The theme of this year’s Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori is “Ake, ake, ake – A Forever Language” and one enduring vehicle of the language is Ngā Manu Kōrero, the annual secondary schools’ speech competition which marked 59 years this month.
Te Ao Māori Producer Mariana Whareaitu watched all the captivating speeches by rangatahi made in English and Māori and shares the lessons learnt here.
No topic was off limits for young Māori speakers at this year’s Ngā Manu Kōrero national competition as they showed a fearless determination to give voice to everything from the heavy toll of personal trauma to the light-hearted aspirations of living a stress-free life.
So, what are our rangatahi saying?
Here are five things I learned from watching and listening to the 60 young Māori speakers at the event held at Spark Arena in Auckland earlier this month.
1 They are creative storytellers
It’s a tough road to Ngā Manu Kōrero national speech competition. Students go through school competition, and then regional competition to qualify, so it’s an achievement in of itself to make it to the nationals. But the calibre this year reached another level as shown by the overall winners.
Te Kanawa Wilson of Ngā Taiātea Wharekura took a creative spin on the treaty by drafting his own Te Tiriti o Te Kanawa on stage. “Nā te Pākehā i hē ai, engari mākū, mā Te Tiriti o Te Kanawa e tika anō ai (What Pākehā has wronged, Te Tiriti o Te Kanawa will make right)!”
He laid out his three articles and presented his arguments on their inclusion before making motions and passing them by way of engaging the audience with an “ira kati, hei!”
It was a performance that would see judges award him the top Pei Te Hurinui Jones senior Māori speaker title for 2024.
Whangārei Girls’ Tuhingaia Manihera won the senior English Korimako title on reclaiming traditional beauty standards on the kapa haka stage.
“Beauty should connect us back to our whenua,” she said to the crowd. “Hands up if you’ve enjoyed kapa haka this year? Hands up if you wore your own taonga? Now keep your hands up if you wore your own eyelashes?”
Extolling the virtues of natural beauty and presence over “panda eyes and poster paint-thighs”, she radiantly practised what she preached, standing tall and owning the space.
“Let your confidence be your most striking feature.”
Kahurere Whauwhau of Te Wharekura o Ruatoki took out the Rāwhiti Ihaka junior Māori section with her take on what we can learn from pūrākau Māori, or Māori stories, which featured an attempt at rewriting, or better yet, decolonising modern history.
After reciting the story of Rona and the Marama (Moon), she credits Rona, not Neil Armstrong, as being the first person on the moon.
“E hia kē ngā miriona tāra i whakapau kia tae te Pākehā nei ki te marama? (How many millions were spent on getting [Armstrong] to the moon?)
“Engari a Rona, puta ki waho, ka timata ki te kangakanga ki te marama, mea rawa ake, kua tae atu ia ki te marama. Waimarie Rona. Kāore he utu kia tae atu ki te marama (Whereas Rona, all she did was step outside and start swearing at it, next thing, she’s on the moon. Lucky Rona. A free trip to the moon).”
Pou Ariki Hemara-Daniels won the Sir Turi Carroll junior English section. His speech was based on the 90s RnB-Hip Hop single Regulate by Warren G, featuring Nate Dogg. It was a fun take on his kaupapa “We need more regulators”, people who “must be willing to fight for what is right, to bring change”.
He gave credit to the regulators in his life, from local Northland heroes Hone Harawira and Hilda Halkyard-Harawira who founded his school Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Rangi Āniwaniwa. And to an everyday hero, his mum Dena Maree Hemara, owner of a cross-fit gym Whitirau Cross 100 and a regulator, “not only of hauora and functional movement, but of tino rangatiratanga and cardiovascular action!”
2 They are natural entertainers
All senior speakers are required to deliver a prepared speech – up to eight minutes for English and up to 12 for Māori – plus an impromptu speech, or kōrero tene, of up to three minutes, with a five-minute preparation time from the moment they are given their topic.
Kōrero tene are notorious for being a nerve-wracking experience for the young speakers, but some students’ inner showmanship and ability to flip an idea on the spot truly blossomed.
Those who leaned into their comedic chops shone, even when they veered off script.
Maiotaki Joyce of Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Rito forgot his topic, but promptly decided to make up his own. He seized the moment to show off his keen sense of anticipation by keeping the audience guessing and highly entertained with his antics which ended in a hammed up operatic performance of the well-known hymn Whakaaria Mai (Māori version of How Great Thou Art).
For his own impromptu, Onslow College’s Billy Paratene described how nervous he felt delivering his prepared speech earlier in the day. His relatable account of stressing over “the biggest performance of my life” and how his hands were shaking walking up the stage steps with the expectation of seeing a “massive audience”, only to be put out by the reality of performing to an underwhelming “twelve people ” had the crowd – who actually numbered in the hundreds – in fits of laughter.
“I came all the way from Wellington,” Paratene said in light disbelief, “and you couldn’t even walk down the road?”
