A Maori Podcast

Epizodai

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  How to improve your spoken reo - Idioms 16.09.2026 8min

  Whakatauki: Kei Hawaiki noa atu ahau e noho atu - I am sitting away off at Hawaiki. (Said by a person to indicate they are far away in thought. [Murdoch Riley, Maori Sayings and Proverbs, 1-17]Vocab:Mataahi - food prepared on a spit. [https://www.dictionary.maori.nz/mataahi]Matainaina - Desire: Taku matainaina atu ki te mea a te tangata ra. - My desire is towards the thing within that person's possesion. [https://www.dictionary.maori.nz/matainaina]Idioms:He aha te aha - Waste of time / Nothing came of it. [https://maoridictionary.co.nz/word/1013]Hei aha atu - Forget about it / Don't worry about it. [https://maoridictionary.co.nz/word/1024]Ko tāua tāua - Likewise / You and me both. [https://maoridictionary.co.nz/word/3116]Hangareka ana - What a crack up! [https://maoridictionary.co.nz/word/48206]Kua puta a Pito - I'm stuffed / I'm full [https://maoridictionary.co.nz/word/11059]Kia ora ra e te iwi! I have a Patreon where I hope to add some additional value. If you'd like the kaupapa, and you appreciate this mahi, you can give a koha here:A Maori Podcast
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  How to express why you are giving thanks 09.09.2026 3min

  Kia ora ra e te iwi! I have a Patreon where I hope to add some additional value. If you'd like the kaupapa, and you appreciate this mahi, you can give a koha here:A Maori PodcastKia ora ki a koutou! I thought I'd briefly touch on clauses of reason. I source my material this week from Ray Harlows A Maori Reference Grammar.Whakatauki - To mahi o te tane paraeroa - the work of a warrior[Maori Sayings and Proverbs, Murdoch Riley, 79-8]Kupu/Kianga - Koi rarua ai koe! - With koi, indicating a narrow escape. [Te Wiremu, pg. 5]Wetenga Reo: [A Maori Reference Grammar, Ray Harlow, pg. 223]"Ka nui nga mihi ki a koe mōu i haere mai ki te tautoko i tenei mahi."This sentence contains two clause: one expressing appreciation to the hearer, Ka nui nga mihi ki a koe, and the other giving the reason for this appreciation, mōu i haere mai ki te tautoko i tēnei mahi. This second clause, the clause of reason is constructed as described - its subject 'you' is placed first, introduced by the preposition mō.Te Ngata example: "Ko a mātau mihi ki te komiti marae mo a rātau āwhina." [Te Ngata, search-term: "thanks"]
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  Wharekura - How was it traditionally run? 02.09.2026 21min

  Kia ora ra e te iwi! I have a Patreon where I hope to add some additional value. If you'd like the kaupapa, and you appreciate this mahi, you can give a koha here:A Maori PodcastKia ora!It's Maori language month! I think it's a good time of the year to dive into some old korero that existed prior to the arrival of tauiwi. These korero were collected and compiled by John White. I think it's also good practice to keep in mind that most (if not all) writings compiled by tauiwi have likely been curated and edited to push a certain narrative. Heoi ra, today's korero will be about the Wharekura, and what would happen in a traditional wharekura (per this book.) Each iwi had there own style, today's reading is about the Kai Tahu wharekura. If you want to learn more, go directly to Kai Tahu iwi, they are the experts on their own iwi, tikanga, whakapapa and history. English versionhttps://archive.org/details/ancienthistoryof01whit/page/n31/mode/1upMaori versionhttps://archive.org/details/ancienthistoryof01whit/page/4/mode/1up
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  Aho Whakamahuki - Relative Clauses - What is it and how does it work? 26.08.2026 7min

