First Māori language Eisteddfod held

Huw Williams and Dr. Jeremy Tātere MacLeod 

This week will see a first of a unique and special event in Aotearoa-New Zealand, with the launching of Toitū Te Reo – a festival celebrating Māori language, culture and identity.

It promises to be a joyous, optimistic event which, at its core, aspires to promote the revitalization of the language, Te Reo Māori, and aims to bring Māori and other New Zealanders together to show their support and solidarity.

Te Reo Māori has faced similar challenges to the majority of indigenous and minoritized languages, and by middle of the 20^th century there were deep concerns about its future, as cultural, ideological and material trends impacted it profoundly.

With increased activism, the tide began to turn as immersion schools were established and other institutions such as Māori Radio and Television came into being. Today around 130,000 people can speak the language fluently, and Toitū Te Reo is symbolic of a renewed energy and prevalence.

The festival will take place across two days, on the 8^th and 9^th of August, it will be a special gathering providing a host of different activities from art and food events to music and poetry performances.

Symposium

There will also be the Toitū Te Reo symposium at the center of the festival, now in its eighth year, and with a variety of panel discussions and expert speakers.

The festival brings together a number of collaborators from across the country, supported by iwi (tribal) chairs from the top of the North to the bottom of the South islands. Together they will be curating an uplifting demonstration of Mana Motuhake (self-determination) and solidarity among Māori and supporters, creating a place to karawhiua – have-a-go. 

The desire to encourage speakers at all stages to get involved reflects the ethos and energy of one of the biggest inspirations for the festival. Dr Sir Tīmoti Kāretu, now in his eighties, is an iconic figure in the Māori world and has long held the aspiration of seeing such a festival established.  A key figure among those who have worked to champion the language and culture, and with a long and illustrious career that has inspired many, he has travelled the world as a Te Reo Māori champion, seeking inspiration from other cultures revitalizing their own languages.

Eisteddfod

And this is why one of the leading lines in the promotion of the festival is that it is ‘based on the Welsh Eisteddfod’ – for Sir Tīmoti is a great admirer of an event that he himself attended on his travels in Europe.  In particular, the immersive language experience appealed to him, facilitated by the ‘Welsh rule’ that asks that all performances and talks are through the medium of Welsh.

For indigenous and minoritized languages, which are so often diffuse and cede to the dominant language in public spaces, the creation of a space where the cultural and power dynamics are flipped can ensure the vital experience of them being normalized as the default language. This provides an environment where all speakers have that immersive experience that’s so important in venturing to use, enjoy and improve one’s language skills.

Coincidentally, Toitū Te Reo will take place during the same week as the Welsh National Eisteddfod that so inspired Sir Tīmoti, this year in the town of Pontypridd. There, in an expression of undod (solidarity), the current Archdruid Professor Mererid Hopwood (leading light of the Gorsedd the cultural body responsible for the main ceremonies)   recorded a greeting to Māori cymrodyr (comrades) wishing them well for the event.

The points of connection between Cymraeg and Te Reo Māori is an intriguing one, in the context of a Wales-New Zealand relationship more typically associated with rugby and farming.  Some of this has been explored recently through Cardiff and Waikato Universities’ strategic partnership. Gareth Schott – a Welsh-speaking Cardiffian in Waikato – is particularly interested how less traditional forms cultural expressions have provided space for the Cymraeg and Māori languages to evolve, with inclusive potential.

Two associated projects have been the visit of Māori post-punk band Half/time to Wales and involvement in the FOCUS Wales industry showcase, whilst the British Council were inspired to curate a Cymraeg-Māori song hub, where musicians from the two cultures came together to compose music together.

These forms of cultural activity and connectedness provide much needed solidarity and potential, for a future that is uncertain for so many languages.  As well as a climate crisis, we face a language crisis – for many of the same underlying reasons – with up to 90% of the world’s languages facing extinction by the end of the century, a situation recognized by the recently launched UNESCO decade of indigenous languages.

In Aotearoa-New Zealand, Te Reo Māori is encountering new challenges, with recent government changes affecting measures that have supported language revitalization efforts in recent years; in Wales despite the positive rhetoric erosion of Welsh-language communities continue apace in the face of economic challenges and in-migration.

In such circumstances, festivals such as Toitū Te Reo provide a much needed boon, as does the wisdom of Sir Tīmoti: “Give all your energy to those who are willing, those who are hungry. Give no attention to those who are critical or throwing stones. Pursue the language vigorously. Think about the future.”