States Embassy in Wellington, New Zealand on 19 September 2024

2025

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The year 2025 marked 50 years since the first Māori Language Week in 1975. By this milestone, "Te Wiki o te reo Māori has become one of the most recognised public celebrations and nationwide movements in the country".[39]

Dates and themes

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Year Dates Theme
1972
to
1974 		14 September[1] Māori Language Day[1]
1977 18-24 September[40]
2004 26 July – 1 August[41] “Give it a go − kōrero Māori”[42]
2005 25–31 July[43]
2006 24–30 July[44] “Kia kaha ake! Give it a go”
2007 23 July – 29 July[45] Tapoi (Tourism)[46]
2008 21 July – 27 July "Te Reo i te Kāinga" ("Māori Language in the Home")[47]
2009 27 July – 2 August[48] "Te Reo i te Hapori" ("Māori Language in the Community")[49]
2010 26 July – 1 August "Te Mahi Kai" ("The language of food")[50]
2011 4 July – 10 July "Manaakitanga" ("Hospitality" or "Kindness"[51])[52]
2012 23 July – 29 July "Arohatia te reo" ("Cherish the language")[53]
2013 1 July – 7 July[54] "Ngā ingoa Māori" ("Māori names")[55]
2014 21 July – 27 July "Te kupu o te wiki" ("Word of the week")[56]
2015 27 July – 2 August[57] "Whāngaia te reo (ki ngā mātua)" ("Nurture the language (in parents)")[58]
2016 4 July – 10 July[59] "Ākina te reo" ("Behind you all the way")[59]
2017 11–17 September[60] "Kia ora te reo Māori" ("Let the Māori language live")[61]
2018 10–16 September[62] "Kia Kaha te Reo Māori" ("‘Let’s make the Māori language strong")[63][64][65][66]
2019 9–15 September[67]
2020 14–20 September
2021 13–19 September[65]
2022 12–18 September[68]
2023 11–17 September[66]
2024 14–21 September[69] "Ake Ake Ake - a forever language" [70]
2025 14–20 September[71]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
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  5. ^ "Maori Language Week" The Otago Daily Times, 19 September 1977
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  40. ^ "Māori Language Week" on Ngā Taonga Soynd & Visuon website, viewed 28 June 2025
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