In the first of a Ten One series marking Te Wiki o te Reo M¨¡ori - M¨¡ori Language Week, Sergeant Steve Mariu shares his story of learning te reo and what it has meant in his life and policing career. Click here or scroll down for the English translation.
I noho ia m¨ ana ngahuru tau tuatahi hei pirihimana ki te karo i ng¨¡ huihuinga me ng¨¡ marae, n¨¡ tana wehi ki te tangata e tatari ana kia k¨rero ia i te reo, engari k¨¡ore ¨na reo M¨¡ori.
Heoi an¨, e ai ki a Haihana T¨©pene Mariu, te Pouwhakataki (Iwi Liaison Coordinator) i M¨hua, n¨¡ tana haere ki t¨¥tahi kaupapa ako ia i hiki ki runga kia t¨± m¨¡ia ki te k¨rero, otir¨¡ ki te m¨¡taki hou ki te ao pirihimana. N¨¡ tana rangatira pirihimana i whakaae kia utua te kaupapa ako.
¡°Ehara i te mea ko te reo, ko te ng¨¡kau tonu," tana k¨©.
¡°Ki te tomo atu koe ki te kaupapa, te hokinga mai kua M¨¡ori k¨¥ atu t¨ ng¨¡kau.¡±
He ¨¡piha pirihimana a T¨©pene m¨ te 35 tau. M¨ te nuinga o aua tau i mahi a T¨©pene hei ¨¡piha i te CIB i Counties Manakau. I reira ka kitea ¨¡-kanohitia e ia te tokomaha o ng¨¡i M¨¡ori i roto i ng¨¡ mahi hara - me tana whakaae i ¨¡hua rite tonu t¨¡na titiro makihuhunu ki a ng¨¡i M¨¡ori, ki t¨ ng¨¡ hoa pirihimana P¨¡keh¨¡.
K¨¡tahi ka tahuri a John Tims, te District Commander Superintendent, te Deputy Commissioner in¨¡ianei, ki te whakaae ki t¨¥tahi kaupapa rumaki reo m¨ te tau katoa m¨ T¨©pene me ¨¥tahi hoa mahi e rua, he mea whakahaere e Te W¨¡nanga Takiura i T¨¡makimakaurau.
¡°K¨¡tahi n¨¡ te homaitanga ¨¡taahua," te k¨© a T¨©pene m¨ taua t¨¡paetanga, i utua ai r¨¡tou, me te here kotahi anake, me tuku rawa ¨ r¨¡tou hararei ¨¡-tau kia whakakorea.
Kotahi an¨ te r¨¡ i whakaaetia te reo Pakeh¨¡, ko te r¨¡ 1. Mai i t¨¥r¨¡ w¨¡ ko te reo mai i te 9-3 (ng¨¡ h¨¡ora kura) ¨¡, i muri ka ako m¨ ¨¥tahi h¨¡ora i te p¨, me ¨¥tahi atu h¨¡ora i ng¨¡ mutunga wiki, ki te mahi k¨¡inga i te t¨¥pu o te k¨©hini.
"Kua 50 tau k¨¥ ¨ku tau. He uaua k¨¥ atu taku hopu i te reo," e ai ki a ia.
Ahakoa kua tupu ake ia i t¨¥tahi k¨¡inga M¨¡ori, i tupu mai tana matua me tana koroua i te whakatupuranga i patua r¨¡ i te kura m¨ te k¨rero M¨¡ori.
I tana whakapuaki i tana ng¨¡kau-nui ki te reo i t¨na taiohitanga, ka whakakoretakengia taua whakaaro e tana p¨¡p¨¡. Ka tae tana matua ki te mutunga o ¨na r¨¡, ka whakahau tana p¨¡p¨¡ i a T¨©pene kia kaua ia e haria ki t¨na marae tupuna ki °Õ¨¡±è±ð°ì²¹, ki Waih¨©, i te pito o Taup¨ Moana, i t¨na matenga, engari me pupuru ki te k¨¡inga, kia pai ai te noho a te wh¨¡nau.
