Maori

I have been both intrigued and frustrated by all the Maori words and place names here in New Zealand. So many of the names seem to be repetitive in nature. Invariably, we, as the saying goes, put the wrong em-PHA-sis on the wrong sy-LLA-ble.

Doing a little research, I discovered that the Maori language alphabet has 5 vowels and 10 consonants: a e i o u p t k m n ng wh r h w. Look at all the additional sounds we use: b c d j l q s v x y z.

However, Cam, one of the Kiwis with us on the sailing trip, had a helpful way of looking at the language. The place names especially are small words that are strung together to give a description of the place. He said that once you learn what a few key words mean, you can often figure out what a name means and it then becomes easier to pronounce and remember. We have come to recognize a very few word: iti=small, wai=water, tapu=sacred, roa=long. Thus Wairoa, where we are living right now, is the long water or river. This coming weekend we plan to go to Lake Waikaremoana in the Te Urewera forest. Wai=water, kare=rippling, moana=sea…so the lake we’ll be visiting is the “sea of rippling waters.” Sounds great, huh?