Immersed in reo

Hona Black's first book tackled metaphors; his second tackles humour. At the heart of both is tīkanga.

- ELISABETH EASTHER

Hona Black (Ngāi Tūhoe, Te Whānau à Apanui, Ngāti Tūwharetoa) is a lecturer at Te Pūtahi-a-Toi: School of Mäori Knowledge at Massey University. Black's first book, He Iti te Kupu: Māori Metaphors and Similes, has been extended in a second volume, Te Reo Kapekape; Māori Wit and Humour.

Did you grow up speaking te reo Māori, or are you more of a Renaissance man?

We spoke only te reo Māori when I was growing up in Palmerston North in the 1990s. It started at home, then kōhanga, then kura kaupapa. I didn't learn English until I was about 11, when I started having English classes at school.

Had your parents been on a similar linguistic path?

Dad was raised in Ruatoki, in the Bay of Plenty, and his mother was very staunch about ensuring only te reo Māori was spoken in their family. Although my mum is Pākehā, when she met my dad, she also learnt te reo Māori, as there was an expectation that all the grandchildren on Dad's side would speak it as our first language.

Your grandmother must have been very determined. What was her story?

My grandmother dedicated her life to the language, and she taught all her life, including at Otago University. According to Dad, there was just one rule his mother insisted on. Whenever you came into her house, when you passed through those doors, you spoke only te reo Māori. She also wrote many songs for my auntie, Whirimako Black.

Did you ever register any criticism, or disapproval, to your full immersion back in the 90s?

Our world was so protective, we never felt any negativity. It was as if we lived in a bubble. All our mates were Māori, we were surrounded by a really strong community, and during school holidays we always went to Dad's whānau in Ruatoki, so from one Mãori-speaking community to another.