Thursday 17 February 2022 11:03am
Reverend Dr Wayne Te Kaawa at the launch of the new Māori language bible
Reverend Dr Wayne Te Kaawa says it is an honour to have the brand-new bilingual Te Paipera Tapu/Māori Language Bible launched at his Summer School paper.
“I was there in the beginning, have followed the project and am there to see it completed, blessed and launched.
“In a sense, I have become part of this wonderful history and legacy,” he says.
Rev Te Kaawa (Tūwharetoa ki Kawerau, Ngāi Tūhoe and Ngāti Awa), who is a Theology Lecturer and Supervisor at the University of Otago, first met with the Bible Society NZ, along with other Māori church leaders, to discuss bible retranslation projects in 2009.
A booklet of selected passages from the bible was one of the first publications in te reo Māori, in 1827, but they decided it was time to retranslate it into contemporary Māori.
“We recognised that the Māori language has developed and changed in the last 194 years,” he says.
“All languages are dynamic, constantly changing and expanding. The Māori language of 1827 has changed considerably, and it is important to keep pace with the changes in the language.”
The latest edition released by the society runs the 2012 Paipera Tapu text alongside the new revised standard version in English.
Rev Te Kaawa was a part of the committee that supported the 2012 Paipera Tapu project, which saw macrons added, which were not in previous Māori Bible publications, as well as paragraphs and section headings.
He says it was an honour and surprise when the society asked if they could launch the bible as a part of his 2022 summer paper Christian ministry in te ao Māori (the Māori World) – a 5-day intensive course in Gisborne.
“This new bible will not only be popular with te Reo speakers, but also greatly benefits those learning the language,” he says.
The range of designs for the new bible
The launch was held at the Holy Trinity Church in January and the proceedings were overseen by Archbishop Don Tamihere, of Te Pihopatanga o Aotearoa.
It was attended by Rev Te Kaawa, the 30 students enrolled in his paper, leaders and staff of the Bible Society NZ, the translators, advisors, and supporters.
Rev Te Kaawa says it was a “mind-blowing” day.
“Despite Te Paipera Tapu being one of the first books written in te reo Māori, it is not often recognised,” he says.
“We teach the English, Hebrew and Greek language bibles but not the Māori Bible.
“These texts are seminal texts for studying theology, but not the Māori Bible. In its own country it should be better recognised and used.”
Of the 30 students enrolled in the summer paper, seven of those are Māori, the most ever in an Otago theology paper, Rev Te Kaawa says.
The bilingual Te Paipera Tapu was used as the paper’s preferred text.