In early August, Te Wānanga o Aotearoa tauira, Annetia Tautuku was privileged to travel with an ope from New Plymouth to attend Toitū te Reo in Heretaunga (Hastings).

Annetia is currently studying Te Pīnakitanga ki te Reo Kairangi at Ngāmotu campus in New Plymouth and travelled with her fellow tauira and kaiako to attend the world’s first Māori language festival.

“At Toitū Te Reo, we heard speakers talk about all sorts of things. Quality was a was a huge part of what I took away from it. Quality in what you do and remaining in something until you reach a tohunga level, like an expert. Another huge thing I took away from it was strategies and tools that I can implement in my everyday life within my own whare, within my own whānau to revitalise te reo Māori and ahurea Māori.”

Celebrating language, culture, and the identity of Māori and wider Aotearoa, Toitū Te Reo was held over 2 days at Toitoi Hawke's Bay Arts & Events Centre. Organised by reo advocate, Jeremy ‘Tātare’ MacLeod, the event was a resounding success, bringing together thousands of people passionate about reo Māori.

Prior to enrolling with Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, Annetia was fortunate enough to have had her own love for te reo Māori encouraged and nurtured by other teachers while enrolled in Te Tohu Paetahi at Waikato University.

“They (teachers) sowed into me my love of te reo Māori, te ao Māori, and te ahurea Māori. I inspired my husband to come back to his Māori culture and he is currently on his journey to learn our reo. Then last year, I enrolled in Whangārei to help support him on his reo journey in He Pī Ka Pao.”

Annetia and her husband James have a goal for themselves and their whānau to have an unshakable foundation for their Māori culture and to help revitalise their reo.

“Within my own whānau, I've achieved the first step towards our Māori culture. An unexpected thing that has occurred in my whānau whanui, is the normalisation of te reo Māori. I have elders within my whānau who have commented that they've picked up a lot in the last 6 months alone. And where they may never speak reo Māori themselves, they've found that they are coming to understand more, which is beautiful.”

Balancing life and study can be a challenge, but the support of her kaiako and other kaimahi at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa has helped her through.

“The staff are wonderful people. You know, they're all whānau members themselves. They understand the pressure of having to balance your study and your life, and they're always very understanding and considerate of us mātua (parents), in terms of our priorities and how we need to work in order to be able to study.”

The personal growth and development during her journey will keep Annetia learning her reo and encouraging others to do the same.

“My biggest learning is the little nuggets of gold that you get in between and during lessons, and they may not have necessarily been written into the lesson plan, but those little nuggets are really eye opening. Do it. But be prepared. It will challenge you. It will push you, but it is worth it.”

Learn more about our reo Māori (language) programmes.