Patapatai: Te Whakamāori o Te Kaieke Tohorā


I te tau 1995, i whakaputahia Te Kaieke Tohorā, he whakamāori o te pukapuka The Whale Rider tēnei. Nā Witi Ihimaera i tuhi te pukapuka tūturu, ehara, ā, nā Tā Tīmoti Kāretu i whakamāori. Heoi anō, kāore i taea i koutou te hoko tēnei, haere ake nei… Engari, i te Mahuru nei, kua whakaputahia anō te pukapuka, ā, e patapataia a Tā Tīmoti e Hēmi Kelly (kaiwhakamāori, kaiako me kaituhi).

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Hēmi: Kia hoki ō whakaaro ki te tau 1995, nā wai koe i tono ki te whakamāori i Te Kaieke Tohorā?

Tā Tīmoti: Nā Ian Watt ahau i tono. I tērā wā ko ia te rangatira o Raupō, ā, nāna au i āki kia tuhia te pukapuka Haka – The Dance of a Noble People i te tau 1993. Ka oti tērā ka whai mai ko tēnei. Nāna i whakapā atu ki a Witi, ā, i whakaae mai a Witi.

I kī atu au ki a Witi, e kore e Ngāti Porou i a au te reo o te pukapuka nei, me whakaae koe kia tuhi au ki tōku anō reo, ana, i whakaae mai a Witi, kāore he raru. Me mihi ki a ia mōna i whakaae mā Tūhoe tana pukapuka e whakamāori.

Me mihi ki a ia mōna i whakaae mā Tūhoe tana pukapuka e whakamāori.

I uaua te whakamāori i te pukapuka nei?

I te tīmatanga o te pukapuka, i hea noa iho nei a Witi e haere ana. I te rangi tūhāhā kē nei e haere ana, kātahi ka hoki mai anō ki te whenua. I a ia e rere haere ana i ngā rangi o hea noa iho nei, koirā te wāhi uaua nā te mea he nui ngā kupu i mate au ki te kimi, ki te tito, ki te aha noa iho.

Ko te pai, ka waea atu au ki a Witi, ka pātai he aha te tikanga o tēnei rerenga, ka homai ia i tana whakamārama, ana, whāia ana e au ko te whakamārama a Witi kaua ko ngā kupu i te whārangi. Nā reira ko te tīmatanga noa iho te wāhanga i āhua uaua nei, atu i tērā i rawe te haere o ngā kōrero, ā, i māmā te whakawhiti mai.

I pēhea te roa o tāu nā mahi whakamāori?

Kāore i pērā rawa te roa nā te mea i pai ki a au te kōrero. I ngahau te whakamāoritanga. He rawe ngā kōrero a Witi. He tangata pai a Witi ki te tuhi kōrero pakimaero nei. Ko te mahi nui, ko te tirotiro i ngā hapa i te mutunga, e hia nei ngā tirohanga.

Ko te mahi nui, ko te tirotiro i ngā hapa i te mutunga, e hia nei ngā tirohanga.

Ko te pai, i tēnei whakaputanga i mahi tahi māua ko Pānia Papa. Me mihi au ki a Pānia, kāore e kore kua ānini te māhunga o kuia, i pai tana tirotiro.

I whakaaro rānei koe ki te taumata o te reo o te hunga pānui i te pukapuka nei i a koe e whakamāori ana?

Kāore, i mau tonu au ki te wairua o ngā kōrero i whakatakotohia mai e Witi. Nā reira me āhua matatau tonu te tangata ka taea e ia tēnei pukapuka te pānui. I whakamātauhia i tētahi o ngā kura reo, ana, i kitea i āhua uaua tonu.

Te uhi taketake a ‘Te Kaieke Tohorā’

Ki ō whakaaro, he aha te whāinga matua a te kaiwhakamāori i tētahi pakimaero pēnei i tēnei?

Kia kaua e ngaro i te kaiwhakamāori te wairua o ngā kōrero a te kaituhi. He uaua i ētahi wā. He uaua te kore e puta ko tōu nā wairua ki roto i ngā kōrero.

Kia kaua e ngaro i te kaiwhakamāori te wairua o ngā kōrero a te kaituhi.

Ahakoa pēhea tō pēhi iho i a koe anō i roto i ngā kōrero ka puta tonu ko tōu nā wairua, ko tōu nā mōhio ki te reo, tāu nā whakatakoto i te kupu, kāore hoki e taea te kore e pērā.

He kupu āu ki ngā kaiwhakamāori pakimaero o nāianei?

Nō muri kē mai i te whakaputanga o te pukapuka, ka tūpono ko Mīria Simpson, ka kī mai ki a au, ‘Tīmoti, he rawe tō whakamāoritanga, engari ko ētahi wāhi…’

Kī atu au, ‘Ko ēhea wāhi?’

Ana, ko te tīmatanga. Kī atu au, ‘Kāti, ka pēhea tāu nā whakamāori?’

Ka kī mai ki a au, ‘Hei aha noa iho i whakamāori i tērā wāhi. Me whānui noa iho te kōrero.’ E kī ana te kuia, kaua e ū ki ngā kupu Pākehā.

Koirā pea tētahi raru hei whakaaro ake mā nga kaiwhakamāori, me pēhea rā tana ū ki ngā kupu ake.

Koirā pea tētahi raru hei whakaaro ake mā nga kaiwhakamāori, me pēhea rā tana ū ki ngā kupu ake.

He uaua i ōna wā, kāore hoki e mārama ki te reo Māori, nā reira kua mate ki te whakaroa ake i ētahi wā, me te whakarāpopoto i ētahi wāhi. Ko te mea nui, kei te whāia ko te Māori o te takoto o te kōrero.

Te Kaieke Tōhora

Nā Witi Ihimaera

Nā Tīmoti Kāretu i whakamāori

Raupō / Penguin Random House NZ

RRP $26.00

Hokona ināianei

man with patterned shirt and dreads with māori carving in background
Hemi Kelly
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He uri a Hēmi Kelly nō Ngāti Maniapoto me Ngāti Tāhu-Ngāti Whāoa. I tīmata tana whai i te reo Māori nōna e taiohi tonu ana, ināianei kua tū ia hei kaiako reo Māori. Kei Te Wānanga Aronui o Tāmaki Makaurau ia e mahi ana. E pā ana te nuinga o āna mahi ki te whakarauoratanga o te reo Māori me te kaupapa o te whakamāori kōrero.

I te tau 2017, i whakamāoritia e Hēmi tā Witi Ihimaera pukapuka ko Sleeps Standing. Ka whakaputaina tāna ake pukapuka tuatahi ko A Māori Word a Day i te tau 2018, ā, i muri iho i tērā ka puta ko A Māori Phrase a Day. Ka waiho mai ko Te Ruānuku hei pukapuka tuarua kua whakamāoritia nei e Hēmi.

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Briar Lawry is an English teacher and writer from Tāmaki Makaurau. She worked in bookshops for years, most notably Little Unity, and judged the NZCYA Awards in 2020. She was also one of the editors of The Sapling between 2019 and 2023.