The spring edition

Kia ora e te whānau,

Nau mai, hoki mai ki Te Arawhata—the spring edition.

Tuatahi, we want to acknowledge the passing of Kiingi Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII. Kua hinga te tōtara o Te Waonui a Tāne. It’s a sad time for sure and we want to send our aroha to the whānau pani/bereaved family and everyone else in mourning.

Fairly heavy end to a fairly heavy takurua/winter, nē? If you’re anything like us, you’ve been feeling it lately…

But koanga/spring in the gregorian calendar and mahuru in the Māori lunar calendar promise brighter, warmer times e te whānau and this pānui/newsletter is all about ‘em.

GREAT content from Māori creatives (including secrets to the ultimate māra kai/food garden, tips to reframe your hinengaro/mind, and whitebait fritters) to help us refresh for the coming seasons, ahead.

It’s a kinda vital process fam, because, among all your other jobs, Kiingi Tuheitia has left us with some clear tohutohu/instructions to keep pushing on the kotahitanga and cultural revitalisation fronts—which definitely requires a full kete.

Let’s start mustering the kaha/strength with a quick talk of the tāone round up.

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Talk of the tāone

Your weekly round up of the arts, media, and events everybody’s talking about

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- Moe mai raa, e te rangatira—thousands descend on Tuurangawaewae Marae to mourn the passing of Kiingi Tuheitia.

- Hona Black’s latest pukapuka is out and helping us sort our ‘awhi’(s) from our ‘āwhina’(s).

- Projekt motion opened the ‘Ladies of Hip Hop 20th Annual Showcase’ in NYC and WOW🔥.

- Whakaata Māori is making some really tough cuts.

- ‘Kaupapa 5: Māori movements’, a new video in the Tūturu series on Māori resistance is here—and powerful.

- ‘Toe-tally’ looking forward to this one… The Hori is offering free ‘Tat-Toes’ this Saturday.
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Picks o te wiki

Our top 4 spring inspired recommendations from the world of Māori arts, media, and events.

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Read: ‘Te Mahi Māra Hua Parekore—a Māori food sovereignty handbook’ and ‘Te Reka o Te Kai—Maara Kai Practical Guide’, books about creating your own food garden

With longer days approaching (and mind-boggling numbers continuing to show up on our supermarket receipts), now is the perfect time to spruce up the ol’ māra kai/food garden. Between these books is all the info we could possibly need to ensure seeds sprout including; karakia, maramataka notes, rongoā rundowns, recipes, and practical tips. Half-māra-nerds—hit the guide, full-māra-nerds—advance straight to the handbook.

_{Find: the handbook in good bookstores and the guide in your local library I Time: 248 and 24 pages I Cost: $80 and free to borrow I Credits: the handbook is written by Jessica Hutchings. The guide is produced and published by Te Waka Kai Ora.}

Watch: this ‘Home, Land, and Sea’ episode on whitebait farming

Fun fact: ‘Mahuru’ (the period of the Māori lunar calendar we’ve just entered) is a shortened version of ‘Te ahunga o uruao’ which means ‘the new generation of whitebait are here’. Yay! Whitebait season! But also… Doh! E whā/Four from ono/six of our native species are now endangered! These guys reckon there’s a way to keep munching them sustainably. Start by watching this.

_{Find it: on Māori+ I Time: 25mins I Cost: free I Credits: produced by Jack Media I Notes: incudes a good dose of te reo Māori with English subtitles.}

Go: to Te Pou Theatre’s ‘Koanga Festival’

You know what else happens in te ao Māori around koanga/spring? According to this old but fascinating interview it’s time for new constellations to rise, kōwhai to start flowering, and, in alignment with te taiao/the natural environment, Te Pou Theatre to launch their annual festival of entirely new, entirely amazing, Māori performing arts shows and events! See you at EVERYTHING.

