E hono ana i a onamata ki a inamata hei ārahi i a anamata.
Kua whakaaturia e Te Ahurei Toi o Tāmaki tana kaha ki te hāpai i te reo Māori, i runga i te ngākau whakapuke, i tana tuku hōtaka i raro i te maru o Toitū Te Reo, o tētehi wāhanga o Tuia Te Muka Kōrero. Ka ārahi tēnei rautaki i tō mātou haepapa ki te whakaū i te mana o te ao Māori, e whai wāhi nei ko te tukunga o ngā hōtaka reo Māori, ko te whakanui i te reo Māori hei taonga, hei wāhanga whakahirahira hoki e rere māori ana i ō tātou ao i Tāmaki Makaurau nei.
Ko te whāinga o tā mātou mahere, ko te whai kia kitea, kia rangona hoki te reo Māori i te roanga o te Ahurei. Kua whakaurua e mātou te reo Māori ki ngā wāhanga katoa o te Ahurei – ki ngā ingoa o ngā whakaaturanga, ki ngā whakamārama kua whakamāoringia, ki ngā hōtaka reo Māori, ki te whakamahinga hoki o ngā kupu Māori kāore i whakapākehātia, otirā ko ērā kua whānui te whakamahia e te tokomaha o ngā tāngata i Aotearoa.
Mā te huarahi o ngā toi e pāorooro ai te reo ki ngā takiwā katoa o Tāmaki Makaurau – ki te Raki, ki te Tonga, ki te Rāwhiti, ki te Uru, ki te Puku anō hoki. Ko te taonga o te reo Māori kua tukuna iho mai i ngā whakatupuranga kei waenga pū, e whai wāhi ana ki ngā momo toi – ki te puoro, ki te ruri, ki te whakaari, ki te waiata, ki ngā kōrero anō hoki, hei pāhekoheko mā ngā apataki o ngā pakeketanga katoa, nō ngā iwi katoa hoki, hei pārekarekatanga anō mō rātou.
Ko te whāinga o tā mātou mahere, ko te whai kia kitea, kia rangona hoki te reo Māori i te roanga o te Ahurei. Kua whakaurua e mātou te reo Māori ki ngā wāhanga katoa o te Ahurei – ki ngā ingoa o ngā whakaaturanga, ki ngā whakamārama kua whakamāoringia, ki ngā hōtaka reo Māori, ki te whakamahinga hoki o ngā kupu Māori kāore i whakapākehātia, otirā ko ērā kua whānui te whakamahia e te tokomaha o ngā tāngata i Aotearoa.
Mā te huarahi o ngā toi e pāorooro ai te reo ki ngā takiwā katoa o Tāmaki Makaurau – ki te Raki, ki te Tonga, ki te Rāwhiti, ki te Uru, ki te Puku anō hoki. Ko te taonga o te reo Māori kua tukuna iho mai i ngā whakatupuranga kei waenga pū, e whai wāhi ana ki ngā momo toi - ki te puoro, ki te ruri, ki te whakaari, ki te waiata, ki ngā kōrero anō hoki, hei pāhekoheko mā ngā apataki o ngā pakeketanga katoa, nō ngā iwi katoa hoki, hei pārekarekatanga anō mō rātou.
Toitū Te Reo – e hono ana i a onamata ki a inamata hei ārahi i a anamata.
Ko te reo kia tika, ko te reo kia rere, ko te reo kia Māori. Karawhiua!
Connecting the past with the present to guide the future.
Te Ahurei Toi o Tāmaki Auckland Arts Festival has been proud to demonstrate its commitment to te reo Māori through the delivery of programmes under Toitū Te Reo, a component of Tuia Te Muka Kōrero, The Auckland Festival Trust’s Māori Strategy. This strategy guides our responsibility to uphold the mana of te ao Māori, which includes the delivery of te reo Māori programmes, acknowledging the Māori language as a treasure, and as an integral and normalised part of our everyday lives here in Tāmaki Makaurau.
The aim of our plan is to ensure that te reo Māori is seen and heard throughout the Festival. We have integrated te reo Māori into all aspects of the Festival – show titles, translated descriptions, programmes delivered in te reo, and the use of kupu without English equivalents, especially those that have become inherent in their use by many New Zealanders.
