What Is A Pepeha? Why Is It Important?
Pepeha is a way of introducing yourself in Māori and the purpose of sharing it with others, is to make connections.
Your pepeha tells people who you are by sharing your connections with the people and places that are important to you. It's like a story that connects you to your waka, your hapū and iwi. It identifies important places like your maunga, awa and marae.
Can Non-Māori Have a Pepeha?
The short answer is yes, but it must be structured differently because within Māori context, a pepeha follows a unique pattern.
A pepeha follows the pattern of maunga, then awa/moana, iwi, hapū, marae because it is following the water cycle. Māori are the indigenous people who are a part and parcel of the environment, especially the water cycle.
Therefore, non-Māori people can not claim a maunga (mountain) from their home country and then claim an awa (river or sea) in New Zealand because the water cycle is not connected to one another and neither is their heritage indigenous to New Zealand.
However, there is a way for non-Māori people to structure a pepeha that allows them to do that in an appropriate and respectful way to both Māori and their own heritage.
Watch Video: Talitha Matiasi educates us on what a pepeha is, why it is important and how you can start crafting and practicing yours!
Pepeha Structure For non-Māori Whanau This pepeha template for our non-Māori whanau, satisfies the needs of making possible connections with people in the audience but does so without misappropriating any Indigenous ties to land, water and air. Keep in mind that the true essence of a pepeha is much more about connections and creating the potential for connections.
Tēnā koutou katoa Ko . . . . . te whakapaparanga mai (engari) Ko . . . . . . te whenua tupu Ko . . . . . . te kāinga Nō . . . . . . au Kei . . . . . . au e noho ana He . . . . . . au i . . . . . . Ko . . . . . . au Tēnā tātou katoa | Greetings . . . . . is my ancestry (but, however) . . . . . (place name) is where I grew up . . . . . . (place) is my home I’m from (place) . . . . . I am living in (place) . . . . . I am a (job title) at (name of work/organisation) I am (name) Greetings to one and all |
Pepeha Structure For Māori Whanau
For Māori, pepeha points to whakapapa (ancestry). Whakapapa speaks to relationships and links with the land, the sea, the environment, our world and the universe. The idea of pepeha is universal. The following is a pepeha template that our Māori whanau can use. Tēnā koutou katoa
Ko . . . . . . . . . . . .te maunga (mountain)
Ko . . . . . . . . . . . . te awa (river)
Ko . . . . . . . . . . . . te waka (canoe)
Ko . . . . . . . . . . . . tōku iwi (tribe)
Ko . . . . . . . . . . . . tōku hapū (sub tribe / clan)
Ko . . . . . . . . . . . . tōku matua (father)
Ko . . . . . . . . . . . . tōku whaea (mother)
Ko . . . . . . . . . . . . . tōku kāinga (place you live)
Ko . . . . . . . . . . . . . tōku ingoa (my name) No reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tatou katoa.
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