  Kia ora ra e te iwi! I have a Patreon where I hope to add some additional value. If you'd like the kaupapa, and you appreciate this mahi, you can give a koha here:A Maori PodcastKia ora e hoa ma! I wanted to look at relative clauses as I still need to work on gaining a better understanding of them and how they work. Hopefully what I share today is somewhat help. Explaining technical terms is always difficult but it's a good way to improve my speaking ability.Whakatauki - Haere i muri o te tira parāoa. [Maori Sayings and Proverbs, Murdoch Riley, 26-10]Wetenga reo: [Ray Harlow, A Maori Reference Grammar, pg. 241]"Recall that there are some types of predicate in Maori which contain a noun. In particular, nouns occur in the predicate phrases of ownership and location. When such a clause is used as a relative clause, and the position within it to which the head is related is the place name or personal name in the predicate phrase, then a pronoun is used to stand for a person, and the word reira 'there, the previously mentioned place' for a place."I a ia e moe ana, ka hoki mai nga pea no ratou te whare. - While she was sleeping, the bears whose house it was returned.Ko wai te iwi nona te whenua? - Who is the tribe to whom the land belongs?E pai ai te whakaako i te reo, me whakatu ko nga tangata kei a ratou te reo hei kaiako. - To improve the teaching of the language, it is people who have the language who should be appointed as teachers.Kaore ia i mohio me pewhea e tae atu ai ki te marae kei reira te hui. - He didnt know how to get to the marae where the meeting was.
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  Reo With Kayla: I speak with an aspiring self-taught polyglot - We discuss the importance of friendship in language acquisition & her preparation to spend an entire year without speaking English 19.08.2026 54min

  *Māhauhau - temporary shelter / hostel. (I said the wrong word in this episode. I had called it Māraurau.)Kia ora e te iwi!I had the privilege of speaking with my friend Kayla.We speak on our shared interest in language acquisition, the importance of speaking and having friends to speak with regularly, her language routines, how she went about learning Spanish, and her preparation to go an entire year without speaking English. Kayla also shares her love of Te Reo Maori by helping others learn our treasured language.https://www.reowithkayla.com/Ko te reo kia rere!Mauri ora!
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  No ka - Talking about the past 12.08.2026 6min

  Kia ora ra e te iwi! I have a Patreon where I hope to add some additional value. If you'd like the kaupapa, and you appreciate this mahi, you can give a koha here:A Maori PodcastKia ora ra e hoa ma! I've come across these structure before but it still hasn't quite set in for me yet. Hopefully today's episode can shed a bit more light into it's usage.Whakatauki: Nga mahi a te mata raumati - "The occupation of mid summer." Said of the habits of one that sleeps until late morning when the sun is hot. [Murdoch Riley, Maori Sayings & Proverbs, 54 - 2]Wetenga reo:No to ratou taenga atu ki marae, ka kite ratou kua timata ke hui. - When they arrived at the marae, they saw that the meeting had already begun. [Ray Harlow, A Maori Reference Grammar, pg. 216][Ray Harlow, A Maori Reference Grammar, pg. 217]A, no ka hukea te hangi, he hawareware kau ano. - Then, when the oven was opened, there was nothing but skin and bones. (Orbell 1992:13)No ratou ka rongo, ka werowero i roto i o ratou ngakau - When they heard (this), they were cut to the heart. (Acts 2:37)Nona ka rongo - When s/he heard.
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  Reo Maori - 6 years of self-directed Learning: Here's how far I have come 05.08.2026 8min

  Kia ora ra e te iwi! I have a Patreon where I hope to add some additional value. If you'd like the kaupapa, and you appreciate this mahi, you can give a koha here:A Maori PodcastWhakatauki: Erangi te iti i te kore rawa - Little is better than nothing at all. [Murdoch Riley, Maori Sayings and Proverbs, 36-5]Kia ora e te iwi! I came across an old recording of myself when I first started on my journey to improving my reo. Such a stark difference in the sound of my speech. I'm happy and proud with the progress I am making. The main things I've done is, read Te Wiremu, listen to old recordings, speak aloud anything I read, and do this podcast (this rapidly improved my speech, you can probably here the difference between the earlier episodes, and this one.)I also answer the question of imitation, and mimicry, as I've been asked in the past if I'm from the North, or from the Coast because the way I speak. Ultimately, you sound like what you are exposed to right? I've spent hours and hours listening to old recording of tupuna from different iwi, and it so happens that these tupuna are from those areas. I relate this experience to my generation's kids. My little cousins have an American sound now to their speech because of their constant exposure to Youtube, Cinema, basically the entire entertainment industry is dominated by American media.I hope you find this episode insightful. Kia kaha te reo!
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  Which one do I use? - Taku, Aku, Tōku Ōku, Tāku, Āku 29.07.2026 7min

