Kōrero Mai

By now you’ve probably heard we’ve got a new name. 
We’re still WSU, but now we also carry our ingoa Māori, Te Awa Kōtui. 

This didn’t happen overnight. WSU has been working towards an ingoa Māori that truly reflects us and our tauira for a long time, across multiple boards. I also want to acknowledge the presidents, vice presidents, VP Māori, and life members who contributed along the way. Some are still here supporting tauira, others have moved into different spaces, but all are part of this journey. 

At first, we thought this would be easy. We’d go to Matua Tom Roa, he’d give us a name, we’d say thank you, and we’d be in business. Easy-peasy…Not even close. 

We went to see him, and instead of giving us a name, he turned it back on us. He said the ingoa should come from us and reflect our tauira and what we stand for. Then he gave us a whakataukī: “Kotahi te kohao o te ngira, e uru ai te miro mā, te miro whero me te miro pango” — there is but one eye of the needle through which the white, red, and black threads go through, and then he sent us on our way. 

At first, it was all over the place. Lots of ideas, not all great. A few debates. At one point, someone used a permanent marker to add all our ideas onto Seamus Lohrey’s whiteboard, which stayed there for months. 

That whakataukī kept coming back: the idea of different threads coming through the same space, different tauira, different backgrounds, but still connected. 

Another whakataukī also guided us: He waka kōtui kāore e tukutukua ngā mimira, a canoe that is bound together will not split. 

From there, we came up with a few ideas and took them back to Matua Tom, explaining each one and its meaning. One stood out. Matua Tom smiled and said, “Well, I think you have your ingoa.” 

So, here’s that explanation. Te Awa pays tribute to the Waikato, the awa that flows through this land and nourishes its people. It also represents our tauira, always learning, always changing, always moving forward. Kōtui means to weave together, speaking to the weaving of stories, people, and dreams. 

Long story long, we now have a name that some may find tricky to say, but it’s way cooler. 

Tauira Māori on campus  

Māne (Monday) 

• Te Kauru – Oho Mauri | 6:30am – 9:00am, Te Kohinga Mārama 

• Te Whakahiapo – Hīkoi Haere | 9:00am, meet outside Te Kohinga Mārama (straight after Oho Mauri) 

Tūrei (Tuesday) 

• Te Kauru x Te Ranga Ngaku – Rā Hākinakina | 2:30pm – 4:30pm (i te taha o Te Ranga Ngaku) 

• Te Whakahiapo – Study Wā | 4:00pm – 6:00pm, MSB.0.22 

• Te Ranga Ngaku – Study Wā | 4:00pm – 6:00pm, Pūtikitiki 

Wenerei (Wednesday) 

• Te Waiora – Cultural Hour | 1:00pm – 2:00pm, Ko Te Tangata  

Reo Māori Phrases of the Week 

Want to know how to introduce yourself? Here’s a few ways. 

• Ko ____ tōku ingoa – My name is ___ 

(koh ____ toh-koo ing-oh-ah) 

• Nō ____ ōku tīpuna – My ancestors are from ___ 

(noh ____ oh-koo tee-poo-nah) 

• Kei te noho au ki ____ – I live in ___ 

(kay teh naw-haw ow kee ____) 

• Ko ____ taku tino kai – My favourite food is ___ 

(koh ____ tah-koo tee-naw kai) 

• Kei te ako au i te ____ – I am studying ___ 

(kay teh ah-kaw ah-hau ee teh ____)