Te Wiki o te Reo Māori 2024

Written By Tui Early Learners

Tūī, the bird, is the namesake of our family-owned early childhood education centres here in the Manawatū.

I tapaina te ingoa o te manu nei, ko te Tūī i ngā whare kōhungahunga, nā te Whānau anō i whakatū i Manawatū.

To support Te Wiki o te Reo Māori (Māori Language Week) we would like to honour this beautiful majestic bird by changing our logos on social media to the traditional Māori spelling of Tūī.

Hei tautoko ake i Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori, kua whakahoungia ā mātou waitohu i runga kōtui pāpori ki te tuhi pū tika i te kupu Tūī. Hei whakamānawa hoki i tēnei manu ātaahua, i tēnei manu kaiora.

Over the last 10 years, Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori (The Māori Language commission) has been revitalising the Māori language and spelling. Tūī, describing the bird, recently had its macrons replaced, restoring it to how it was originally was, over 100 years ago.

He kaha nō Te Taura Whiri i Te Reo Māori ki te whakarauora i Te Reo Māori me te aha, i whai tohutō anō a Tūī, i pērā ai i te rau tau ki muri.

For Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, we acknowledge this beautiful word that describes the sound of Tūī's song to raise awareness of the beauty and poetic nature of te Reo Māori.

Hei whakatairanga i Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori, ka aumihi mātou i te kupu waiwaiā nei e whakaatū hoki ana i te tangi a te Tūī hei hiki i te mōhiotanga ki te ataahua me te rerenga auaha o Te Reo Māori.

Tūī hold a sacred place in te Ao Māori because, as legend goes, Tāne ascended to the heavens to seek knowledge, and when he reached the highest of the heavens he met a very sacred being, called Rehua. Rehua gifted to Tāne ‘Ngā manu a Rehua’ (the birds, or flighted creatures of Rehua) which included Tūī and other creatures to populate Papatūānuku, the earth.

He manu motuhake a Tūī i Te Ao Māori nā te mea, e ai ki te pūrākau, i eke a Tāne ki Ngā Rangi Tūhāhā rapu ai i ngā kete o Te Mātauranga. I tutaki a Tāne i a Rehua. Ka tākōhā a Rehua ki a Tāne i Ngā Manu a Rehua, waihoki ko te Tūī me ētehi atu ngarara hei rawa mō Papa-tūā-nuku.

Acknowledging how our Tui centres connect with Tūī, the bird, certainly makes for special connections during Māori Language Week.

Tui Early Learners