  Kia ora ra e te iwi! I have a Patreon where I hope to add some additional value. If you'd like the kaupapa, and you appreciate this mahi, you can give a koha here:A Maori PodcastKia ora! This week I thought I would cover a topic that has tripped up a lot of us. I hope that this episode can give us greater confidence when figuring out which form to use.Whakatauki - He haka kia titoia? - Can one haka without previous practice? [Maori Sayings and Proverbs, Murdoch Riley, 2-10]Harlow gives the following examples on demonstrating how to know when to use the neutral form: [A Maori Reference Grammar, pg. 64]1. The determiner must not be immediately followed by a postposed particle.Tōku nei whare - This house of mine. (but not taku nei whare.)Āna ake tamariki - His/Her own children. (but not ana ake tamariki.)2. There must be a noun as head of the whole phrase. The full-form determiners are among those which can be used without a head noun.Kua pakaru taku pene. Tēnā hōmai tētahi o āu. - I've broken my pen. Can I have one of yours, please? (but not Hōmai tētahi o ō.)3. The neutral possessive determiners are never stressed. if one wants to emphasise that one is talking about my house, as opposed to yours or hers, then the full forms must be used.Ka tū te pō whakangahau ki tōku whare, kaua ki tōna - The party is at my place, not his.(but not ka tū te pō whakangahau ki taku whare kaua ki tana.)
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  Improving my reo - A few new words I've collected. 22.07.2026 7min

  Kia ora ra e te iwi! I have a Patreon where I hope to add some additional value. If you'd like the kaupapa, and you appreciate this mahi, you can give a koha here:A Maori PodcastKia ora! I think one of the most impactful things we can do to improve our spoken reo is to learn more words. One of my favourite ways is to find a small selection, and start using them straight away. So, here are some new words I found.Whakatauki - He tangata ka rapa te whai. - A man whose clever devices will puzzle you. For a man who will emulate Maui. [Maori Sayings And Proverbs, Murdoch Riley, 57-6]Etia: [Te Wiremu pg. 28]Etia he waha tangata. - As if it were a person's mouth.Etia kei te moe koe. - Perhaps you were sleeping.Etia tonu tou humarire! - How great!Manioro: [Te Wiremu pg. 175]Manioro ki! - What a noise! (An expression of irritation.)Matahiapo: [Te Wiremu pg. 186]"I mau rawa to ringa. E kao, i matahiapo noa iho." - I'll grab your hand. Nah, fail whale, I missed.
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  Back to basics - I vs Ki 15.07.2026 4min

  Kia ora ra e te iwi! I have a Patreon where I hope to add some additional value. If you'd like the kaupapa, and you appreciate this mahi, you can give a koha here:A Maori PodcastWhakatauki: [Kohikohinga Whakatauki a Raupo, pg. 99]Tuturu - Tini whetu ki te rangi, ko Ngati Maru ki te whenua. - As the multitude of stars in the sky, so are the people of Ngati Maru.Mea raweke - Tini whetu ki te rangi, ko te reo maori ki te whenua. - As the multitude of stars in the sky, so are the people speaking maori.Wetenga reo: [ A Maori Reference Grammar, Ray Harlow, pg. 157]I rongo au ki tona reo kua tino papouri ia i te take ra. - I heard in his voice that he was very much saddened by the matter.Ka kuru te tamaiti i a Mere. - The child struck Mere (Mere is actually affected by the punch).Ka kuru te tamaiti ki a Mere. - The child hit out at Mere (Though the punch did not land, so Mere was not affected.)Kei te titiro ratou i te pukapuka. - They are thoroughly studying/scrutinising the book.Kei te titiro ratou ki te pukapuka. - They are looking at the book. The book is the thing to which they are directing their eyes.
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  Using the Reo to speak on all topics - How to mihimihi when you are LGBTQIA+ 08.07.2026 6min

