This year my work have started Kupu Hou (Word of the Week). There have been three so far:
Whānau (pronounced Far-no)
Whānau refers to family. For Māori, whānau might be used to describe mum, dad, grandparents, brothers and sisters. It can also be used to describe great grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews, grandchildren and everyone they are related to. The word whānau can also be used to describe a group of un-related people brought together for a specific task.
|
|
Mana (pronounced mah-nah) - prestige, authority, control, power, influence, status, spiritual power, charisma.
Mana is a supernatural force within a person, place or object. The more prestigious the event, person or object, the more it is surrounded by mana. Mana is displayed by people who lead, organise and regulate communal activities and make decisions regarding social and political matters. A person or tribe's mana can increase with success. Mana empowers chiefs and in turn spreads to his/her people, their land, water and resources. Almost every activity has a link with the maintenance and enhancement of mana.
|
|
Manaaki (pronounced mah-nar-key) - to support, take care of, give hospitality to, protect, look out for - show respect, generosity and care for others.
To manaaki our patients, their family, whānau and colleagues is at the core of what we do in the healthcare sector. Manaaki can be displayed by, but not limited to, warmly greeting someone, an act of service, an act of kindness, listening with intent, giving a koha (gift) or even sharing kai. This is anything nice someone does for you that would give you what can be described as 'the warm fuzzies'. Many Māori take great pride in the way they manaaki the people around them and greatly respect others who manaaki them the same way.
|
|
