27 July 2004

He nui rawa ake i te haka

(see below for English version)


Atu i a Kiefer Sutherland ki Whakaata Maori - Ka whakanuia te wiki o te reo Maori i te whai wahitanga mai o nga ahuatanga tangata whenua o Aotearoa.

Ki te uia te tangata Ingarangi he aha tana mohiotanga ki te ao Maori, ka mahia karetao te haka o te tima whutuporo o nga All Blacks. Kei te nui haere nga kaupapa e kitea ai nga ahuatanga o te tangata whenua o Aotearoa, o te Maori e te tini, e te mano.

Whai muri mai o te tohua o Whalerider e nga kaiwhakawa mo tetahi Oscar (kei te kitea i runga atamira inaianei), Kei te hangaia ki te rohe o Wanganui tetahi ano pikitia nui no Aotearoa e kiia nei ko River Queen. Ko Vincent Ward te kaitohutohu, a, ko Kiefer Sutherland raua ko Samantha Morton nga kaiwhakaari tino rongonui o runga. He whakakaari tenei mo nga pakanga whenua o tera atu rau tau. Ka whakaaringia nga wheako o tetahi rawaho Irihi ko Sarah O'Brien (Morton), ka uru ki te riri i waenga i te hunga Pakeha, (ko Sutherland to ratou rangatira) me nga iwi Maori o te awa o Wanganui.

Ahakoa 15% noa iho te nui o ngai Maori no roto i te 4 miriona tangata e noho ana ki Aotearoa, ka whai wahi tonu te ao Maori ki nga ahuatanga noho ki reira. Ka whai mana a ture te reo Maori me te reo Ingarangi ki Aotearoa, a, e whakaakotia ana te reo Maori ki nga akonga katoa ki nga kura tuatahi.

Ka whakanuia te wiki o te reo Maori atu i te 26 o Hurae kite 1 o Akuhata i tenei tau. I timata te wiki o te reo Maori i te tau 1975, heoi ano he nui rawa ake nga take whakanui i tenei tau. I whakarewa a Whakaata Maori, te teihana reo Maori kore utu tuatahi, i te Maehe o tenei tau. Kei te ata matakina e ngai Maori me ngai Pakeha.

E ai ki nga kitenga rangahau o Neilson Media nui ake i te 350,000 nga kaimatakitaki o Wahakaata Maori i nga wiki 12 tuatahi o nga pahotanga, a, kei te nui haere tera hunga. Ko nga pahotanga kei te tino matakina ko Marae DIY ( e ahua rite ana ki a Ground Force, engari he whare tupuna ke) me Kai time on the Road ( he paoho kei me te haerere haere).

Ki te ao o te kai me te waina, he ahuatanga whakaongaonga kei te haere. Kua timata a Charles Royal, he pukenga tunu kai, i etahi akoranga kai ka whakamahia i nga tiputipu kua whakamahia e ngai Maori i roto i nga rau tau kua pahure atu. I roto i te kotahi ki te rima ra, ka pa atu nga manuhiri i te wairua o te wao nui a Tane, ka kohia nga otaota Maori, a, ka akongia nga painga mo te hauora o roto. Kei te takiwa o te NZ$1475 (ahua £567) nui ake ranei mo ia tangata.

Kei te rongonui haere hoki nga waina o Aotearoa, a, me pehea ra te whakamakuku i te korokoro me te whakanui i te wiki o te reo Maori? Me inu te waina no tetehi kamupene waina Maori, ko Tohu wines. Kua rima tau tona nei pakeketanga, ka whakaputa tetahi 60,000 pouaka waina i tenei tau ka hokona ki Aotearoa, ki te UK, a, huri noa I te ao.



More than just the haka


From Kiefer Sutherland to Maori Television - Maori Language Week celebrates the increasing accessibility of New Zealand's indigenous culture.

Ask the average Brit what Maori culture means to them and they will respond with a dire rendition of the All Blacks haka. Yet New Zealand's indigenous culture is becoming more accessible, with new projects bringing contemporary Maori culture to a wider audience than ever before.

Following on from the success of last year's Oscar-nominated film Whale Rider (now a stage show), New Zealand's latest blockbuster The River Queen, is currently being filmed in the Wanganui region of the North Island. Directed by New Zealander Vincent Ward and starring Kiefer Sutherland and Samantha Morton, the film depicts the Maori land wars of the 19th century. It charts the experiences of Irish immigrant, Sarah O'Brien (Morton), who becomes caught in land wars between European settlers, led by Sutherland, and Maori tribes by the Whanganui River.

Although Maori make up just 15% of New Zealand's population of four million, Maori culture is an integral part of New Zealand life. Together with English, Maori is an official language of New Zealand, and Te Reo Maori (the Maori language) is taught to all primary school children.

The annual Maori Language Week runs this year from 26th July to 1st August. The event was established back in 1975, but this year there is more to celebrate. Maori Television, the first free-to-air Maori language channel in New Zealand, was launched at the end of March 2004 and is proving to be a ratings success with both Maori and non-Maori audiences.

Nielsen Media Research found that more than 350,000 New Zealanders watched Maori Television in the first 12 weeks of transmission and the audience seems to be growing. Some of the most popular programmes include Marae DIY (similar to Ground Force, but with a Maori meeting house), and Kai Time on the Road (a food and travel programme).

On the food and wine front, there are some exciting developments taking place. Charles Royal, a leading Maori chef, has created a series of culinary tours that utilise indigenous plants used by Maori people for centuries. Over one to five days, visitors experience the Wairua (spirit) of the bush, gathering Maori herbs and learning about the health benefits of NZ natives. Packages start at NZ$1475 (approx. £567) per person.

New Zealand wines are more popular than ever, but what better way to get the linguistic juices going and toast the success of Maori Language Week than by sipping a glass of wine from Maori-owned wine company, Tohu Wines? Now on its fifth vintage, the company will produce 60,000 cases of wine this year for distribution within New Zealand, the UK and worldwide.

For more information on Maori Language Week, please visit: www.nzreo.org.nz


Other links

For more information:

For more information on New Zealand, please visit: www.newzealand.com or phone 09050 60 60 60 (60p/minute).

For media information, please contact Susie Tempest/Donna Lewis, The Saltmarsh Partnership, tel: 020 7928 1600 or email: susie@saltmarshpr.co.uk.

This press release was prepared by the Ministry of Tourism in New Zealand and London.