Kia whakahokia mai te reo ki a au

This project focuses on the reclamation and reassertion of ancestral Māori naming practices and the role of Māori personal names in strengthening identity, language and mātauranga Māori.

Led by Dr Hotukura Wharehoka, the research culminated in the publication Kia whakahokia mai te reo ki a au. Written entirely in te reo Māori, the book brings together seven powerful narratives exploring the renaming and reclamation journeys of champions of te reo Māori. Their stories are expressions of resistance, liberation and healing, demonstrating how reclaiming Māori names can strengthen not only individuals, but whānau and future generations.

The publication extends the reach and impact of the original research, contributing to the normalisation and regeneration of te reo Māori and ancestral knowledge. It also creates space for wāhine Māori voices within the te reo Māori literary landscape and offers reo learners an opportunity to engage with language that is conversational, natural and free-flowing.

Through these stories, the project affirms the right of Māori to reclaim ancestral names, knowledge and identity, and to live confidently as Māori in the world.

This research was funded by Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga through a postdoctoral project. The publication of Kia whakahokia mai te reo ki a au was supported by a Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga Whakaaweawe Impact and Transformation Grant.

Dr Wharehoka’s Reflections -

The Whakaaweawe grant enabled me to write my first publication entirely in te reo Māori - something I don’t think I would have pushed to do without this funding. The grant provided the time, space, and permission to reconnect with my reo in a deeply intentional way. As wāhine, we often find ourselves using our reo in functional or caregiving contexts—advising, guiding, or teaching our tamariki. This project allowed me to inhabit te reo differently: to theorise, to connect and recruit, to collect and share stories, and to write academically in Māori as part of an everyday scholarly practice. 

I am grateful for the level of intimacy I was able to attain with my reo during this project. I was able to think about and translate my doctoral research using a Māori worldview even though that work was originally written in English, which stretched an entirely new muscle for me. Moreover, I was able to speak exclusively in te reo Māori to my poukōrero throughout the whole postdoc project, right up until we released this publication together. The title of this book also became the overall theme of this project, but for me as an academic, it was the returning of te reo to my fingertips and the gifting of te reo into my professional life.

Activities

Wharehoka, H. (2026). Te ao o te tamaiti, te ingoa o te tamaiti. Te Ao o te Tamaiti Symposium. Ngā Puna Reo o Aotearoa. Held at The Distinction Hotel, Hamilton, NZ

Wharehoka, H. (2025). Kia whakahokia mai te reo ki a au: The launch. MAI ki Taranaki Whānui Symposium. Tu Tama Wahine o Taranaki. Held at Novotel Hotel, New Plymouth, NZ

Seed-Pihama, J. (2022). The importance of Māori personal names and the transformative potential of our naming stories - what you need to know as Kaiako. NZEI Te Riu Roa. Te Māngai Māori o Waikato. Held at Trust Waikato, Hamilton, NZ

Seed-Pihama, J. (2019). Ko wai tō ingoa: Tū Māori ki Taranaki. Tū Māori ki Taranaki: International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples. Held at Copthorne Hotel, New Plymouth, NZ.

Seed-Pihama, J. (2019). “Placing names, naming places: Mātauranga Māori and journeys of transformation”. In He Au Honua: Indigenous Research Conference. Held at University of Hawai’i, Maui College, Maui, Hawai’i.

Contributors

Dr Hotukura Wharehoka

Additional links and publications

PDF Book

e-book link via Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga website: https://maramatanga.co.nz/project/24WHA19