Māori Language Week

Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use New Zealand English Template:Infobox event Māori Language Week (Template:Langx) is a government-sponsored initiative intended to encourage New Zealanders to promote the use of the Māori language, which is an official language of the country. Māori Language Week is part of a broader movement to revive the Māori language. Preceded by Māori Language Day from 1972 to 1974,<ref name="NZHistory"/> it has been celebrated since 1975 and is currently spearheaded by Template:Lang (the Ministry of Māori Development) and the Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori (Māori Language Commission), with many organisations including schools, libraries, and government departments participating.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Citation needed

History

In the early 1970s as a part of the Māori protest movement, activist group Ngā Tamatoa, the Te Reo Māori Society of Victoria University, and Te Huinga Rangatahi (the New Zealand Māori Students’ Association) presented a petition to Parliament, petitioned the government to teach te reo in schools. On 14 September 1972, this petition, signed by over 30,000 people was delivered to Parliament, and became a major event in the revitalisation of te reo in New Zealand.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="TeAra">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="NZHistory">Template:Cite web</ref> 14 September quickly began to be celebrated as Māori Language Day, and by 1975, this had grown to become the first Māori Language Week.<ref name="NZHistory"/>

The 1977 week in Dunedin featured "promotion girls" wearing Maori Language Week sashes, handing out Kia ora stickers in The Octagon all week and a two-day hui organised on the city's marae.<ref>"Maori Language Week" The Otago Daily Times, 19 September 1977</ref>

2008

The week in 2008 saw the release of Google Māori, a Māori-language translation of the search engine created as a collaboration between Potaua and Nikolasa Biasiny-Tule of Tangatawhenua.com, the Māori Language Commission and Google. The process took over a year and involved more than 40 people on the project, due to the difficulty of translating the technical terminology.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

2014

For te Wiki o te Reo Māori in 2014, musicians Stan Walker, Ria Hall, Troy Kingi and Maisey Rika collaborated on the song "Aotearoa", as a challenge to get a second song in te reo to reach number one in New Zealand (after "Poi E" in 1984).<ref name="flava.co.nz">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

2015

On 2 August 2015 the Black Caps (the New Zealand national cricket team) played under the name of Aotearoa for their first match against Zimbabwe to celebrate Māori Language Week.<ref name="Aotearoa">Template:Cite web</ref>

2016

Maimoa (then known as Pūkana and Whānau), a musical group created from the presenters of the Māori Television show Pūkana celebrated te Wiki o te Reo Māori by releasing the single "Maimoatia", written with Te Haumihiata Mason.<ref name="RNZ2016">Template:Cite news</ref> The song topped the iTunes downloads chart in New Zealand,<ref name="RNZ2016"/> reaching number 4 on the Official New Zealand Music Chart's subchart for New Zealand musicians.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

2017

The 2016 Disney film Moana was dubbed into Māori, premiering in Auckland on 11 September as a part of te Wiki o te Reo Māori 2017.<ref name="Moana">Template:Cite web</ref> Rachel House, Jemaine Clement, Temuera Morrison, and Oscar Kightley, all cast members of the original English language version of the film, reprised their respective roles in the te reo version.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:CitationTemplate:Cbignore</ref> During the week, 30 theatres across the country held free screenings of the reo version.<ref name="Moana"/>

2019

During Māori Language Week 2019, it was reported in New Zealand media that even kaumātua (elders) were learning te reo (Māori language).<ref name="stuff">Template:Cite news</ref> It was also reported that more than one fifth of book sales during that week were Māori.<ref name="stuff" />

To mark the 20th anniversary of the 1999 Rugby World Cup semi-final, where Hinewehi Mohi performed the national anthem in te reo, Mohi created Waiata / Anthems, an album where 11 New Zealand musicians re-recorded songs into te reo Māori.<ref name="Shane">Template:Cite web</ref> The album debuted at number 1 on the Official New Zealand Music Chart,<ref name="CNZ">Template:Cite web</ref> and was one of the most successful albums of 2019 in New Zealand.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