  Kia ora ra e te iwi! I have a Patreon where I hope to add some additional value. If you'd like the kaupapa, and you appreciate this mahi, you can give a koha here:A Maori PodcastWhakatauki - Me te ihe - Like the ihe fish, always restless. [Kohikohinga Whakatauki a Raupo, pg. 153]Kia ora! I wanted to focus on expressing some nuance in Te Reo. I share some advice I gave regarding how to go about giving a mihimihi when you identify as LGBTQIA+.The purpose of language is the give word to how we think, and I wanted to share my thoughts on how to formulate sentences in Te Reo for concepts and ideas that may be new to us. How to mihimihi as transgender:Kia ora! Ko au tenei e tu whakawahine/whakatane nei, ki mua i a koutou, kia ora ki a koutou katoa! Ko Mea nei toku ingoa. Tena tatou.(Kia ora! I identify as transgender. I stand before you to greet you all. My name is ___. Nice to meet you all!)How to mihimihi as non-binary:Kia ora ki a koutou! Ko Mea nei toku ingoa. Tu tangata noa iho nei 'hau, heoi, karangatia au, "E hoa! E kare!" Koina nga mea e pai ke ki ahau. Kaore au mo te arotahi ki te iratane noa iho, ki te irawahine noa iho, tena, ko te iratangata ke. Heoi, nei ra ahaku mihi nunui ki a koutou katoa. Kia ora!(Kia ora to you all! My name is ___. I'm not for focusing purely on one's gender identity, instead I focus on our shared roots in being human. So, here I am, extending my many greetings to you all. Kia ora!)Wetenga Reohttps://maoridictionary.co.nz/word/8108Ka kitea tinanatia taua mea e au (W 1971:419). / I actually saw that thing.Ngata [Search term: reality]Kia tika, kai pōhēhētia te āhua he mea motuhenga. - Be sure not to mistake appearances for reality.
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  Where do you go to find people to speak with? 01.07.2026 9min

  Kia ora ra e te iwi! I have a Patreon where I hope to add some additional value. If you'd like the kaupapa, and you appreciate this mahi, you can give a koha here:A Maori PodcastWhakatauki - Ko Maru kai atu, ko Maru kai mai, ka ngohengohe. - Maru who ate abroad, and at home was agreeable. [Te Kohikohinga Whakatauki a Raupo, pg. 72]Kia ora e te iwi! This week I wanted to share some tips, ideas, and personal experiences of how I go about finding people to speak with. Here is the Discord link, where I met some of my close Maori speaking friends.https://discord.com/invite/wrDm5d7For our wetenga reo, I found this really cool phrase.Wetenga Reo: "E ka"Ka ora rapea ahau, e ka tuaina ki te moana. - I'll surely live if I'm dashed into the ocean. [Te Wiremu, pg. 26]Koia tenei pepeha mo te mea kite, e ka kitea te taonga makere. - Here is what's said for things which are found, when such a treasure is cast aside.[Te Wiremu, pg. 26]Kua mimiko katoa nga kiri o te wahine mate kino, e ka puta te marama. - Goosebumps emerged upon the woman in dire health when the moon appeared.[Te Wiremu, pg. 202]Ka mau ki tana tatā, e ka ipuipu. - He grasped at his canoe bail, that's when he began bailing water. [Te Wiremu, pg. 79]E pa, kei riri mai koia koe ki a au e ka whaki atu au ki a koe inaianei. - Please Father, be not mad at me when I confess to you now. [Te Wiremu, pg. 486]He ana koiwi e ka pukei. It's a cave of bones when piled up. [Te Wiremu, pg. 306]
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  Speaking Brazilian Portuguese, Hawaiian & Moriori 24.06.2026 15min

