Create
Kōanga (Spring)
Ko Te Wiki o te Reo Māori!
Mā ake tātou ki te whakatairanga i te reo Māori, mā te whakamahi i ia rā. Mā te kōrero, te whakarongo, te ako, te tākaro, te pānui, me te waiata hoki, e whakamahia ai te reo Māori.
It’s Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, Māori Language Week!
Let’s celebrate and acknowledge the Māori language by using it every day. Kōrero (speak), whakarongo (listen), ako (learn), takaro (play), pānui (read) and waiata (sing) are all ways we can use Māori.
Kia kaha te reo Māori ‘Let’s make the Māori Language strong’.
Tikina / You will need:
He pākete / Basket
He kutikuti / Scissors
He pihinga / Leaves
He rau / New shoots
He kākano / Seed pods
He pua / Flowers
Other natural taonga (treasures) found in your backyard or neighbourhood
Ka aro atu te Māori ki te kawa ora o Tama-nui-te-rā, kia mōhio ai rātou ki te kaupeka o te tau. Mā te titiro ki te tōnga o te rā, ka mōhio tonu ko te kōanga. E ahu atu ana a Tama-nui-te-rā i a Hine Takurua, kia ahu kē ki a Hine Raumati. Āna! Kāore te rā e tō ki tōna moenga, i te wāhi ōrite, i ia pō.
Hei te kaupeka o Mahuru, te wā o Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, arā, hei te tīmatanga o te kōanga. I tēnei wā tonu, ka kitea e tātou ngā panonitanga i Taiao, nā te mahana me te roa ake o ngā rā, ā, ka ara mai anō a Papatūānuku. E tupu ana ngā otaota, e pua ana, e hua hoki ana.
Māori looked at the rising and setting of Tama-nui-te-rā (the sun) to know what season it was. By looking at the setting sun, we can see that it’s kōanga (spring). Te rā is moving from his winter maiden, Hine Takurua to his summer maiden, Hine Raumati. Yes, you’re right – the sun doesn’t set in the same place each night.
Te Wiki o te Reo Māori is in Mahuru (September), the beginning of kōanga. In kōanga, we notice changes in the environment as the days become warmer and longer, and Papatūānuku (the earth) comes back to life. Plants are growing, flowering and fruiting.
Tēnā, tirohia te tāreitanga a Brett Graham, e kīia ana ko O’Pioneer, kei runga i tō mātou tauranga ipurangi, ki te whakaawe i a koe.
"He mea hira ngā waihanga otaota a te Pākehā, i tōna papanga, i te takiwā o Ingarangi i ngā tau 1800, me te aha i whakamahia ki ngā kaka me ngā uwhi pātū..."
For inspiration, look at Brett Graham’s O’Pioneer sculpture in our virtual tour here.
“The European plant patterns on the surface were popular in Britain in the 1800s and used on fabric and wallpaper…”
Tongi tuatahi / Step 1
E puta ki waho.
Whakarongo, titiro ki ngā āhuatanga e taiāwhio ana i a koe, i Taiao.
Tirohia ngā tupuranga hōu, ngā rākau e puāwai ana, waihoki ngā oro me ngā nekehanga o ngā manu me ngā ngāngara.
Step outside.
Listen and observe what’s happening around you in the natural world.
Look at the new growth on the plants, what trees are flowering, as well as the sounds and movement of birds and insects.
Tongi tuarua / Step 2
Rauhītia ngā taonga o waho, pērā i ngā rau, ngā pihipihinga, ngā kākano me ngā pua hoki.
Titiro ki runga, ki ngā mea e taea ana e koe te kite i runga i ngā tupu.
Titiro ki raro, ki ngā taonga a Tāne kua taka ki te papa.
Gather natural taonga (treasures), such as leaves, new shoots, seed pods and flowers.
Titiro ki runga (look up) at what you can find on the plants.
Titiro ki raro (look down) for fallen taonga on the ground.