2021

At midday on 14 September 2021, te Wiki o te Reo Māori was celebrated with Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori – the Māori Language Moment, where over 1.1 million people pledged to use te reo at the same time.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On the same day, the Māori Party launched a petition to change the country's name to Aotearoa.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Due to the success of Waiata / Anthems in 2019, the project was expanded to become Waiata Anthems Week, an annual release of a playlist in te reo Māori, with the goal of making the New Zealand music scene more bilingual.<ref name="TeAo">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2021, more than 30 musicians participated in the project, including Six60, whose single "Pepeha" debuted at number two on the Official New Zealand Music Chart.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Te Tairāwhiti (Gisborne Region)-based choir Ka Hao also saw charting success, with their single collaborating with songwriter Rob Ruha, "35" (a reference to State Highway 35), reaching number 25.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Gisborneherald"/> September saw the release of many albums by popular musicians sung in te reo, including Lorde's Te Ao Mārama,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Stan Walker's Te Arohanui,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Alien Weaponry's Tangaroa,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and Ka Hao's Ka Hao: One Tira, One Voice.<ref name="Gisborneherald">Template:Cite news</ref>

2022

The 2022 celebrations of Te Wiki o te Reo Māori marked 50 years since the Māori Language Petition was presented to parliament.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> To celebrate Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, Whittaker's released a special edition version of their milk chocolate, rebranded as Miraka Kirīmi (creamy milk) in te reo.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The rebranding caused widescale controversy due to racist backlash criticising the rebranding, and sparked a response to support the naming of the chocolate bar in te reo.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The third Waiata / Anthems week was held prior to Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, including over 20 musicians releasing new music in te reo, and a new series of TVNZ documentaries following popular musicians producing Māori language songs.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Among the most successful songs from the 2022 waiata include "Whāia te Māramatanga (Walk Right Up)" by Ladi6, a reimagining of Split Enz' "Six Months in a Leaky Boat" (1982) performed by Tim Finn and Hana Mereraiha, a remix of Moana and the Moahunters' 1991 single "AEIOU" by Tiki Taane, and "Ka Taria", performed by Rob Ruha and Drax Project.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Te Wiki o te Reo Māori Reception at the United States Embassy in Wellington, New Zealand on 19 September 2024

2025

The year 2025 marked 50 years since the first Māori Language Week in 1975. By this milestone, "Te Wiki o te reo Māori has become one of the most recognised public celebrations and nationwide movements in the country".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Dates and themes

Year	Dates	Theme
1972 to 1974	14 September<ref name="NZHistory"/>	Māori Language Day<ref name="NZHistory"/>
1977	18-24 September<ref>"Māori Language Week" on Ngā Taonga Soynd & Visuon website, viewed 28 June 2025</ref>
2004	26 July – 1 August<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	“Give it a go − kōrero Māori”<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2005	25–31 July<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2006	24–30 July<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	“Kia kaha ake! Give it a go”
2007	Template:Dts – 29 July<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	Tapoi (Tourism)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2008	Template:Dts – 27 July	"Te Reo i te Kāinga" ("Māori Language in the Home")<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2009	Template:Dts – 2 August<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	"Te Reo i te Hapori" ("Māori Language in the Community")<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2010	Template:Dts – 1 August	"Te Mahi Kai" ("The language of food")<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2011	Template:Dts – 10 July	"Manaakitanga" ("Hospitality" or "Kindness"<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2012	Template:Dts – 29 July	"Arohatia te reo" ("Cherish the language")<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2013	Template:Dts – 7 July<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	"Ngā ingoa Māori" ("Māori names")<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2014	Template:Dts – 27 July	"Te kupu o te wiki" ("Word of the week")<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2015	Template:Dts – 2 August<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	"Whāngaia te reo (ki ngā mātua)" ("Nurture the language (in parents)")<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2016	Template:Dts – 10 July<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref>	"Ākina te reo" ("Behind you all the way")<ref name=":0" />
2017	11–17 September<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	"Kia ora te reo Māori" ("Let the Māori language live")<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2018	10–16 September<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	"Kia Kaha te Reo Māori" ("‘Let’s make the Māori language strong")<ref name=":1">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":2">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":3">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":4">Template:Cite web</ref>
2019	9–15 September<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2020	14–20 September
2021	13–19 September<ref name=":3" />
2022	12–18 September<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2023	11–17 September<ref name=":4" />
2024	14–21 September<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	"Ake Ake Ake - a forever language" <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2025	14–20 September<ref>Template:Citation</ref>

External links

• Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori – Māori Language Week – at NZHistory