3 They care deeply and confront issues head on
James Cook High School head girl Tayshon Yates delivered an emotional speech in the senior Māori section of Pei Te Hurinui Jones. She spoke about her tough early childhood, her experience of being raised by her whaea kēkē (aunty) for three years before being placed with her parents for a year – “ehara i te mea he taiao pai taku whakatipuranga i aua wā (my environment wasn’t great growing up in those times)”.
She eventually returned her to her whaea where she is flourishing as a tamaiti whāngai – her point being that while one home was unfit, another was found within her own “pā harakeke” (wider whānau).
In one of the most stirring deliveries, Maria Albert Walker-Kinnell’s prepared speech challenged rangatahi to exercise their democratic right to vote while her impromptu urged them to become active in their communities over prioritising posting online. She left an impression both in person and online with her passionate and enthusiastic delivery.
Competing in the junior Māori section, adorned with a pare kawakawa (wreath worn for mourning), Te Kahurangi Rehia Kata Teinakore-Huaki broached the subject of whakamomori (suicide) with a maturity beyond her teenage years. It was a confronting speech. She paid tribute to a fellow classmate and described a chilling account of battling with her own inner demons.
“Tēnei reo kōpiri he kōhuru ngākau, he reo whakamomori, me kōrero (this little voice kills the soul, it’s a voice of desperation and death, we need to talk about it).”
She made an emotional plea to rangatahi to speak up in times of great need and urged adults to listen to rangatahi without judgement or reproach.
4 They know their history
History played a big part in some speeches and not only could rangatahi recite dates, names, places and significant events, but they also revealed their own personal connection.
Rotorua Boys’ head boy Jared Lasike delivered a thoughtful and compelling speech on the Anzacs, revealing both his great-grandfathers were conscripted.
“As I approach a similar age of the majority of these Anzacs, it’s only in the past few years the sheer nobility of these men have begun to sink in.
“Confidently, I would say if I was put in the same position as these men, there is no way I would be as brave or as unhesitant as they were.”
Junior Rāwhiti Ihaka speaker Pareamio Rauhihi from Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Ngāti Ruanui touched on the Land Wars and the intergenerational impact on descendants in her speech on Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
She performed haunting pao (chants) and highlighted atrocities made by the Crown in the likes of Waikato and Taranaki, two regions that were severely impacted by the invasion of British colonial forces resulting in widespread land theft.
In a lively and entertaining speech, Hineteaio Chapman of Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Rangi Āniwaniwa recited her whakapapa, listing name after name after name of tipuna before reaching her parents in a long unbroken line, revealing contributions made by many of her whānau to mana motuhake.
5 They are politically aware and are critical of the Government
A common theme shared by most, regardless of topic, was the criticism levelled at the current Government around their policies towards Māori.
The three-headed taniwha, the three blind mice, the coalition of chaos – these labels and more came out of the mouths of rangatahi. It didn’t matter if the speech was serious or comedic, prepared or impromptu, delivered by a senior or junior speaker, their biggest gripe was against the policies targeting Māori, targeting them, their reo and identity. Their whānau, hapū and iwi.
It was inevitable that some speakers would share whakapapa with Māori MPs, and for those who revealed the connection, they worked it skilfully into their speeches – Wilson acknowledging his Papa Tama (Potaka) for Te Matatini funding, Chapman lauding her Papa Shane (Jones’) achievements while still pointing out his politicking. But despite the familial links, there was a collective recognition of the detrimental impact they said the Government’s actions are having on their lives as young Māori.
If I had to pick only one speech that could sum up the general feeling towards the Government, Paratene’s open-letter-like prepared speech to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon on his experience of being M-Ā-O-R-I, which saw him place third overall in the Korimako senior English section, provides some meaningful insight.
Conclusion: Adults need to listen more
The takeaway from these speeches collectively is that it would be in the best interests of politicians to listen to what rangatahi are saying. These are not only future leaders, but future voters, with many likely to cast their first ballot in the next election.
Adults mentioned in speeches not only included politicians, but parents, aunties and uncles, nannies and koro, teachers, coaches, and kapa haka idols. Rangatahi are listening and watching what the adults in their lives do, they feel the impact of their choices and decisions.
Glossary
rangatahi – youth
ira kati – full stop
whenua – land
taonga – prized possession. treasure, used to describe cultural adornments
pūrākau – stories
kaupapa – topic, subject
hauora – health
tino rangatiratanga – self-determination, autonomy, sovereignty
kōrero tene – impromptu speech(es)
whaea kēkē – aunty
whaea – mum, aunty
tamaiti whāngai – foster or adopted child (whāngai is a customary practice of a child being brought up by grandparents or other close relations)
pā harakeke – metaphor used to refer to wider whānau grouping (literal: flax plantation)
pare kawakawa – a wreath worn for mourning, usually made out of kawakawa leaves
whakamomori – suicide, to commit a desperate act, act in desperation
pao – chant
whakapapa – genealogy
tipuna – ancestor(s)
mana motuhake – self-determination, autonomy, independence
taniwha – dangerous creature, monster, chief, powerful leader
reo – language, voice
whānau – family
hapū – subtribe
iwi – tribe