  Kia ora ra e te iwi! I have a Patreon where I hope to add some additional value. If you'd like the kaupapa, and you appreciate this mahi, you can give a koha here:A Maori PodcastBom dia! Aloha, Kioranga! Tena tatou! I thought today I would benchmark my progress on the languages I'm currently learning.I've currently spent:123 hours 46 minutes listening to Brazilian Portuguese.4 hours 40 minutes reading Brazilian Portuguese.85 hours 41 minutes listening to Hawaiian.4 hours 29 minutes listening to Moriori.Using something to track your progress is a real game changer. It helps to keep things in perspective and shows you the "actual" time spent immersed in a language. I start learning Brazilian Portuguese in September 2025 but the amount of time actually spent with the language is only about 4 x 40 work week.In all the languages I'm learning, I think my main priority is improving the sound of my speech. Today I share a brief snippet of my speaking ability in each language.Our whakatauki today is: [Kohikohinga Whakatauki a Raupo, pg 101]He pakaru a waka e taea te raupine mai. - A broken canoe can be repaired.I relate it to our relationship to te reo, perhaps some of us never had the language, perhaps some of us had it in our youth but lost it as we grow up. Our reo, like a canoe can be repaired. We can still learn it.For our wetereo, I look at this cool phrase "Ka te". Here's what Te Wiremu [pg. 81] says:Ka te - "...before the verb, similarly to kei. In some cases the verb, though active in form, is apparently passive in sense, and the agent introduced by the preposition e.Ka te tami atu ki te umu taurekareka.Na ka te whai e te pa."I also give my own example:Ka te titiro atu te rangi e au. - The sun is being looked at by me.
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  What is Tino Rangatiratanga from an individual perspective? 17.06.2026 7min

  Kia ora ra e te iwi! I have a Patreon where I hope to add some additional value. If you'd like the kaupapa, and you appreciate this mahi, you can give a koha here:A Maori PodcastKia ora! This week I wanted to focus on a question I've been thinking about a lot, "What is tino rangatiratanga from an individual perspective?" - I share some brief thoughts on what I think it means. I sum it up into 4 categories. Skill acquisition, Investments, Health Mind/Body/Heart/Soul, Relationships.I share some experience on the skills I've learnt and how it's personally helped me in my life.I speak on where one should start when investing, and the pros of doing index funds. I conclude with some everyday things we can do to improve personal lives.Whakatauki - Maramara nui a mahi, ka riro i a noho. [Kohikohinga Whakatauki a Raupo, pg. 75]Wetenga reo - Ka haere te wahine ki te rama ika, ka hoki mai ki uta, ka whawhati i ngā rau otaota, ka tunu ki te ahi, kātahi ka tāpi ki ngā waewae hai whakaora i ōna waewae i te ngaunga a te kōhatu (W 1971:383). / The woman went fishing by torchlight and when she returned to shore she broke off some leaves of vegetation, cooked then in a fire, then applied them to her feet to heal the damage done to them by the stones. [https://maoridictionary.co.nz/word/7485]
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  Atua Wahine: Hineatauira - The woman that became a Goddess of Death 10.06.2026 7min