N¨¡ tana kore e m¨hio ki te reo, he iti noa te m¨hio ki ng¨¡ tikanga, ki Te Ao M¨¡ori an¨ hoki, te k¨© a T¨©pene.
Kua tae ia ki te tuahiwi o te tau, ka rongo ia i ng¨¡ rerek¨¥tanga whakaroto. I rongo tana wahine i a ia e waiata ana i te m¨¡ra, me tana p¨¡tai, he aha kei te haere. Ng¨¡wari noa te whakautu - "Kua ngohengohe haere taku ng¨¡kau, kua tuwhera mai t¨¥tahi w¨¡hi o roto."
'He rawe ki ahau taku
h¨©koi m¨¡ t¨¥nei ara i
¨¥nei tau.'
I m¨hio hoki ia, i t¨na hokinga ki te mahi, ehara te CIB i te w¨¡hi tika m¨na. Ko tana hiahia k¨¥ kia mahi ia i roto i ng¨¡ mahi ¨¡rai i te hara, ¨¡, i mahi ia i ¨¥tahi t¨±ranga p¨¥r¨¡ p¨¥nei i te Youth Aid, me te mahi pirihimana ¨¡-takiw¨¡ i Papakura, tana maharatanga pai rawa. "Ka noho t¨¥r¨¡ wa hei maharatanga hira rawa atu, mai o taku takahanga tuatahi i te huarahi mahi."
Ka pakari haere ia ki te k¨rero i te reo, ka noho ko te reo tonu hei w¨¡hanga hira o tana mahi.
Kei te maumahara ia ki t¨¥tahi r¨¡ i te anga r¨¡tou ko ana hoa aro¨¡kapa P¨¡keh¨¡ ki te hopu i t¨¥tahi tangata hara M¨¡ori, ko te wh¨¡nau katoa o taua tangata e t¨± ana i te taha, huri noa. Ko ana tamariki ¨¥tahi, ko ana t¨¥ina tu¨¡kana, tu¨¡hine ¨¥tahi. I te h¨©kaka katoa ¨¥tahi ki te whawhai, tana k¨©, te ¨¡hua nei me hopu te katoa.
¡±I k¨rero atu au ki a ia ki te reo 'kua tae mai m¨¡tou ki konei ki te mahi i t¨¡ m¨¡tou mahi. Ki te kaha rawa t¨ reo ka hopukina hoki ¨¥tahi atu t¨¡ngata. Me ¨¡ta noho koe, kia tau te rangim¨¡rie. Whakaarotia, matua.'"
Ko te whakautu a te tangata hara, he k¨© atu ki ana hoa kia tau te rangim¨¡rie, me te tuku i ia kia hopukina.
"I peka atu au ki a ia i te r¨±ma mauhere i muri mai, ¨¡, me tana whakamoemiti ki a au," t¨¡ T¨©pene.
I muri, ka tino pai ake te ¨¡hua o ¨¥r¨¡ tiriti e rua o Papakura, he tiriti i tuwhaina ng¨¡ motok¨¡ Pirihimana e ng¨¡ tamariki i mua.
¡°Ko te whakatau, me heke atu au ki waho i taku motok¨¡ ki te k¨rero ki a r¨¡tou. I roto i ng¨¡ marama e rua kua putaputa mai aua tangata i ¨ r¨¡tou whare ki te k¨rero ki a m¨¡tou. Ko te ¨¡hua o te k¨rero "Matua, ka h¨©koi tahi m¨¡tou me koutou'."
Ehara i te mea ko te matatau o T¨©pene ki te reo anake te mea nui - kua uru ia ki ¨¥tahi atu kaupapa ako - engari he tino kaikauwhau ia kia ako ¨¥tahi atu t¨¡ngata i te reo. E kore e herea ki ana hoa M¨¡ori anake.
