The Value of the Māori Language and Mātauranga Māori

The value of the Māori language is not so much that we can say the same things in Māori that we may say in English but because the Māori language is a vehicle into a distinctive way of thinking and experiencing life (worldview). 

Similarly our desire for mātauranga Māori and Māori cultural knowledge is not so that we may distinguish ourselves from 'Pākehā' but rather to be able to enjoy a vision and experience of life that was first imagined by our forebears and related by them in their language, their knowledge, their songs, their stories, their genealogies and much more. 

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