_{Find it: at Te Pou Theatre in Tāmaki Makaurau, if you’re elsewhere here are some play readings from 2002 I Time: 6-28 September I Cost: various (whānau day is free and everything else is really reasonable) I Credits: run by Te Pou Theatre.}

*To hear about Māori events in YOUR region, follow our dedicated ‘Haere’ page: Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty,Taranaki, Gisborne/Hawke’s Bay, Manawatū/Whanganui,Wellington, Nelson/Tasman/Marlborough, Canterbury/West Coast, Otago, Southland.

Listen to: this ‘Weaving Futures with Te Kāinga Wāhine’ podcast on navigating seasonal cycles

‘E ngaki a mua, e tōtō mai ana a muri/First clear the weeds, then plant’—and that whakataukī isn’t just taking about your māra kai. If you’re feeling the weight of winter, your hinengaro/mind will benefit from this kōrero all about understanding, reframing, and negotiating seasonal cycles in life through a Māori lens. Hā ki roto/Breathe in, hā ki waho/breathe out... and press play.

_{Find it: on Spotify l Time: 20min I Cost: free with your account I Credits: hosted by Amy McLean from Te Kainga Wāhine.}

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A koanga wero/challenge for us all (āe, that absolutely includes YOU)

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There’s one more major area in our lives that needs a spring reboot, and it’s our reo Māori.

It’s sad but true e hoa mā.

We’ve fallen victim to the classic ‘three quarters through the year only just hanging on by the skin of our teeth’ study chapter.

Classes are being missed, aromatawai/assessments are being horrifically crammed for, and our kōrero i te tari/speaking in the office is getting māngere/lazy.

Thankfully for us all, as of today Mahuru Māori—a challenge to use more reo Māori for one lunar month—begins! And not a moment too soon, tell ya what.

Today’s deep dive is an invitation to make up your own personal goal and take part alongside us fam. You get to choose what that goal is, in line with your ability, ambition, and available opportunity (which totally means you have no excuse to not take part, whether you know one word or regularly sit on the paepae 😉).

To help you get inspired and cracking, here’s a list of ideas from the website and the ones we’ve chosen for ourselves 👇🏽:

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Han (Te Arawhata design genius)

Level: beginner

Challenge: to use ‘kia ora’ for every single greeting

Main danger: she lives in Denmark and already has trouble communicating in English

Superpower to mitigate it: her Māoridom—everyone over there is really interested in Māori culture, receptive to learning about it, and hopefully hearing the reo too!

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Grace (Te Arawhata writing and marketing champ)

Level: intermediate

Challenge: to watch, read, listen to, or do something i te reo Māori every day

Main danger: known to make perfectionist goals that may not align with her actual available time

Superpower to mitigate it: she has a super cute bubba who she wants to raise with te reo Māori to keep her motivated

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Lizzie (Te Arawhata writing, editing, and business head)

Level: intermediate

Challenge: to read ‘Hare Pota’ i te reo Māori alongside the English version and for all her communications with Grace to be i te reo Māori.

Main danger: Grace getting annoyed at being pulled into this challenge without consultation. Te Arawhata completely falling over through miscommunications

Superpower to mitigate it: chocolate and coffee bribes for Grace all month. An allowance for writing things down in English when really needed

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Soooooo… we’ve just sealed our commitment by announcing our whāinga/goals to all 10,000 of you. Gulp. Now we’re feeling scared and exposed, so please, help us out by replying to this īmera/email with your own plans so we can feel less alone….

Make it official by registering with Mahuru Māori here too!

He waka eke noa/We’re in this waka together e hoa mā. Follow us on instagram and facebook for warts and all updates throughout the marama/month (as well as a few triumphs, we hope!).

We’d really, REALLY love to hear how you’re tracking too.

Rehekoooooo/Let’s goooooooooo!

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We hope this newsletter helped you to enjoy, learn more about, and deepen your connection with te ao Māori today (and maybe even added a little more spring to your step—sorry, couldn’t help it).

Hei ā tērā wiki!/Till next week!

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