A new web series, "He Aha Tō Say" by Radio Ngāti Porou, brings native Ngāti Porou speakers together in an effort to retain the unique dialect of the East Coast tribe.
Mihi Keita Ngata says, “Taputapu (excellent) - that's one of our favorite words within Ngāti Porou, 'taputapu'."
It was Sir Apirana Ngata who wrote the song He Wiwi Nāti, which refers to the peculiar and extraordinary characteristics of the Ngāti Porou people.
“It's the body language, the eyes, the shaking of the head, the hands, the entire body, add spoken word that comes from the mouth- fantastic,” says Ngata.
Radio Ngāti Porou station manager Erana Keelan-Reedy says, “I know that there are a number of people within Ngāti Porou who are native speakers, but they aren't being heard every day, they're not being heard on the radio or on TV.”
She hopes the web series will be used as a resource within schools on the East Coast “for students to hear the Ngāti Porou dialect of the elders who grew up within the language so that those words and sayings aren't lost”.
Elder and native speaker, Ramari Nepia says the unique dialect is being diminished.
“A new type of language is infiltrating Ngāti Porou, no matter, that's fine, the main thing is that Māori is being spoken, but the main desire is that unique Ngāti Porou dialect is preserved,” says Nepia.
The web series will be available via the Radio Ngāti Porou youtube page.