Finding the Language

Rip It Up, Issue 210, 1 February 1995, Page 8

Finding the Language

For the past four years Aperahama has taught total immersion Maori in Wanganui. Despite the enthusiastic hordes inside the classroom, he felt a generation of Maori weren’t being given the opportunity to learn their culture. ‘Ka Tangi te Tiitii Ka Tangi te Kaakaa’ was written as a direct message to Maori kids who are constantly spoon-fed a diet of American culture.

“Young Maori people have denied their identity because they are persecuted for it when they’re growing up. They lack role models, so they look to overseas to the American rappers. There’s a great need to capture the youth of this country. To do that, the Maori culture has to be made hip for them. Now, the only way to do that is to make it hip overseas.”

In the same way that Once Were Warriors has been embraced by critics and the public in other countries, Aperahama believes if elements of Maori culture were also seized upon, young Maori would begin to show interest. Until then, he says, many Maori in this country don’t even deserve the description.

“There are people in this country who are brown-skinned. You might say: ‘That’s a Maori.’ I say: ‘No, that’s a brown-skinned person.’ Being a Maori is about knowing your culture.”

JOHN RUSSELL