Strong Voices

Do you know the difference between a mihimihi and a pepeha? Do you know the words and actions to the IDEA Services waiata? How about what to do on a marae?

These, among many other things, are being featured on IHC Media’s latest live sessions Tu Meke Reo Time on Tuesdays. They are an introduction to Te Ao Māori – the Māori world for everyone. The sessions will cover te reo – the Māori language, tikanga – Māori customs and traditional values and, of course, kapa haka.

The first session, held on Waitangi Day, was presented by Service Manager Mary Bradfield and Support Worker Georgie Meadows – both members of Te Anga Paua o Aotearoa – IDEA Services’ National Māori Advisory Group. Mary and Georgie are now alternating as presenters of the weekly sessions.

The new sessions are taking the Tuesday morning ‘Music with Ahjay’ timeslot. Ahjay is taking a break for a bit and will return to IHC Media at a new time yet to be confirmed.

Mary (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Hine) says the sessions will start and end with traditional prayers – karakia timatanga and karakia whakamutunga. She says anybody can take part. “Absolutely. It will be done in English and Māori because I am bilingual.”

She says she would love to see everyone develop the confidence to speak te reo and to speak out proudly. She hopes there will be a buy-in from whānau as well and provide a means of connection. “I hope that the guys will be able to reach out to their families.”

Georgie (Rangitāne and Ngāti Kuia) says she wants the IHC Live! sessions to empower the people we support – “to whakamana themselves; to whakamana their staff”. She says she hopes the sessions will increase the visibility of these kiritaki, to increase their inclusion and their leadership skills.

“It will also be really interactive because everybody needs the opportunity to practise what they are learning.

“While Mary and I are the presenters of this class, we want the kiritaki to take over and for us to step back,” she says.

“One of the brilliant things about the platform is that you have the Live! sessions, but also all the pre-recorded resources. One of the things that will be great is to actually interview people about their experiences.”

The sessions have been inspired by the idea of Tāne’s baskets of knowledge. Te Ara: The Encylopedia of New Zealand tells the story. “The god Tāne climbed to the citadel Te Tihi-o-Manono, in the highest of the 12 heavens, known as Te Toi-o-ngā-rangi. There he retrieved three baskets of knowledge: te kete-tuatea (basket of light), te kete-tuauri (basket of darkness) and te kete-aronui (basket of pursuit). There are several interpretations of what each basket represents. The scholar Māori Marsden has suggested that the basket of light is present knowledge, the basket of darkness things unknown, and the basket of pursuit is the knowledge humans currently seek.”

Find the Tu Meke Reo Time sessions here at IHC Live!

Caption: Tāne retrieves the baskets of knowledge from the heavens. Illustration by Lindsey Myers, IHC Interactive Designer and host of IHC Live! Draw with Lindsey on Thursdays.

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