I te wā o te kōanga, ka hauhake mata te iwi Māori, mai i te ngahere, me te aha ka tākoha kau atu ki ngā whetū motuhake, i te manako nui ka haumako te tupu o ngā hua i te kaupeka hōu.
E kīia ana te tikanga nei, ko ‘Te mata o te tau’.
In kōanga, Māori would harvest mata (new fresh shoots) in the forest and offer them to particular stars in the hope they would ensure a bountiful harvest for that season.
This ritual was called ‘Te mata o te tau’.
Tongi tuatoru / Step 3
Whakawāteahia tētehi papamahi ki te tēpu, ki te papa rānei (i te pātītī, i te papamārō, i te papa ngahere, i te moana rānei), kia pai ai tō waihanga i hō ake whakairo tupuranga.
Kia mataara!
Mehemea kei waho koe, tērā pea ka pupuhi a Tāwhirimātea, ka whakarerekē i tō waihanga.
Find a clear space on a table or on the ground (on the grass, concrete, forest floor, beach) to create your own plant patterns.
Kia tūpato!
If you are outside, Tāwhirimatea (the atua of wind) may blow and rearrange your pattern.
Tongi tuawhā / Step 4
Tīmataria ngā mahi tārei!
Whakatakotoria ngā taonga kua rauhītia e koe ki tētehi whakairo e whakaahua ana i te kōanga – ko ngā hihī a Tama-nui-te-rā e whakamahana ana i a Papatūānuku, me te tupu o ngā otaota, te puāwai me ngā hua nui hoki.
Start creating!
Arrange what you’ve gathered into a pattern that represents kōanga – the warming of Papatūānuku (the earth) by Tama-nui-te-rā, and plants growing, flowering and fruiting.
Hei whakaawe anō / What else could we try?
Waihangatia tētehi whakairo e whakamahia noatia ana ngā taonga kākāriki i rauhītia e koe.
Me waihanga rānei ki ngā tae o te āniwaniwa.
Create a pattern for kōanga that only uses kākāriki (green) taonga you’ve gathered.
Or, try making a pattern with ngā tae o te anianiwa (all colours of the rainbow).
E rua ngā waiata e tāiri iho nei hei whakaharatau māu i ngā kano, i te reo Māori
Here are two waiata (songs) for you to practice learning ngā tae (colours) in Māori
Te Ānianiwa
He rerehua ngā kano / Colours are beautiful
Te whakairoiro:
Me ko Brett Graham koe, te ringatoi o O’Pioneer, tōaitia ngā whakairo ōrite.
Mā te kapo whakaahua, me te tārua hoki i te whakaahua, ka āwhinatia koe.
Tāpirihia ngā tāruatanga katoa ki tētehi pepa nui ake, kia hua mai ko tōu ake ‘uwhi pātū’.
Pattern repetition:
Be like the artist of O’Pioneer, Brett Graham, and repeat the same pattern over and over again.
You can do this by taking a photo of your pattern and printing several copies of it.
Stick these together onto a bigger piece of paper to create your own ‘wallpaper’.
Te kōmuku kōanga:
Whārikihia tētehi whārangi ki runga i tētehi o ngā taonga, he taratara tōna rongo.
Hei tauira, ko tētehi rau, ko tētehi kākano rānei.
Whakamahia te taha o te penerākau, te penehinu rānei, ka kōmuku ki te taonga.
Tōaitia ki taua taonga ōrite, ka kōwhiria tētehi atu rānei.
He aha tō waihanga ki te whakatairanga i te kōanga?
Kōanga rubbings:
Place a sheet of paper on top of a taonga that has a textured surface. For example a leaf or a seed pod.
Using the side of a pencil or crayon, rub over the taonga.
Repeat with the same taonga or choose a new one.
What pattern can you create to celebrate kōanga?
Katoa Kua Oti / All Done!
How did your artwork turn out? We would love to see your creation!
Share it with us, take a photo and share it on Instagram with the hashtag #GBCreate or email it to us: info@govettbrewster.com and we can share it for you.⠀⠀