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Kia ora koutou. Nau mai, haere mai ki te Mahuru Māori (Māori language month).

Mahuru Māori (the 7th of September through to the 6th of October), and Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, which runs from the 13th to the 19th of September.

Today, you will find a fun challenge to embark on which will run for the duration of Mahuru Māori. ​​​​​​​

​​​​In Aotearoa we have a Māori place name that takes the honour of being the longest place name in the world:

Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu

Phew!

Like all Māori place names – it tells a story about a moment in history that happened in that place.

This story tells us about a man named ‘Tamatea’.

Tamatea was known as a great land traveller who claimed and named a lot of significant landmarks on his journeys; thus he was known as ‘Tamatea-Pōkai-Whenua’.

He was also known for his ‘big knees’ – his ‘turi pūkaka’.

At this large hill in Pōrangahau in the Hawkes Bay, Tamatea climbed and clambered his way (‘piki maunga’, ‘horo nuku’) to the summit (‘taumata’), where he played (‘whakatangihanga) his flute (‘kōauau’) for his sweetheart (‘tana tahu’).

Put it all together and we get:

Taumata-whakatangihanga-kōauau-o-Tamatea-turi_pūkaka-piki_maunga-horo_nuku-pōkai_whenua-ki_tana_tahu​​​​​​​

See below on how to sign it