Pepehā

Kia ora Koutou!

This page provides information on how to write a pepehā, as well as some background information where possible.

The information is designed for Nelson and will need to be checked and maybe modified if used elsewhere.

A unit plan is also available via google-docs.

Mahi kainga - collecting information
Letter
Google form 
Other learning hub/team/syndicate/orwhateverwe'recallednow, feel free to make a copy and modify as suits you.

Ka kite

Damian Hardman
damian.hardman@birchwood.school.nz 


Cut and paste hates me and hasn't worked too well here....

What is a 
pepehā?
Introduce unit. What is a pepehā? Students are likely to have come across this previously.

Brainstorm: what is a pepehā, who uses them, where can they be used, what do they say, etc.

Pepehā is how Māori introduce themselves. It begins with mountain- maunga- because ‘mau’ means ‘to hold’, so our maunga anchors us. The structure is ‘top down’, mountain, river, all the way down to us, to recognise how important our past is in creating us.

Mihimihi is a speech that may include pepehā.

There are a million resources online if you need more information, but I had trouble finding anything ‘student friendly’.

Short version:
Pepehā enable relationship building.
Big things first coming down to you to remember, acknowledge and learn from the past.


Using the 
fill-in template.
This sheet is printed as two-on-one A4 sheet. English on one side, Māori on the other. This is just one example of pepehā structure- there are myriad others- but this one works.

This sheet is designed to help students DRAFT their pepehā. It uses ‘my, toku’ but when students produce their good copy, these can be modified to ‘the, te’ as required. Similarly, sentence structure will change if they have two fathers, acknowledge siblings, etc. This sheet is just a starting point.

Students should be encouraged to use their own pepehā if they have one.

Maunga 
and awa
Options for filling in maunga, awa, etc:
1. Use your own (own pepehā).

2. Don’t have own- use Maungatapu (maunga), and Maitahi (awa).

3. Don’t have own- use maunga, awa, moana from your home town.

4. Student objects to maunga, awa, etc. Kei te pai. Don’t include them. After all, pepehā is a reflection of yourself.

If the maunga is ‘yours’, you can say Ko Maungatapu toku maunga. Toku means my, so, Maungatapu is my mountain.

If you are acknowledging Maungatapu as being the mountain of this area, you say Ko Maungatapu te maunga. Maungatapu is the mountain (implying ‘not MY mountain’).

Parents
The words māmā and pāpā are transliterations and not ‘real’ Māori words, although are commonly used. For this reason, please use matua and whaea.

This can be difficult in these topsy-turvy times of split families.
If acknowledge blood parent and step-parent, usually acknowledge blood first. Having said that, if the step-parent feels like a ‘real’ or ‘better’ parent, you can put them first. Be aware this is a decision the student is making, and is a ‘statement’.

A student might feel strongly that they don’t want to acknowledge a parent, eg is estranged and the parent has not been in contact. The student may leave this parent out altogether. Again, this is the student’s decision and is a strong statement.

Sentence structure changes if there are 2 matua or whaea.
1 whaea:
Ko Anne toku whaea.

2 whaea:
Ko Anne raua ko Mary oku whaea.

Toku for one person, oku for plural.
Raua sort of means ‘and’ in this context.

Siblings
There is no word for sibling, brother or sister. The Māori word depends on relationship. Once you know the word, it’s unlikely to change.

If you are a boy, your sister is tuahine.
If you are a girl, your brother is tungāne.

Your older sibling of same gender is your tuakana.
Your younger sibling of same gender is teina.

Refer to siblings google slide for assistance. Sentence structure changes depending on whether there are 1, 2 or 3 siblings, so check the students are reading and transcribing carefully!

Write a sentence for each different relationship because there is no easy way to combine brothers, sisters, older and younger siblings in one sentence.

Including other family members.
Sometimes students want to introduce other family members. Kei te pai, we encourage them taking ownership.