  Kia ora ra e te iwi!I have a Patreon where I hope to add some additional value. If you like the kaupapa, and you appreciate this mahi, you can give a koha here:A Maori PodcastI have also transcribed the audio in time for the release of this episode! You can download it here for free, or for a koha.You can also just navigate to my Patreon as well:https://www.patreon.com/cw/AMaoriPodcastWhakatauki/Whakatauaki - Tūwhitia te hopo, mairangatia te angitū (Milroy 2011). / Eliminate the negative, accentuate the positive.Atua Wahine: Hine-a-tauira [Maori Religion and Mythology (1882), Edward Shortland] [pg. 22] [pg.23]"Tane took Hine-ahu-one to wife. She first gave birth to Tiki-tohua—the egg of a bird from which have sprung all the birds of the air.After that, Tikikapakapa was born—a female.Then first was born for Tane a human child. Tane took great care of Tikikapakapa, and when she grew up he gave her a new name, Hine-a-tauira (=the pattern maid).Then he took her to wife, and she bore a female child who was named Hine-titamauri.One day Hine-a-tauira said to Tane, "Who is my father?" Tane laughed. A second time Hine-a-tauira asked the same question.Katahi ka tohungia e Tane ki tona ure.and the woman understood, and her heart was dark, and she gave herself up to mourning, and fled away to Rikiriki, and to Naonao, to Rekoreko, to Waewae-te-Po, and to Po.He oti, ka rere te wahine: ka anga ko te pane ki raro, tuwhera tonu nga kuwha, hamama tonu te puapua."Heikona, e Tane, hei kukume ake ia taua hua ki te Ao; kia haere au ki raro hei kukume iho i a taua hua ki te Po."Kia ora! I wanted to delve more into Kia and Ki te this week to sharpen my understanding of each.The source material is pretty dense; [Kia and Ki te Complementation in Maori; An Accusative Analysis, Pearce & Waite, 1997. https://nzlingsoc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Pearce-and-Waite-1997.pdf]So I've only managed to grasp an understanding of the below 2 examples. An asterisk means that the example is incorrect."E pirangi ana a Moana ki te awhina i tona whanau. - Moana wants to help her family."This is an active voice sentence, meaning that the object (tona whanau) is marked.This sentence works because 'ki te' implies that Moana is doing the action.Bauer (1993:41) extends on Hohepa (1969) and gives the following statement on the differences between the 'ki te' and 'kia' structure:"If the verb in the subordinate clause is an experience verb, a neuter verb...a negative, or a passive, the clause is introduced by kia.If the subordinate clause verb does not fall into one of these categories, the distribution of 'kia' and 'ki te' depends primarily on the identity or otherwise of the subjects of the main and subordinate clause..."asterisk means it is incorrect.*E pirangi ana a Moana kia awhina i tona whanau. "This is an active voice sentence, meaning that the object (tona whanau) is marked.This sentences doesn't work because the use of 'kia' in an active voice construction means that the subject (Moana) needs to be made explicit, so the correction would be:"E pirangi ana a Moana kia awhina ia i tona whanau."Further examples are below for your own quick reference:Ka noho atu a Moana ki tona ano iwi hei awhina i tona whanau. - Moana stayed at her iwi to help her family.Ma Moana e awhina tona whanau. / Ma Moana tona whanau e awhina. - Moana will help her family.Kei te awhinatia a Moana e tona whanau. - Moana is helped by her family.E pirangi a Moana kia awhinatia e tona whanau. - Moana wants to be helped by her family.I peneitia e Moana, kia awhinatia ai e tona whanau. - Moana acted this way so as to be helped by her family.E pirangi ana a Moana kia rite ki tona whaea. - Moana wants to be like her mother.I peneitia e Moana, kia rite ai ki tona whaea. - Moana acted this way so as to be like her mother.E pirangi ana a Moana kia pai ki tana whaiaipo. - Moana wants to please her lover.I peneitia e Moana, kia pai ai ki tana whaiaipo. - Moana acted this way so as to please her lover.E pirangi ana a Moana kia mohio ki tona koroua. - Moana wants to know her elder.I peneitia e Moana, kia mohio ai ki tona koroua. - Moana acted this way so as to get to know her elder.I mahue a Moana i tāna tane. - Moana was left by her husband / Moana's husband left her.E pirangi ana a Moana kia mahue i tāna tane. - Moana wants to be abandoned by her husband.I peneitia e Moana, kia mahue ai i tāna tane. - Moana acted this way so as to be abandoned by her husband.
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  Atua Wahine: Rohe/Koke - Another Goddess of Death 03.06.2026 4min

  Kia ora! I wrote out the transcription for this episode. It's just the reo Maori which can be downloaded as a pdf here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/transcription-of-160346907If you'd like the kaupapa, and you appreciate this mahi, you can give a koha here:A Maori PodcastTena ano tatou! I didnt know that we had another Goddess of Death. So far we have Hinenuitepo, Miru, and Rohe. I love finding out the nuances of our culture and language. Whether these goddesses are universal amongst iwi, or only iwi specific, I'm not sure but I still love learning these things. Enjoy!Whakatauki: Matua whakapai i tou marae, ka whakapai ai i te marae o te tangata. [pg. 128, Kohikohinga Whakatauki a Raupo]Atua Wahine: Rohe [Tregear, E. (1891). Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary pg. 421] [https://pantheon.org/articles/r/rohe.html]"A wife of the demigod Māui. She was beautiful as he was ugly, and on his wishing to exchange faces with her, she refused him his request. He, however, by means of an incantation, managed to gain his point; in anger she left him, and refused to live any longer in the world of light, but proceeded to the underworld (Pō), and became a goddess. She is also called Koke, and is said sometimes to beat the spirits of deceased mortals as they pass throng her realm. Her home is in that division of the night-world called Te Uranga-o-te-Rā, but she also rules the circles named Hikutoia, and Pouturi."
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  Orite - We've been using the wrong word... 27.05.2026 6min

