30 Māori language gems to help you on your Māori language journey

More than 30 amazing Māori language gems were shared with us during our?Mystery Mahuru Māori #giveaway and we want to pass them on to you.

During September which was Mahuru Māori ~ Māori Language Month, my company?www.whaimai.com?gave away a pack of te reo Māori resources each day, including books produced by the @Ministry of Education and resources I was involved in developing when I worked at @Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori, @Māori Television and @Massey University.

At first, we were worried no one would enter, however we were pleasantly surprised by what was shared including?achievements, challenges, moments, phrases, tips and kupu (words). We are inspired by the passion and fearlessness of everyone who took part, they?weren’t afraid to put themselves out there, and give it a go. We love the aroha for te reo that was shown, not just in our competition. It was everywhere, especially during Te Wiki o te Reo Māori.

We want to thank our winners including three, two time winners David Rowland, Kahli Hobbs, and Rebecca Bear, and our fantastic triple time winner Genevieve Doube!

Congratulations and thanks again to all our winners: Day 1 Dale-Maree Morgan | Day 2 Kate Whitley | Day 3 Patrice Allen | Day 4 Maria De Cort | Day 5 Miriam Walker | Day 6 Ali Hamlin-Paenga | Day 7 Kaye Maree Dunn | Day 8 David Rowland | Day 9 Genevieve Doube | Day 10 Lanita Ririnui | Day 11 Ryan "The Lion" Ashton | Day 12 Alisa Murray | Day 13 David Rowland | Day 14 Genevieve Doube | Day 15 Rongomaiwahine Higgins-Herewini | Day 16 Glenn Watson | Day 17 Kim Milner | Day 18 Genivieve Doube |?Day 19 Kahli Hobbs | Day 20 Kahli Hobbs | Day 21 Rebecca Bear | Day 22 Rebecca Bear | Day 23 Troy Brockbank | Day 24 Maree Hoare | Day 25 Kiela-lee Wilson | Day 26 Dr Arthur Chin | Day 27 Kim Milner | Day 28 Piki Dimond | Day 29 Sharon Shea MNZM | Day 30 Trish Beamsley.

Many stood out, like??Day 1 winner Dale-Maree Morgan who challenged herself to speak only Māori for the whole of September.

Another gem, was a reo Māori magic moment shared by Maree Hoare, who told us about the transformation in her 81 year old??mother’s pronunciation of Waitara, Oakura, and Rahotu – ka mau te wehi! Absolutely stunning!Parareha, was a kupu hou (new word) for the Whai Mai team, it was shared by Lanita Ririnui, she said it means "vibrant and sassy".

We also loved the whakataukī (proverb) shared by Trish Beamsley, "Ahakoa he iti he pounamu ~ even though it is small, it is precious". This whakataukī is well known, it was Trish’s explanation (above) that really pulled at our heartstrings.

It was awesome to also see Te Wānanga Aotearoa, Te Wānanga o Awanuiārangi, Māori Television and resources produced by Scotty and Stacey Morrison mentioned by people who took part.

We loved being able to send te reo Māori all over Aotearoa,??to?Te Tai Tokerau (Northland) ~ Hikurangi; Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland) ~ Belmont, Glen Eden, Hillcrest, Mangere Bridge, Point England, Swanson, Torbay; Ngāruawāhia; Papaioea (Palmerston North) ~ Summerhill; Te Whanganui a Tara (Wellington) ~ Island Bay, Porirua, Tawa, Te Aro, Upper Hutt, Wainuiomata; Whakatū (Nelson) ~ Collingwood; ōtautahi (Christchurch) ~ Harewood, Hornby, Lyttleton, Rangiora and Oreheke (Central Otago) ~ Clyde.

Thank you to everyone who supported our?Mystery Māori #giveaway. We plan to do it again next year!

You can see all 30 Māori language gems here https://tinyurl.com/53n3j3v4

Ka nui te mihi ki a koutou katoa, kia kaha te reo Māori!