Ta Moko

The ta moko (face tattoo) has no relevance in the context of this post, though it does to the person wearing it. It just happens to be a Māori design on a Māori face next to a saying I like, because I like having pictures accompanying my posts.

Worries and Winners of the Week (again!).

You may remember I wanted to name this segment of my website in Māori in recognition that I’m a proud New Zealander. I came up with some words a few weeks ago, but wanted to check that I’d got it right before I used them. So I e-mailed a cousin who speaks Māori fluently and often, including for his job.

A couple of weeks ago we finally caught up in the midst of his globe-trotting. It turns out I could have used the words I was going to, but he came up with some better ones that rhyme, so I’m going with those instead.

Auē a Tau Kē Tēnei Wiki

Auē: (oh-air) alas, for goodness sake, oh dear. It’s often accompanied by a rolling of the eyes, or a good old face palm.

a: (ah) and

Tau Kē: (toe care) Very cool.

Tēnei Wiki: (tair-neigh we-key) This Week.

So from now on, we’ll have:

Auē Tēnei Wiki and Tau Kē Tēnei Wiki, collectively known as Auē a Tau Kē.

Kia Ora (thank you) Richard for your help with this. I appreciate it very much.

If you’d like to know more about Māori pronunciation, check out MāoriLanguage.net.

 

Note: I’ll leave the category “Winners and Worries” in the category list so you don’t have to remember how to spell the Māori words.