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Cook Islands Māori L7: Example 2

Example 2: Tere’s hair-cutting ceremony

‘Oe, ‘e Rae, ko Mata tēia. Kite koe ‘ea ‘a te nūti ‘ou? ‘I nana ‘i ‘aere ana mātou ko māmi mā ki tō Tere pākoti ‘anga rauru.

Te tae atu ‘anga mātou, kua kī takere te Tākitumu Hall ‘i te tangata. Kāre e no ‘o ‘anga toe. Pō ‘itirere tikāi au ‘i te ‘āravei ‘anga ‘ia Māmā ‘Ina. Te ‘ākara ‘anga māro ‘iro ‘i nei rāi ‘aia. Aaaa mānea tikāi te ‘akamānea ‘ia ‘anga te hall. Te pāruru ‘te tīvaevae ‘ē te parūnu.

‘I te ‘aere ‘anga mai ‘a Tere ki roto, kāre ‘roa au ‘i kite ē, ‘ea ‘a te kātoatoa ‘i tū ei ki runga, kore ake ‘aia ta ‘i Ariki. Kanga ‘ua!!! Aaaa nā tōna māmā rū ‘au ‘i arataki mai ‘iāia ki roto.

Ūmere tikāi au e kāre ‘a Pāpā Mita ‘i ‘akano ‘o ‘ia ki te kaingākai ō Tere. Karanga mai a māmī, pāpu e riri pa ‘a tō te ngā metua ō Tere ‘iāīa. E tano ei.

Kite koe ‘ea ‘a? ‘E ta ‘i ānere makave rauru i te kātoatoa ‘anga!!! Tō māmīꞌ manako, ‘e ‘anga ‘anga kimi moni ‘ua tēia nō te mea, ‘i te oti ‘anga te au tangata ‘i te pākoti ‘i te rauru, kī tākiri a Tere ‘i te – ‘ei moni ‘ē te tīkiro moni. Turu rāi au ‘i tēra manako.

Tēra ‘ua, pa ‘una rai tāku moni ‘i ‘apai ēi no te mea ‘apinga tikāi te mānga ‘i te reka. Kua peke rāi tāku mānga ‘i te tūtaki. Tā mātou kai īa ‘i teia rā. Te mānga toe nō te pākoti ‘anga ‘rauru.

‘Akatika rai au ki tā māmī ē, e reka ātu rai tō Te ‘ēi pākoti ‘anga rauru.

Context and text type

Mata writes an email to Rae in which she describes Tere’s hair cutting ceremony, which she attended the previous day.

Text type

Email, informal. Receptive.

Observations a student might make concerning:

Information, ideas, and opinions communicated in the text

Mata writes using informal language, for example:

  •  … kore ake ‘aia ta ‘i Ariki.

She describes the ceremony:

  • ‘I te ‘aere ‘anga mai ‘a Tere ki roto, kāre ‘ua āu ‘i kite ē, ‘ea ‘a te katoatoa ‘i tū ei ki runga, kore ake ‘aia ta ‘i Ariki.

She expresses her feelings by, for example, use of exclamations:

  • Kanga ‘ua!!!

She compares her experience with a previous event:

  • … e reka atu rāi tō Te ‘ēi pākoti ‘anga rauru.

She comments on people; for example, when she expresses her opinion about Māmā ‘Ina:

  • Te ‘ākara ‘anga māro ‘iro ‘i nei rāi ‘aia.

She makes both positive and negative statements:

  • Te ‘ākara ‘anga māro ‘iro ‘i nei rāi ‘aia; Kāre ‘e no ‘o ‘anga toe.

How the writer explores the views of others

Mata explains a comment made by someone else:

  • … kī tākiri ‘a Tere ‘i te ‘ei moni ē te tīkiro moni.

She uses a question to explore Rae’s views:

  • Kite koe ‘ēa ‘a?