Grandparents go before parents.
Grandfather = pōua, or koro
Grandmother = taua, or kuia

Uncles and aunties go after parents.
Uncle = matua kēkē
Aunty = whaea kēkē

Cousins go after uncles/ aunties.
Cousin = kaihana

NB kaihana and kēkē are transliterations, but we’re chosing to use these for simplicity. The actual Māori words matua (uncle), whaea (aunty) and cousins are described using siblings words, except that the status in the family determines which words to use, so to avoid confusion…..

Including pets.
Pets- ok fine, they’re learning and they can include pets if they want to. This is not common practise and students should know this. Pets come AFTER all people, and before ‘I am from’.

Acknowledging 
teachers.
Students will get a bonus if they acknowledge their teachers.

1. Acknowledging their principal.
Ko Mr Herrick toku tumuaki.

2. Acknowledging one teacher.
Ko Damian toku kaiako,

3. Acknowledging two teachers.
Ko Damian raua ko Mrs Heath oku kaiako.

4. Acknowledging three teachers.
Ko Damian ratau ko Mrs Heath, ko Mrs Eden oku kaiako.

Principal is included after school and before any teachers.

Teachers are included after principal and after school.
Where you are from.
Students living in Nelson will say:
No Whakatū ahau.

NO not KO!

Students who were born out of Nelson can say:
No Hometown ahau, no Whakatū toku kainga inaianei.

Acknowledging 
iwi and waka.
IWI
Māori to describe people is a relatively new term. Prior to colonisation, māori was a word that meant normal. People identified to iwi, and it is still important to Māori to acknowledge iwi. School journals, news articles, etc who feature a Māori person usually have their iwi in brackets after their name.

Usually people who do not belong to an iwi would acknowledge the iwi of the area. However, as Nelson has 6, this is a mouthful to say, even for people proficient in Māori. There are ways to acknowledge iwi that are a bit easier than naming them all!

1. A student identifies with one iwi.
Ko Kai Tahu toku iwi.

2. A student identifies with two iwi.
Ko Kai Tahu raua ko Waitahi oku iwi.

3. A student identifies with three or more iwi.
Ko Kai Tahi ratau ko Waitaha, ko Ngati Mamoe oku iwi.

4. A student does not identify with an iwi, but wants to acknowledge the iwi who own the land Birchwood school is on.
Ko Ngati Apa ki te Ra tō te iwi ō tenei kura.

5. A student wants to acknowledge the iwi who are in Nelson.
Tēnā koutou i nga iwi ō tenei rohe.
or
Tēnā koutou i nga iwi ō Whakatū.
Or
Ko Ngāti Kuia ratau ko Ngāti Apa, ko Rangitane, ko Ngāti Toa, ko Ngāti Koata, ko Ngāti Rārua, ko Ngāti Tama, ko Te Ati Awa nga iwi ō Whakatū.

6. A student wishes to acknowledge the iwi of their home town.

WAKA
1. A student have their own waka.
Ko Takitimu taku waka.

2. A student has two waka.
Ko Takitimu raua ko Aotea oku waka.

3. A student has three waka.
Ko Takitimu ratau ko Aotea, ko Arahura oku waka.

Toku mean my. Oku mean my (plural).

4. A student does not have a waka, but wants to acknowledge the waka of Ngati Apa ki te Ra tō.
Ko Kurahaupō te waka.

5. A student does not have a waka, but wants to acknowledge the waka of the iwi of Whakatū.
Tēnā koutou i nga waka ō nga iwi ō Whakatū.

6. A student wishes to acknowledge the waka from their hometown.


Listening to a Pepehā
Respect is shown by facing the speaker and looking interested.

Conversations between people in the audience are discourage.

People are not stuffed cabbages, and you should say ‘kia ora’ or something to acknowledge people from same iwi, or home town, etc, as you.

Walking between the speaker and the audience tramples their words and their mana. If you need to move around the room, crouch low, move behind everybody in audience, even if it means walking over couches or bookshelves. Ideally, if you need to leave, WAIT until the person has finished talking.

Pepehā are about building and acknowledging relationships, so active listening is great.

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