Immersed in te reo / Rumaki reo

The chance to take on the study full-time, while still being paid by the Air Force has meant the pair has been able to fully embrace the language and everything it brings with it.

“The reason I took on the course was for my own cultural identity. The true benefit for me is more self-discovery and to broaden my language competency,”

CPL Naden said. “Learning about tikanga and reclaiming my language has made me the happiest I have ever been,” said CPL Naden.

SGT Paora said she felt there aren’t many people in the Air Force who speak te reo Māori, whakaaro Māori (think) and know tikanga Māori (customs).

“I really want to strengthen all aspects of my Māori competency and be in more of a position to give it back to the Air Force community, so as to normalise it within day-to-day Air Force life. There are so many beautiful practices and ways of thinking within te ao Māori which I think the Air Force can really benefit from.”

As Matariki passes, both CPL Naden and SGT Paora said this year has felt different after learning more about the celebration.

CPL Naden said she now had a proper understanding of the significance it has to Māori.

“I knew about the stars and which star is which – they all have their own names and mana, but I didn’t properly understand how to look for the signs, what they look like and how they relate to you and your iwi.

“I knew it was a marker of a new year in te ao Māori however, I didn’t really know how to celebrate it, other than going out and having a look at the stars. There are certain signs that you look for and they correlate to different parts of your environment, the taiao,” she said.

“It’s also about the moon and everything the environment signals to you – the way the environment changes and the different phases of the moon and the position of the sun.

It makes you realise how incredible our ancestors were. Now that we have this knowledge and it has been recognised and will be a public holiday, we can celebrate it genuinely.”

SGT Paora said she felt more informed about how Matariki involved everything in the environment and how her ancestors operated.

“It’s been an amazing journey learning about Matariki and the insight it gives into the life our ancestors lived. They lived according to the environment – there were no clocks or Monday–Sunday calendars prior to colonisation. I’m really pleased Matariki will be a public holiday next year  - I would love for everyone in Aotearoa to learn about it and celebrate it.”

“Ko te mātauranga e kore e toha, kāore i te mātauranga”

Knowledge that isn’t shared, isn’t knowledge.

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Kua whiwhi a Corporal (CPL) Te Rina Naden (Te Aitanga a Hauiti) rāua ko Sergeant Mikayla Paora (Ngā Puhi, Tainui) i te whiwhinga mahi ki te ako rumaki reo i tēnei tau kei Te Wānanga Takiura o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori o Aotearoa kei Tāmaki Makaurau.