Thousands have gathered in Hastings for Toitū Te Reo, a first of its kind Māori language festival.
Spearheaded by Dr Jeremy Tātere MacLeod, the event is a showcase of unity across all peoples, with the goal of celebrating the native language of Aotearoa.
Taking place in Hastings Toitoi, Hawke’s Bay Arts and Events Centre, the Toitū Te Reo festival has seen many iwi from across the country gather for the love of te reo Māori.
Te Pāti Māori MP Tākuta Ferris was in attendance and on his return to his iwi, Ngāti Kahungunu, he said he was amazed by the atmosphere the event provided.
“Koia ko te pātukitanga o te whatumanawa o te iwi Māori. Kāre e kore i tua atu o te iwi o Ngāti Kahungunu kua tōia mai i roto i tēnei rā. Nōreira ko ēnei mahi, ēnei mahi i roto i tēnei tau tonu, he nui te wāriu, he nui te whai take hei whakakotahi i a tātou mā roto mai i te reo me ō tātou tikanga. Kei te kite atu ahau i ngā kaumātua kua piri mai tae rawa mai ki ngā mokopuna.”
That is the heartbeat of Māori beyond Ngāti Kahungunu, who gathered us here today. So these reo events this year alone have been of great value and purpose binding us in tradition and language. I see elders who have come along all the way through to our babies.
The streets within the Hastings city centre were closed to celebrate the event and a mass of stalls and stages stood tall.
Te eeo Māori translator and language advocate Hēmi Kelly said seeing the mass of people gather and speaking Māori was a sight to behold.
“Kua kotahi mai te iwi Māori ki taku titiro ki runga o Ngāti Kahungunu, i runga i te kaupapa o te rā, o ngā rangi e rua nei. Ana ko tō tātou reo te kaupapa. Ka rawe te kite i te iwi kua pōhiri mai ki te whakanui i tō tātou reo.”
Māori are united from what I’ve seen here in Ngāti Kahungunu for the festivities of the day, of the next couple of days. Our language is the festival. It’s awesome to see people come along to celebrate our language.
Recently Māori have faced issues with the government’s changing of legislation such as the Māori wards rollbacks, the repeal of Section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act and removing Te Reo Māori from official government invitations to foreign ministers.
But Ferris said that despite the issues of the day, it’s onwards and upwards.
“Ahakoa ngā tairo o te wā me whai tonu tātou ngā tauira i whakaritea mai e ngā mātua. Ō tāua mātua i te wā i a rātou ko tō tāua, ko tā tātou mahi he whai tonu i taua anga. Ko te anga, he anga whakarunga.”
Despite the hardships of late, we need to continue to follow the example set by our ancestors. During our ancestors’ time, the job was to follow the path. The path wasn’t necessarily forward but upwards.
However, none of those issues stood in the way of those who attended the event.
Te Reo Māori translator Ruth Smith said she was looking forward to seeing what day two of the event has in store.
“E tino hīkaka ana ahau ki te whakarongo anō hoki ki ngā kōrero. Engari e kite ana he nui ngā tāngata kua tatū mai ki runga i tēnei kaupapa. Pākehā mai, Māori mai, tamariki mai, kaumātua mai. He ataahua te kite i tērā nohonga tahitanga o te tangata tiriti ki te tangata whenua i runga anō i te kaupapa o te reo, i roto i te aroha. He ataahua. He tino ataahua te kite ake i tērā āhuatanga.”
I’m really excited to listen to the speeches. But I’ve seen so many people who have come along to this festival - Pākehā, Māori, children and elders. It’s beautiful to see the unity among tangata Tiriti and tangata whenua for the language, out of love. It’s beautiful, so beautiful seeing that happen.
