Distant voices: how the revival of ta rē Moriori lets us hear the true history of Rēkohu
The second Moriori language week – ta wik’ a ta rē Moriori – celebrates the voices of a people whose rich culture and history were once nearly extinguished.
Rēkohu, also known as the Chatham Islands, is a remote corner of New Zealand, 800 kilometers east of the South Island. Its isolation has contributed to the preservation of the Moriori language and culture, which is now being revitalized. In 2025, the initiative "Ta wik’ a ta rē Moriori" will be launched, with festivities across the land and beyond to honor and revive the Moriori language.
The Moriori language, known as ta rē Moriori, was lost to the Moriori and Aotearoa New Zealand by the beginning of the twentieth century. False narratives spread during the early 20th century claimed that Moriori were a primitive Melanesian people and had been driven from New Zealand to Rēkohu by the racially superior Māori, resulting in their extinction.
In reality, the Moriori arrived directly from Eastern Polynesia and later from Aotearoa New Zealand around the 1400s. The last native speaker of ta rē Moriori, Hirawanu Tapu, died in 1900, having been enslaved by Ngāti Tama and later freed. Tapu's literacy and understanding of both Moriori and te reo Māori made him an influential figure, as he recorded the proceedings of the second great council at Te Awapātiki and prepared a 131-page petition to Governor George Grey in New Zealand.
This petition, written in ta rē Moriori, is historically significant as it records Moriori traditions, genealogies, and opposition to the Māori occupation of Rēkohu. The reawakening of ta rē Moriori is essential for preserving Moriori culture, history, and linguistic diversity.
Written by urgent.news from The Conversation AU's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
