Bilingual school names: supporting te reo Māori and local history

On many occasions, our team works with schools that now have a Māori and an English name. Bilingual names are a valuable way to increase the visibility of te reo Māori.

They can be educational, as they may help us learn the Māori name for an area and its associated local history. Some names reflect epic tales, while others provide a direct translation of a local feature or activity.

Let’s look at some examples below. At the end of this article, we share some useful tips on learning about and adopting a Māori name for your school.

Evans Bay Intermediate School – Te Kura o te Ākautangi

Te Ākautangi is the Māori name for the area around the school. ‘Te ākau’ refers to the coast, and ‘tangi’ speaks to the noise and energy of the wind and waves crashing along the coastline to the north of the school.

Te Kura o Tawatawa – Ridgway School

Tawatawa is the name for a ridge or range from Brooklyn to Taputeranga in Te Whanganui-a-Tara. The name comes from a fishing pā on the Island Bay coast. A pouwhenua in the Tawatawa reserve at Kingston marks an urupā that features the profiles of Te Rauparaha and Te Rangihaeata.

Huntly College – Te Kura Tuarua o Rāhui Pōkeka

Rāhui Pōkeka originates from a time when local lakes were teeming with tuna. When the lakes were overfished, a tohunga placed a rāhui to ensure a sustainable population. He put his pōkeka into the ground to say that until the pōkeka was removed, there would be a rāhui on fishing.

Te Kura Tuarua o Horomaka – Hillmorton High School

This area in Ōtautahi was originally swampy marshland where iwi used local plants, stones, birds, and other resources for sustenance and trade. Horomaka is the name for the entire Banks Peninsula, also known as Te Pātaka-o-Rākaihautū. The school has collaborated with Ngāi Tahu to develop a cultural narrative surrounding local place names and history, just like many schools in Ōtautahi. This has helped kura to understand their local history and the meaning of place names in their area.

Westlake Girls High School – Te Kura Tuarua o Ngā Taitamawāhine o Ururoto

Westlake Boys High School – Te Kura Tuarua o Ngā Taitamatāne o Ururoto

Ururoto refers to a battle that took place at a local crater near Pupukemoana, also known as Lake Pupuke. The schools are located not far from the lake. Notice how the schools use taitamatāne and taitamawāhine to reflect the young men and women they cater to.

Tips on finding local Māori place names

Throughout Aotearoa, there is a rich local history, and discovering local names is an interesting journey that can also be tied to your learning around NZC and ANZH. Engaging with mana whenua is an essential step, and the learning opportunities are endless:

• Work with mana whenua to identify a specific name where needed.
• Involve ākonga in the learning.
• Use your thinking about a bilingual school name as a springboard to a wider reo journey for your school.
• Think about how you can integrate the mahi into your learning about local histories.
  • Investigate how something that can seem small, like place names and our use of everyday language, directly links to the big ideas of the Aotearoa New Zealand Histories:
    • Māori history is the foundational and continuous history of Aotearoa New Zealand
    • Colonisation and settlement have been central to Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories for the past 200 years
    • The course of Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories has been shaped by the use of power
    • Relationships and connections between people and across boundaries have shaped the course of Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories
• Is the name at the exact location of your school? Sometimes there are several local names to learn about.
• Consider these guidelines when designing new signage, logos, and other visual elements.
• For pronunciation, use an audio file like this one at Māori Dictionary (simply click on the audio icon), or create your own high-quality sound file for your school website.
• Think about how waiata and haka can support people to learn and use the Māori name.

Interested in further reo learning? Learn about Whiria te Reo, a self-paced reo programme that includes live webinars.

Sources

Tawatawa history: From forest to farmland to tip

Hillmorton High School | Where it all began

Westlake Girls High School | Student life – Houses

Waikato District Council | Proposed district plan hearing 2 strategic objectives Siska Falconer: Rāhui Pōkeka (PDF)