As part of our celebrations for Te Wiki o te Reo Māori this Mahuru / September, we hosted a beautiful event - a gathering for whānau to launch Hēmi Kelly's new pukapuka / book, Everyday Māori, Ia rā, ia rā.
Ahead of the event, Melanie-Jane met with Hēmi to kōrerorero / chat about the book.
M-J
Congratulations on your new pukapuka, Everyday Māori: Ia rā, ia rā. Could you tell us what the title means?
HK
Ia rā, ia rā means every day, every single day.
M-J
What was the background behind the book, why did you decide to bring it into the world?
HK
I was wondering what my next pukapuka would be because I have 'A Māori Word a Day' and 'A Māori Phrase a Day' and I thought “a word a day, a phrase a day, what about a proverb a day?” So that’s where it started.
M-J
Ideally, who is the audience for this book?
HK
I think there is something for everyone, no matter where they are at in their journey with te reo Māori, because each page gives the user a word and the meaning, a phrase - an everyday sort of phrase - with that same word and the meaning. Then it gives a proverb as well. That same word is in the proverb, so I think there’s something in there for everyone, you’re learning a word, a phrase and a whakatauki / proverb.
For someone like me there was a lot of learning with the proverbs, a lot of research went into collecting 365 proverbs and I learnt a lot in doing that.
M-J
I’m very excited to purchase this book, and looking forward to using it. I guess it’s open to anything you’d like to put on the blank page, you can diarise certain things, write inspiration, mindfulness?
HK
That’s right, I think it fits in with the theme of Everyday Māori, which is to incorporate the language into every day in some capacity, so it’s open to the user. They can use it to take te reo notes, use it as a diary or journal, but on each page you have a little bit of learning as well.
M-J
For me, I’d be writing the things that happened on that day, such as today we have lemon cake, so I would write keke remana, and that’s something I would remember from today!
HK
With that, I also wanted to leave it very open to how people want to use it, so though there are 365 pages, there are no dates.
M-J
This is a beautiful book; the quality is gorgeous, and it feels substantial with its hardcover. I love the ribbon page marker too. What is your favourite whakatauki in the pukapuka Hēmi?
HK
Well, there are 365 to choose from! One of my favourites is this one:
"Ka mate kāinga tahi ka ora, kāinga rua"
When one home fails, a second will remain. And the meaning behind that is, always have a plan B!
The Whakatauki give us insight into the Māori way of thinking and seeing the world. There is a lot of learning and guidance in there, a lot of ancestral wisdom.
M-J
I love that, it’s really beautiful. Thanks so much for the kōrero today and for sharing your book with us Hēmi, kia ora - Ngā mihi.