  Kia ora ra e te iwi! I have a Patreon where I hope to add some additional value. If you'd like the kaupapa, and you appreciate this mahi, you can give a koha here:A Maori PodcastSo, we've been using the wrong word and I hope that this episode can help us improve our reo. Making mistakes is fine, learning from them is better. Ko te reo kia tika, kia rere, kia maori! Tukuna ki te ao!Whakatauki - He peka titoki e kore e whati. / A branch of the titoki tree will not break.[Kohikohinga Whakatauki, pg. 43]Atua Wahine - Hineruru:"Families and larger kinship groups recognised the existence of ancestral guardinas embodied in animals. These spirits took a variety of forms, but the guardians [kaitiaki] that warn of death are usually owls (moreporks). These have different names.In Northland they are often known as Hineruru [Owl woman]. This special bird has the power to protect, warn and advise. As well as appearing at night wen someone is about to die, she may announce the imminent arrival of visitors. If she is seen flying ahead or walking along the road, she is usually there as a protector at a time of danger."[A Concise Encyclopedia of Maori Myth and Legend, Margaret Orbell, pg. 41]Rite tonu - Her name and mine are the same / He rite tonu o māua ingoa.Anō - These same people are now asking for help / Ko aua tāngata anō ēnei e pātai āwhina nei.Pēnei - Do it the same way as I am / Me mahi tāhau kia pēnei i tāku nei.Kotahi - We all arrived at the same time. / Kotahi tonu to mātau taenga atu.ōritetanga - There was a dreary sameness about the landscape of the plains. / Tērā te ōritetanga mōrearea o te tirohanga whenua o nga mānia.[https://teaching.co.nz/pages/ngata-dictionary] - search-term is "same".We went to the same school.Incorrect: I haere māua ki te kura ōrite.Correct: I haere māua ki te kura kotahi.We returned at the same time.Incorrect: I hoki atu māua i te wā ōrite.Correct: I hoki atu māua i te wā kotahi.Tame and Mere come from the same family.Incorrect: Nō te whānau ōrite a Tame rāua ko Mere.Correct: Nō te whānau kotahi a Tame rāua ko Mere.[https://e-tangata.co.nz/reo/common-mistakes-in-reo-maori/]
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  Atua Wahine: Hinekaikomako -The Fire Maiden 20.05.2026 8min

  Kia ora ra e te iwi! I have a Patreon where I hope to add some additional value. If you'd like the kaupapa, and you appreciate this mahi, you can give a koha here:A Maori PodcastKia ora! Today I found I new atua wahine that I havent come across. I'm really enjoying discovering the richness of our ahurea maori, and our reo maori. Hopefully this little excerpt is something you enjoy as well.Whakatauki: Poroaki tutata, whakahoro tau ke - Actions deviate from your words. Literally "Saying farewells with words, yet delaying your return til a year later." [Kohikohinga Whakatauki a Raupo, pg. 115]Atua Wahine: Hinekaikomako - "The Fire Maid who is personified in the kaikōmako, the fire tree (Pennantia corymbosa). She is a child of Tāne, and wife of Ira-whaki, the Fire Revealer. Hine-kaikomako is the Fire Conserver and when man desires fire he applies to her for it; that is to say, he takes a piece of her body wherewith to generate it."Sources: Andersen, Johannes C. (1928). Myths and Legends of the Polynesians. London: George G. Harrap, pp. 217-218.Best, Elsdon. (1924). The Maori. Wellington: Harry H. Tombs, pp. 145, 176.[https://pantheon.org/articles/h/hine-kaikomako.html]Kaunati: [https://maoridictionary.co.nz/word/15216]Ka tae ki uta, werohia atu te kauati ki te whenua, haere tonu atu te whakarui i te kaunati, kua tū; aparia mai ngā wahie ki runga, kua kā, ope tonu i te kuku ki runga ki te ahi; kua maoa (TP 6/1906:4). / When they reached the shore the piece of wood to make fire was stuck in the ground and the pointed piece of wood was rubbed against it and once it started firewood was heaped on top and when it was burning mussels were scooped onto the fire and cooked. Panuitanga:https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/karere-o-poneke/1857/12/24/1
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  Atua Wahine: Papatuanuku, Our First Mother & The Origin Of All Things 13.05.2026 18min

