Listen Now: 
April 07, 2022
Encouraging words set kōhanga on sound path
Peter Verschaffelt
Posted On April 7, 2022
Download AudioTe Kōhanga Reo National Trust will mark its 40th anniversary tomorrow morning with a dawn karakia and the raising of its flag at Waiwhetu Marae in Lower Hutt.
Trust co-chair Raniera Proctor says the kaupapa for the movement to pass on te reo Māori by raising tamaiti in Māori immersion settings was set at a kaumatua wānanga at the marae attended by some of the pou of the Māori world at the time.
It’s remembered for the words Henare Tuwhangai, the leading speaker for the Kīngitanga, gave to a hapū mama.
“He reached over to her and said ‘when this baby is born breast feed that child with the words of their ancestors, nurture them within their culture and they may grow as strong ambassadors for their family, tribes and their nation,’ and we have absolutely seen that with today’s generation, Ngā Manu Pīrere,” Mr Proctor says.
He says by fighting for recognition that Māori have a right to their mokopuna and mātauranga, Kōhanga Reo has breathed life into te Tiriti o Waitangi.
RELATED NEWS
