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Moriori Language Stories Published on-line
Hokotehi Moriori Trust announced today that a series of 5 e-stories entirely in ta rē Moriori have been launched through Ministry of Education funding on its website - Kauwhata Reo.
https://kauwhatareo.govt.nz/en/resource/ka-kakepunga-korero/
The last fluent speakers of ta rē Moriori passed away in the early 1900s, but our language has not been in common usage since 1836. Today it has no recognition as an official language of New Zealand and its uniqueness is only now being realised, respected, and enjoyed. Language offers and affirms so many clues to cultural origins and identity. The ability to speak our own language and share it with the world is one of the most important aspirations for Moriori. We have looked at ways to bring it back to our marae (Kōpinga), and to our work-place and homes. Bringing it into our schools is seen as being the next phase for its revival, not just on Rēkohu (Chatham Islands) but throughout Aotearoa/New Zealand.
The title of this collection of stories is Kā Kakepunga Kōrero. Kakepunga means a bundle of special sticks for lighting fires, which seems an appropriate metaphor for this work which is helping rekindle Moriori language and identity. Three of the five stories focus on aspects of Moriori cultural origins, and two look at more recent history. The stories come from our own oral traditions and the account of the gathering in 1836. We hope these stories inspire young readers and those interested in learning ta rē Moriori at any age. The stories have come to life through the keen ear and skills of our language interpreter, Kiwa Hammond, along with the creative team at Cognition Education.
Ta rē Moriori is a proto-Oceanic language that has a similar grammatical structure to most Polynesian languages and especially to languages spoken in Tahiti, Austral Islands and the Marquesan group but has many differences compared with te reo Māori in terms of words (tukupa), pronunciation and consonant sounds, such as the dropped or clipped final consonant and ‘tch’ sound.
For more resources see the Moriori youtube channel and our website
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqCX1A_mHDTN7YqrWpFtoCQ
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