Ka noho t¨¥nei hei pou taketake m¨ te mahi whakatika whakaaro h¨¥, tana k¨©, "E m¨hio ana au ka tino hiahia ¨¥tahi o aku hoa mahi P¨¡keh¨¡ ki te takahi i te ara nei.
¡°He rawe ki ahau taku h¨©koi m¨¡ t¨¥nei ara i ¨¥nei tau.¡±
It's not just a language
Gaining a M¨¡ori heart with te reo.
He spent his first few decades as a police officer trying to avoid marae because he feared being expected to speak te reo and he couldn¡¯t.
But Sergeant Steve Mariu, now Pouwhakataki (Iwi Liaison Coordinator) in Tasman, says a course funded by his Police boss not only gave him the confidence to speak but a whole new perspective on policing.
¡°It¡¯s not the reo, it¡¯s the heart,¡± he says.
¡°If you do the course you come away with a M¨¡ori heart.¡±
A police officer for 35 years, Steve spent most of his career in CIB in Counties Manukau. There he saw first-hand the familiar crime statistics relating to M¨¡ori ¨C and acknowledges he shared the same bias towards them as many P¨¡keh¨¡ colleagues.
Then District Commander Superintendent, now Deputy Commissioner, John Tims authorised a full-year immersion course for Steve and two colleagues, run by Auckland-based Te W¨¡nanga o Takiura.
¡°What an absolute gift,¡± Steve says now of the offer which saw them still paid and required only to forego their annual leave.
English was allowed on day one only. Then it was te reo from 9-3 (school hours) followed by several hours each night and even more at weekends doing homework at the kitchen table.
¡°I was 50. It was harder for me to take in,¡± he reckons.
Although he¡¯d grown up in a M¨¡ori home, his father and his grandfather were of the beaten-for-speaking-M¨¡ori-at-school generations.
When as a teenager Steve had expressed an interest in the language, his father had been totally dismissive. Even at the end of his life he told Steve not to take him to °Õ¨¡±è±ð°ì²¹, their home marae at Waihi at the base of Lake Taup¨, when he died but to keep him at home where they¡¯d be comfortable.
Having no te reo also meant having little or no knowledge of tikanga or of Te Ao M¨¡ori, Steve says.
He was about half-way through the course when he knew something in him was changing. His wife heard him singing in the garden and asked him what was going on. The answer was simple ¨C ¡°My heart had softened and opened up.¡±
I've loved going on
this journey, says
Steve.
He also knew, on returning to work, that CIB was no longer the right fit. Instead he wanted to work in prevention, which he did in several roles including Youth Aid and, fondest in his memory, two years in neighbourhood policing in Papakura. ¡°Probably the highlight of my career.¡±
As he gained more confidence in speaking, his newly acquired reo increasingly became part of his work.
He recounts an incident where he was supporting P¨¡keh¨¡ frontline colleagues trying to arrest a M¨¡ori offender, who was surrounded by wh¨¡nau. Some were his children, some his siblings.
All of them were amped, he says, and it seemed as if bulk arrests would be needed.
¡°I said to him in te reo ¡®we are here to do a job. If you keep ramping up it will create a situation where others will be arrested too. You need to be calm. Think about it, m¨¡tua¡¯.¡±
The offender responded by telling those supporting him to be calm, before allowing himself to be arrested.
¡°I visited him in the cells later and he thanked me,¡± Steve says.
It also helped bring about a turnaround in Papakura¡¯s two most notorious streets, where attitudes to Police were so entrenched that kids would routinely spit at Police cars.
¡°I decided to get out of the car and talk to them. Within two months people would come out of their houses and talk to us. Then it was ¡®M¨¡tua, we will walk with you¡¯.¡±
Steve is not only now fluent ¨C he has done further courses ¨C but also a passionate advocate for others learning te reo. And he¡¯s not restricting that to M¨¡ori colleagues.
It would go a long way towards addressing bias, he says, ¡°And I know many of my P¨¡keh¨¡ colleagues would love to have the opportunity.
¡°I have loved going on this journey.¡±