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Reviving Ta Rē Moriori w/ Hokotehi Moriori Heritage Trust: August 26, 2021

Reviving Ta Rē Moriori w/ Hokotehi Moriori Heritage Trust: August 26, 2021

Reviving Ta Rē Moriori w/ Hokotehi Moriori Heritage Trust: August 26, 2021 Reviving Ta Rē Moriori w/ Hokotehi Moriori Heritage Trust: August 26, 2021, 11.11 MB
Thursday, August 26, 2021

Ta Rē Morori is the language of the Moriori people who, according to oral history, travelled to Aotearoa New Zealand hundreds of years ago from Eastern Polynesia and settled in Rēkohu - the Chatham Islands. The last fluent speakers of ta rē Moriori passed away in the very early 1900s but a lot of work has been done to preserve the language. 

Last week, the Ministry of Education published five e-books written entirely in ta rē Moriori on their website. News and Editorial Director Jemima Huston heard about this project and wanted to speak to someone about how it came about.

Jemima interviews Susan Thorpe, who is the Cultural Projects Manager at the Hokotehi Moriori Heritage Trust about how the e-books were created. The interview becomes a broader conversation about the efforts that have been made in the past and the present to revive ta rē Moriori, as well as the battle to have the history of Moriori recognised and better understood by people in Aotearoa and across the world.

If you are interested in reading or looking at the ta rē Moriori e-books, please head to the Ministry of Education website here