Kia ora, e hoa mā! (Hello, friends!)
Here in New Zealand, September is the Māori Language Month (Mahuru Māori), so I have decided to post my pepeha (self-introduction) on my YouTube channel to take part in this special occasion!
The Māori culture is an oral tradition just like the rakugo tradition, so I have always been fascinated by the immense richness of te reo Māori me ōna tikanga (Māori language and its protocols) since I moved to New Zealand.
My Māori is very limited, so I probably made some mistakes in grammar, pronunciation, etc. in the video. Please kindly comment below to correct if you spotted any so I can improve my reo!
In my household, my Pākehā (NZ European) wife and I try to use Māori as much as possible, and my children now can recite karakia (Māori prayer) before meals.
I will keep learning this beautiful language and culture to deepen my understanding of this world, oral tradition, and rakugo.
Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou katoa! (Greetings to you all!)
#MahuruMaori #TeWikioteReoMāori, #MāoriLanguageWeek #1MirionaTihau #1MirionaTweets #1miriona
English Rakugo NZ 
That’s terrific that you’re teaching your kids Maori language and helping preserve it as well. Language is power!
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Thank you! We are doing our best to learn the indigenous language of this land together as a family 😃 It’s a pity that they are not very interested in learning Japanese, though! Having a Japanese father doesn’t automatically make them bilingual… I’ll keep trying, though… as language is power!!!
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I agree…language is power, keep trying. 😉
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I should say….keep trying to teach the kids Japanese. Your Māori sounds excellent though! I am still at the beginner phase of learning Māori. It is very exciting and enriching my life learning the language of my ancestors.
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I’m trying but they don’t seem to be very interested in Japanese… The older one used to ONLY speak Japanese before attending school, but he lost it in the first half year of schooling!
My Māori is at the beginning phase as well, but being a performer I just got a good ear to copy the sounds 😃 I am terrible at whakakāhoretanga… it’s super hard!!! It must be a very special experience for you to connect with the language of your ancestors!!!
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Tino pai to mihi.
Kei te hari taku ngakau ki te whakarongo ana ki to korero o te reo Māori.
kia kaha to mahi ireira a Akarana me Aoteroa hoki.
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Tēnā rawa atu koe, Jerry! Kia ora mō tō karere tino mahana! Kei te hiahia au ki te whakapakari tōku reo, te reo tuatahi o tēnei whenua tino ātaahua!
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