Through the platform of the arts, te reo will resound in all areas of Auckland – North, South, East, West, and Central. The taonga of the Māori language that has been handed down through generations presents itself front and centre, included into the art forms of music, poetry, theatre, waiata, and kōrero, for audiences of all ages and backgrounds to engage with and enjoy.
This strategy guides our responsibility to uphold the mana of te ao Māori which includes the delivery of te reo Māori programmes, acknowledging the Māori language as a treasure, and as an integral and normalised part of our everyday lives here in Tāmaki Makaurau.
Through the platform of the arts, te reo will resound in all areas of Auckland – North, South, East, West and Central. The taonga of the Māori language that has been handed down through generations presents itself front and centre, included into the art forms of music, poetry, theatre, waiata, and kōrero, for audiences of all ages and backgrounds to engage with and enjoy.
Toitū Te Reo – connecting the past with the present to guide the future.
Ko te reo kia tika, ko te reo kia rere, ko te reo kia Māori. Karawhiua!
Toitū Te Reo Highlights
The 2024 Festival lineup featured the following te reo and kaupapa Māori works and collaborations:
Waiata Mai in Aotea Square – in collaboration with Choirs Aotearoa NZ, this free opening concert saw the public join in to sing favourites such as ‘Slice of Heaven/Hineruhi’, ‘Tūtira Mai Ngā Iwi’, and ‘6 Months in a Leaky Boat/Ono Marama’, with kupu waiata displayed on the digital stage. Braille for the vision impaired was also available.
Te Kāhui Kōrero – Nigel Borell MNZM, Chelsea Winstanley and Qiane Matata-Sipu joined a free panel discussion led by Te Taumata Toi ā Iwi, with a focus on what it means in the arts sector to practice transformative activism, to employ the power of collective action, and to continually challenge systemic barriers.
Angélique Kidjo with Angitu at Auckland Town Hall – the five-time Grammy Award-winning singer invited the Tāmaki-based kapa haka to open her concert, before joining her on stage for the finale to perform songs chosen by Angélique, including the well-known ‘Pata Pata’ from the late Miriam Makeba, aka Mama Africa.
Āhuareka (Festival Commission) at Auckland Town Hall – people of all ages were wowed from start to finish by premier kapa haka groups, including Te Kapa Haka o Ngāti Whakaue from Te Arawa region, and Te Pou o Mangataawhiri from Waikato. A touch tour preceded the concert, giving an up close and personal look at the kākahu and props used in kapa haka performances.
The Sun and the Wind (Festival Presentation) at Loft, Q Theatre – one of two works written by Tainui Tukiwaho, this play centred on an older couple’s birthday celebration of a long-deceased son, and the intrusion of a young couple with theft in their mind, was a provocative look at the effects of intergenerational trauma. The Festival presentation followed its debut in Wellington in July 2023.
Kōtuitui (Festival Commission) at Concert Chamber, Auckland Town Hall – a gathering of Haumanu Collective (Aotearoa), Pamyua (Alaska) and William Barton (Australia) to demonstrate the traditional instruments of their respective homelands. The public performance was preceded by a wānanga for the artists, where they worked together to workshop and create a musical composition. There was also a post-show touch tour for those wanting to explore the instruments up close.
Te Tangi ā Te Tūī (Festival Presentation) at Te Pou Theatre – performed entirely in te reo Māori, a collaboration between Te Rēhia Theatre Co, Te Pou Theatre and The Dust Palace. Written by Tainui Tukiwaho and Amber Curreen (Te Rēhia Theatre), the work combined kaupapa Māori and cirque theatre to explore the loss of the original voice of the Tūī and its parallels to the loss and regeneration of te reo Māori.
Waiata Anthems & Māoriland Film Festival films on the Digital Stage – a selection of popular songs recorded in te reo Māori as part of the acclaimed Waiata Anthems initiative, as well as the bilingual films Brolesque, Tuia Ngā Here and Manu Masters, screened on the Digital Stage screen in Aotea Square throughout the Festival.