🏔️ Tōku Pepeha — My Pepeha

Build your pepeha step by step

Student Name:

Date:

🏔️

1. Tōku Maunga — My Mountain

What mountain do you connect to? This could be a mountain near where you live, where your family is from, or one that's significant to you.

Ko tōku maunga.

💡 Ko = "koh" | tōku = "toh-koo" | maunga = "mow-nga"

🌊

2. Tōku Awa — My River

What river flows near your home or holds significance to your whānau?

Ko tōku awa.

💡 awa = "ah-wah"

🛶

3. Tōku Waka — My Ancestral Canoe

If you know your iwi, you may know your ancestral waka. Ask your whānau, or research your iwi's waka.

Ko tōku waka.

💡 Common waka: Tainui, Te Arawa, Ngātokimatawhaorua, Mataatua, Takitimu, Horouta, Kurahaupō

👥

4. Tōku Iwi — My Tribe

Your iwi is your tribe. If you don't know your iwi, you can skip this line or ask whānau.

Ko tōku iwi.

💡 iwi = "ee-wee"

👪

5. Tōku Hapū — My Sub-tribe

Your hapū is like an extended family within your iwi. This is optional if you don't know it.

Ko tōku hapū.

💡 hapū = "hah-poo"

📍

6. Nō hea ahau — Where I'm From

This is where you're from — your hometown, city, or country.

Nō ahau.

💡 Nō = "noh" | ahau = "ah-how"

🙋

7. Tōku Ingoa — My Name

Your name! Say it proudly.

Ko tōku ingoa.

💡 ingoa = "ee-ngoh-ah"

✨ Tōku Pepeha — My Complete Pepeha

Ko ______ tōku maunga.
Ko ______ tōku awa.
Ko ______ tōku waka.
Ko ______ tōku iwi.
Ko ______ tōku hapū.
Nō ______ ahau.
Ko ______ tōku ingoa.

💡 Tips for Delivering Your Pepeha

Stand tall — pepeha is a proud statement of who you are
Speak clearly — take your time with pronunciation
Make eye contact — connect with your audience
Use gestures — point towards your maunga direction if you know it
End with confidence — "Tēnā koutou" (greetings to you all)

📋 Teacher Planning Snapshot

Ngā Whāinga Ako — Learning Intentions

Students will engage with this resource to craft and perform their personal pepeha — the traditional introduction that locates a person within their whakapapa, connecting maunga, awa, waka, iwi, hapū, and ingoa. Pepeha is one of the most important communicative acts in Te Ao Māori: it establishes identity, relationship, and belonging.

Ngā Paearu Angitū — Success Criteria

✅ Students can recite or write their personal pepeha using the correct structural elements with accurate pronunciation.
✅ Students can explain the significance of each element of their pepeha — why maunga, awa, waka, iwi, hapū, and ingoa matter as identity markers.

Differentiation & Inclusion

Scaffold support: Provide pepeha sentence frames with blanks for students to complete at the entry level. For students without known iwi or whakapapa connections — due to adoption, Pākehā or non-Māori heritage, or other circumstances — offer a mihimihi alternative that connects to their place, school, and whānau. Extend students who have completed their pepeha by asking them to research the history and significance of their maunga or awa.

ELL / ESOL: Pepeha is a context where home-language connection is a strength, not a barrier — encourage students to reflect on equivalent identity-introduction forms in their own cultural traditions. Pre-teach key kupu (maunga = mountain, awa = river, waka = canoe/ancestral vessel, iwi = tribe, hapū = subtribe, ingoa = name). Model pronunciation using te reo Māori audio resources.

Inclusion: Some students may have complex relationships to identity — adoption, disconnection from whakapapa, or non-Māori backgrounds. Create a safe, non-judgemental space where all identity expressions are honoured. Neurodiverse learners benefit from visual pepeha maps (name → maunga → awa → waka → iwi → hapū → ingoa as a connected diagram). Oral performance can be adapted — some students may prefer written or recorded formats.

Mātauranga Māori lens: Pepeha is not a language exercise — it is a relational and philosophical act. It expresses the understanding that people do not exist as isolated individuals: we are located in landscape, whakapapa, and community. Ko au ko te maunga, ko te maunga ko au — I am the mountain, the mountain is me. This reciprocal relationship between person and place is foundational to Te Ao Māori. Teaching pepeha is teaching identity, belonging, and mana.

Prior knowledge: No prior te reo Māori knowledge required. Students benefit from a brief class discussion about identity and what makes us who we are before beginning their pepeha.

Curriculum alignment

Te Reo Māori — Communicating: Introduce themselves and others using personal information, including pepeha and mihimihi, drawing on knowledge of their own identity and connections to place.
Identity, Culture, and Organisation: Understand how identity is shaped by connections to place, whakapapa, and cultural community — and how these connections are expressed through tikanga Māori.