Mihi whakatau
A mihi whakatau is a general welcome in M膩ori. It's less formal than a p艒whiri. Generally it will gather everyone together without a karanga (greeting call or incantation), and it will start with a whaik艒rero (speech). After the hosts have delivered their whaik艒rero, the visitors do not need to respond unless there is someone within the visiting group who can respond appropriately.
You can find out more about mihi whakatau in our cultural guidelines handbook.
Mihimihi
A mihimihi is when all participants at an event introduce themselves (whakawh膩naungatanga) and establish links with each other. Mihimihi greetings can be formal or informal, and are usually done at the beginning of any hui or gathering.
You can start off with a simple mihimihi and add more to it as your language progresses.聽We've created a guide to help you structure a simple, informal mihimihi 鈥 choose phrases from the options provided to create yours.
| Mihimihi structure | Mihimihi phrases in te reo M膩ori |
|---|---|
| Tuwheratanga (opening statement) |
a. T膿n膩 koutou katoa. b. T膿n膩 koutou e aku rangatira. |
| Ng膩 mate (acknowledging the deceased) |
a. Tuarua, ki ng膩 mate, haere, haere, haere atu r膩. b. Ki ng膩 tini aitua, haere, haere, whakangaro atu r膩. |
| Tangata whenua (acknowledging local iwi) |
a. Ka mihi ki te iwi k膩inga, ki a 锛匡伎锛 b. He mihi ki te iwi e tau nei, 锛匡伎锛 t膿n膩 koutou. |
| Te roopu/wh膩nau (acknowledging those present) |
a. Ki a t膩tou e tau nei, kia ora. b. Ki a t膩tou e tau nei, ka nui taku mihi. |
| Whakakapi (conclusion) |
a. T膿n膩 koutou, t膿n膩 koutou, t膿n膩 t膩tou katoa. b. N艒 reira e hoa m膩, me mutu i konei. |
Introduce yourself with a pepeha
Introducing yourself is an important aspect of te ao M膩ori, as it lets us draw connections with each other. You can introduce yourself with a pepeha as part of your mihimihi. , provided by Te Rangaihi Reo Maori assists you in learning your mihi to introduce yourself .
| M膩ori phrase | English phrase |
|---|---|
| Ko 锛匡伎锛 te waka | My canoe is [name of your waka] |
| Ko 锛匡伎锛 te maunga | My mountain is [name of your mountain] |
| Ko 锛匡伎锛 te awa | My river is [name of your river] |
| Ko 锛匡伎锛 te iwi | My tribe is [name of your tribe] |
| Ko 锛匡伎锛 te hap奴 | My sub tribe is [name of your sub tribe] |
| Ko 锛匡伎锛 te rangatira | [Name of your chief] is the chief |
| Ko 锛匡伎锛 te marae | My marae is [name of your marae] |
| Ko 锛匡伎锛 ahau | I am [your name] |