The fear of speaking te reo Māori, a spooky podcast 🎃, and Māori Barbie.
Nau mai, hoki mai e te whānau,
Welcome to our second edition and ngā mihi nui/thanks-a-heap for your kind and considered feedback for round one. It seriously means a lot.
This wiki we’re trying out a few other tweaks based on your suggestions. Please whakautu/reply to this email or use the poll at the bottom of this newsletter to let us know how it’s landing this time around.
With Pō whakamataku/Harawīni/Halloween coming up, we reckon it's time to get into the spirit of things heoi don’t worry if you’re not into the spooky - there are treats for everyone!
Whether you’re Māori, Pākehā, Tauiwi, studying Māori, in the depths of a connection journey, or just looking for something fun for weeknights - we hope these ideas add a little culture to your week (and you get to enjoy all the inspiring, mind-opening, belonging-enhancing, life-enriching ripples that come from that).
"Let’s learn how to make things right.”
-Te Ataakura sets the record straight on apologies i te reo Māori.
You want to talk scary? Then let’s talk SPEAKING TE REO MĀORI IN PUBLIC. Anyone who didn’t grow up with te reo Māori knows the mataku/fear of making mistakes - of all eyes on you, being judged, laughed at, or just feeling silly.
We also know that making hapa/mistakes is a valuable area of learning and the only person judging us is ourselves, but you know - language learner insecurity life.
We commonly make a mistake in the office when we’re trying to say, ‘sorry’. There are two main phrases that more or less fit the bill and we’re always getting them muddled up. This quick video breaks it down with good examples.
Kaua e whakamā/don't be shy, speak freely, and if you do get something wrong - well, now you’ve got your apologies down pat, nē?
Find it: on Youtube
Time: 1 min, 30 secs
Cost: free
“This tale is true… I'm going to let one fact out here that’s not in the story but needs to be said: one of the characters quit her job after the incident.”
-A slightly disconcerting backstory from the producers of episode 25, ‘Happy (Ghost) Feet’.
Paki Kēhua is a podcast full of weird and otherworldly Māori ghost stories.
The stories are told through an audio drama format with a cast of talented voice actors and top-notch sound design for an immersive experience. It’s worth checking out just for each episode’s cover art.
Based on classic retellings, tikanga, and true accounts, these yarns will absolutely give you the heebie-jeebies. We actually skipped episode one after reading the description and deciding NO THANK YOU.
Episode 25; ‘Happy (Ghost) Feet’, is a good place to start if you’re a little wary like us. There is some sweet mixed into the scary. Just be prepared that post-listen, you’ll be looking much closer at anyone you happen to tūtaki/meet in hospital hallways…
Find it: on Spotify
Time: 10min - 20min episides
Cost: free with your account
“I make art to embrace and capture my endless journey into the reclamation of my Māoritanga."
- Māori Mermaid on her mahi
Magical fantasy art with wāhine Māori at the centre. This idea is lower on the spooky scale and higher on the whimsical.
Māori Mermaid is an artist who creates cute and colourful; prints, posters, cards and tīhate/t-shirts. She also offers a free printable map of Aotearoa for you to add the Māori place names. Rawe!/Excellent!
This amazing young creative’s work connects Māori culture with the modern world in a way we’ve never seen before.
A top pick from the office is ‘This Barbie is a weaver’. We love the idea of Māori Barbie representing on the world stage, working away on her raranga/weaving in beautiful harakeke hoop earrings and necklace.
A picture is worth a thousand words and these pictures say ‘mana wāhine; women are powerful’.
Find it: on the Māori Mermaid website
Time: just your browsing time
Cost: card packs $15, prints from $30, tīhate $75
"What little time they’d had was spent avoiding the only subject Jena wanted to talk about. The night of the fire. The night everything burned - including her family."
-An excerpt from Butcherbird by Cassie Hart
There's an unnerving vibe right from the beginning of this novel - if you’re one of our more sensitive kaipānui/readers, this one’s probably not right for you.
Jena is banished from the family farm after a tragic fire. Rose, her grandmother, is dying and Jena needs answers. Rose’s live-in caregiver, Will, is also searching for answers and knows something sinister lurks in the homestead.
It's a story full of tension, supernatural forces, and psychological thrills. We loved the classic rural Aotearoa setting and pace of this pukapuka/book. Cassie Hart (Kai Tahu) is definitely making waves in speculative fiction.
The quote we used is on page four, so don’t feel like we've spoiled the whole thing. Believe us, that’s just the beginning of this story’s unravelling.
Find it: on the Huia Publishers website or in a good bookstore
Time: you could binge it in a long weekend - about 300 pages
Cost: $25
Even before you check out any of these ideas, the fact you took the time to find out they exist is an act of support to Māori creatives throughout Aotearoa.
Ahakoa he iti, he pounamu. Maybe it feels small, but it’s mighty powerful.
Thanks for reading e te whānau. If you have any recommendations that you think we should feature in upcoming newsletters, reply to this email and let us know!
Kia pai te wiki mutunga.