How the writer develops and shares personal perspectives

Mata uses expressive phrases to communicate her feelings to her reader; for example:

  • Ūmere tikāi au …; Pō ‘itirere tikāi au …

The punctuation, for example, exclamation marks at the end of sentences, shows that the writer is expressing strong feelings:

  • Kanga ‘ua!!!; E ta ‘i ānere makave rauru ‘i te kātoatoa ‘anga!!!

Mata writes as she would speak, using a chatty, conversational style that includes the use of hesitation markers. For example:

  • Aaaa mānea tikāi te ‘akamānea ‘ia ‘anga te hall.

She compares her experience with a previous event:

  • … e reka atu rāi tō Te ‘ēi pākoti ‘anga rauru.

How the writer justifies their own ideas and opinions

Mata points out the consequence of being late:

  • Kāre ‘e no ‘o ‘anga toe.

She explains the value of being at the event:

  • Tēra ‘ua pa ‘una rai tāku moni ‘i ‘apai ei nō te mea ‘apinga tikāi te mānga ‘i te reka.

How the writer supports or challenges the ideas and opinions of others

Mata uses phrases that support the views of others, for example:

  • ‘E tano ei; Turu rāi au; ‘Akatika rāi au.

She supports those who assert that the event raises funds:

  • Turu rai au ‘i tēra manako.

She expresses surprise at some of the things that happened during the ceremony. This is seen, for example, in the sentences that begin:

  • Ūmere tikāi au …; Pō ‘itirere tikāi au …

In expressing her surprise, she shows that her previous understandings have been challenged, and indirectly challenges Rae to reflect on her own experiences (if any) of hair-cutting ceremonies.

By expressing her surprise, Mata indicates that hair-cutting ceremonies are not all the same: how they are carried out varies in the detail.

How the language in the text is organised for the writer’s purpose

Because Mata is writing about an event she has experienced, she mostly uses the past tense. For example:

  • ‘I nana ‘i ‘aere ana mātou ko māmī mā ki tō Tere pākoti ‘anga rauru; Te tae atu ‘anga mātou, kua kī takere te Tākitumu Hall ‘i te tangata.

She gives an informal greeting, just as she would on the phone:

  • ‘Oe, e Rae ko Mata tēia.

She gets into the topic by using a question to stimulate Rae’s interest:

  • Kite koe ‘ea ‘a te nūti ‘ou?

The style and tone of the writing in the email is conversational, so features that are typically used in conversations appear in the email, for example:

  • 'Aaaaaa' (hesitation markers) to indicate a pause for reflection
  • 'Kanga ‘ua!!!' (exclamations) to express feelings
  • 'Kite koe ‘ea ‘a te nūti ‘ou? Kite koe ‘eaꞌa?' (questions) to invite a response in the reader and stimulate their interest in what follows.

Mata writes about an event that is very significant for boys in Cook Islands Māori culture. Mata has not only describes the event, she also records her feelings. For example, she expresses her surprise at something unexpected that happened:

  • Ūmere tikāi au e kāre a Pāpā Mita ‘i ‘akano ‘o ‘ia ki te kaingākai ‘ō Tere.

She ends her email with a statement that sums up her experience:

  • ‘Akatika rāi au ki tā māmī ē, e reka atu rāi tō Te ‘ēi pākoti ‘anga rauru.

Opportunities for developing intercultural communicative competence

Students could investigate further the rituals associated with the hair cutting ceremony in Cook Islands Māori culture, as described in different texts and text types in 'Te Peu Māori Kūki ꞌĀirani'.

Using this knowledge, they could explore ways to communicate information, ideas, and opinions about the ceremony in Cook Islands Māori culture in different text types (oral, written, visual) and for different purposes. Text types could include conversations, letters, interviews, reports, speeches, songs, or stories.

Students could make comparisons with hair cutting ceremonies in other countries, for example, Niuē.

Students could explore the significance of the hair cutting ceremony in Cook Islands Māori culture. For example, there’s an expectation that boys will become leaders and take on family responsibilities. The ceremony helps distinguish the differently defined roles of male and female in the family and community. Students could make connections with comparable significant events in their own cultures.

What values do these events express?

Last updated March 27, 2013



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