Pepeha

To wrap up Te Wiki o te Reo Māori (Maori Language Week) at work today we looked at pepeha, a way of introducing yourself in Māori. It uses a structure to identify who we are, where we’re from and where we belong. I gave everyone a little wero (challenge) to create and share their pepeha as a way to get to know each other better.

I am just starting out with learning more about te reo and tikanga. Here are some of my thoughts on why a thoughtful pepeha is a great place for me to start.

Culture (Tikanga)

The thing I appreciate about pepeha (and te reo in general) is that it’s packed with culture. Within the language you find approaches and concepts that define our uniqueness as Kiwis. Every year you get the same pakeha minority that comes out and says “Maori shouldn’t be taught in schools, it’s not a useful language to be able to speak” and so on. This is such a short-sighted view of language. Te reo is not just a bunch of different words, it’s the foundation of our culture. Through language we can understand, communicate and preserve cultural values which make us who we are. 

Some examples

In a pepeha, you introduce people who are important in your life, partners, children and whanau (family). From the first time you meet someone you are talking to them about who you are and where you come from by doing this. At Timely we have a value to “bring your whole self to work” and I love that in a pepeha you do much more than just say your name and job title.

You also talk about places that are important to you, your mountain and your lake/river. There’s something beautiful and profound about acknowledging nature, the environment and the places that shape us. It’s a respect for something bigger than you as an individual.

And in a pepeha you introduce your name last. Compared with say a pakeha introduction where you’d say “Hi I’m Ryan, CEO at Timely” and then go on to say other things about yourself. In a pepeha you talk about your roots, your place in the world and your family, before finally saying your own name. Again I love this as a cultural trait of Kiwis, there’s a strong sense of humility in the way you introduce yourself to others in te reo Maori. 

Today’s wero (challenge)

I invited the Timely crew to jump on a great little website called pepeha.nz and put together their own pepeha/introduction. You might like to check it out and feel free to share yours here. Thank you to the folks who've been helping me improve my pepeha and the Timely crew getting stuck into some te reo this week.

• Why te reo is important at Timely
• Grace on inclusion and te reo
• Jess on hauro and Timely

Kia pai tō rā whakatā, have a great weekend!

Tena koutou 

Nga mihi ki a koutou kua tae mai

No Ōtepoti ahau

Ko Te Whanaupaki te maunga

Ko Mata-au te awa

Ko ahau te Kaiwhakahaere matua o Timely 

Ko Kirstin tāku hoa rangatira

Ko Jordan rātau ko Mason, ko Jimmy, ko Max aku tamariki 

Ko Baker tōku whānau

He Pākehā ahau, engari nō Aotearoa, nō reira ka tika kia whakamana ahau me tō mātou kamupene i te Reo Māori me ōna tikanga

Ko Ryan tōku ingoa

No reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa.

Hello everyone

I'm here to introduce myself to you

I'm from Dunedin, Flagstaff is my mountain and Clutha is my river

I'm the CEO of Timely

I am from the Baker family, my wife is Kirstin and I have four sons Jordan, Mason, Jimmy and Max

I'm Pākehā, but I'm from Aotearoa so it's appropriate that me and my company respect Māori language, customs and culture

My name is Ryan

Greetings to you all