Distant voices: how the revival of ta rē Moriori lets us hear the true history of Rēkohu

On a current expedition to Rēkohu, I had actually prepared for seeing plants and animals discovered just in these remote islands, however I had actually ignored its abundant history and lively cultural landscape till I stepped onto the Kōpinga Marae.

On a wall embellished with Moriori carvings and photos of karāpuna (forefathers) is a framed file– an apology.

Signed by Andrew Little, previous minister for Treaty of Waitangi settlements, it acknowledges how “historic Crown actions or omissions triggered bias to Moriori and breached the Treaty of Waitangi and its concepts”.

Dated February 14 2020, the apology information the Crown’s failure to secure Moriori, launch them from enslavement and attend to the dispossession of their land. It referrals the Colonial Museum’s elimination of, and sell, kōimi t’chakat Moriori (human remains).

The Crown likewise apologised for its function in propagating the incorrect history that Moriori were extinct and had actually been a racially inferior individuals– and for the violence and enslavement that triggered the loss of language:

By the start of the twentieth century ta rē Moriori (the Moriori language) as a living language had actually been lost to Moriori and Aotearoa New Zealand. For its failure to actively safeguard this miheke (taonga), the Crown apologises truly.

Incorrect histories

Rēkohu– the Chatham Islands in English, Wharekauri in te reo Māori– is a little corner of Aotearoa New Zealand, 800 kilometres east of the South Island. Its seclusion certainly added to the perseverance of this legendary history.

The incorrect story was spread out through the quarterly New Zealand School Journaldeveloped by the Department of Education in 1907 and dispersed to kids aged 7 to 13. The effort of the inspector-general of schools George Hogben, it was an alternative to different books for history, location and civics.

In July 1916, the journal released “The Passing of the Mouriuri” (sic), a post declaring the Moriori were a primitive Melanesian individuals at the bottom of a racial hierarchy.

It promoted the misconception they had actually been driven from Aotearoa New Zealand to Rēkohu by the racially exceptional Māori. In this variation, the 1835 Māori intrusion of Rēkohu led to the termination of the Moriori.

According to their own customs, the very first Moriori got here straight from Eastern Polynesiaand later on from Aotearoa New Zealand around the 1400s.

The contrived non-history notified the method generations of schoolchildren found out about the Moriori up until a modified set of journals was released with a right account in 2010.

Find out more: Waking a sleeping language– our strategy to restore the speaking of ta rē Moriori

The voice of Moriori

Among the last native speakers of ta rē Moriori, Hirawanu Tapupassed away in 1900. He was 11 when raiders from Ngāti Mutunga and Ngāti Tama attacked Rēkohu 1835.

Tapu was shackled by Ngāti Tama till 1860 when he was released. He ended up being a prominent figure due to the fact that he was literate and comprehended ta rē Moriori, was proficient in te reo Māori and spoke some English.

In 1862, he functioned as a de facto leader of the Moriori and tape-recorded the procedures of the 2nd excellent council at Te Awapātiki.

With Moriori seniors, Tapu prepared a 131-page petition to Governor George Grey in New Zealand that comprehensive Moriori customs, genealogies and their opposition to the Māori profession of Rēkohu.

A note consisted of with the petition in ta rē Moriori stressed the value of language to Moriori:

Ko te reo tenei o nga Moriori ara o nga tangata o tenei motu o Rekohu nei ko tona reo tipu ake (This is the voice of Moriori, that is, of individuals of this island, of Rekohu. It is their genuine language).

The petition is traditionally substantial as one of the couple of files that taped ta rē Moriori, Moriori oral customs and history. A collective job at the University of Auckland and the Hokotehi Moriori Trust has actually worked to recuperate the grammar and residential or commercial properties of ta rē Moriori from texts like this.

Structure on this development, the trust released the very first Ta wik’ a ta rē Moriori (Moriori language weekin 2025. Promotion for this year’s occasion, starting October 12, guarantees it will be “filled with celebrations throughout the motchuand beyond, honouring and revitalising ta rē Moriori”.

Momentum and conservation

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) approximates 40% of the world’s 7,000 languages are threatenedwith approximately one language vanishing every 2 weeks.

Language loss is not almost changing one methods of interaction with another. It implies the cultural and intellectual heritage of those neighborhoods are at threat of vanishing.

Reconnecting with inactive languages brings back connections with culture and history. On Rēkohu, the rekindling of ta rē Moriori likewise benefits Aotearoa New Zealand– through linguistic variety and by supplying a brand-new viewpoint on early history.

In 2024, a double-hulled canoe now referred to as the Rangihoua Waka was found on Rēkohu. Radiocarbon screening of samples from the waka show the products date from 1440-1470. This makes it among the most crucial historical discovers in Aotearoa New Zealand– although the federal government has actually stated financing is not readily available to finish the excavation.

At the mouth of a river, the website is susceptible to storm damage from wind and waves. Partial excavation might likewise trigger destruction through direct exposure to the air till the historical work is ended up.

In some methods, it is a metaphor for the language, too. Efforts such as Ta wik’ a ta rē Moriori and the untapped capacity of the Rangihoua Waka website are a possibility to create a restored interest in the history and culture of Rēkohu, and motivate their conservation for future generations.