  Kia ora ra e te iwi! I have a Patreon where I hope to add some additional value. If you'd like the kaupapa, and you appreciate this mahi, you can give a koha here:A Maori PodcastWhakatauki - He takapau pokai, nga uri o Paheke. [Kohikohinga Whakatauki a Raupo.]Kia ora ra! I thought I'd give focus to Papatuanuku today, seeing as it was mothers day recently, and one of the foundational korero of many iwi is that Papa is our great first Mother.I source the below intro to Papa from Margaret Orbell's book [A Concise Encyclopedia of Maori Myth and Legend, pg 100] , and the pakiwaitara I share comes from George Grey's Nga Mahinga A Nga Tupuna, pg. 7-13."Papa's name means Foundation, or Flat Surface. She is the earth that stretches out beneath her husband Rangi, the sky, and she is the first woman. The world came into being when Tane separated Rangi and Papa, pushing Rangi upwards and allowing light to come between them.Papa has a number of extended names, such as Papatuanuku (Widespread Papa). She supports and sustains her human children, providing food and the other conditions necessary for life, yet inevitably she is inferior to her husband Rangi because she lies below that sacred realm, and Night (Te Po) is within her. The earth is the house of Aitua (Misfortune), and her children enter her body when they die. The sky, on the other hand, is the house of life, because the persons who light it live forever.As the primal parents, Rangi and Papa set the pattern for their descendants. Women were thought to take their nature from the first female: while men in general were sacred and set apart (tapu), women's nature was in general everyday, ordinary, profane (noa). All this and much more was established in the beginning.The genealogies that trace the history of the world begin with Rangi and Papa, then come down through the generations to the present day."
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  Stative/Neuter Verbs - What are they and how do you use them? 06.05.2026 7min

  Whakatauki: He waha huka - A frothy mouth, i.e, all words, no substance. [Kohikohinga Whakatauki a Raupo, pg 114]Atua Wahine: Parawhenuamea.Margaret Orbell gives this account [A Concise Encyclopedia of Maori Myth and Legend, pg. 101]:"Parawhenuamea is generally regarded as the origin of the waters of the earth. She is the streams flowing from the mountains, and she is floodwaters, so it is not surprising that she is often regarded as the daughter of Tane and Hinetuparimaunga. Sometimes her husband is Kiwa, guardian of the ocean."Stative/Neuter Verbs - What are they and how do you use them?Kia ora ano tatou! I wanted to dive into this topic because I still mess this up myself when speaking the reo. What are stative/neuter verbs?Firstly, what is a verb? It's a doing word. An action word. Those new to te reo may have had a sentence like this, where the verb is kai (consumed/eat).Ka kai te ngeru i te miraka. - The cat consumed the milk.Now a stative/neuter verb is a word used to describe the state of something. Ray Harlow says in A Maori Reference Grammar, pg. 158:"A number of neuter verbs express the idea of completion, for instance 'oti' - to be completed, 'tutuki' - to be accomplished, 'pau' to be used up. As neuter verbs, these words take as their subject the name of the thing completed, accomplished or used up."He gives the following examples. You can see that the state of the work is in a completed state, and the money is exhausted, all gone.Kua oti te mahi - The work has been completed.Kua pau nga moni - The money is all gone.The issue I keep messing up on is regarding the below stative/neuter structure. Harlow says, "Again, in common with the other neuter verbs, these words can also be accompanied by a comment naming the agent marked with i". (Agent is who did the action.)Kua oti nga mahi i a ratou - The work has been completed by them.I pau katoa nga rare i nga tamariki - The children ate all the lollies. (Literally, The lollies were all used up by the children.)For the above examples you can indicate how it was completed or used up by modifying it like this:Kua oti nga mahi i a ratou te tuhi. - They completed their work (essay) by writing it out.I pau katoa nga rare i nga tamariki te kai. - The lollies were all used up by the children by them eating it. (The lollies are all gone because the kids ate them.)If you change the order and show who did the action at the end of the sentence, Harlow pg.159 says that "...the agent phrase is not marked with 'i', but with the passive agent preposition 'e'."Kua oti nga rihi te horoi e koe? - Has the dish-washing been completed by you?I pau katoa nga rare te kai e nga tamariki. - The lollies were all used up; eaten by the children.