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National | 100% te reo māori episodes

New Māori animation - The adventures of Kupe and Niwa

The creator of a new Māori animation programme based on Kupe hopes to turn it into a web series.  The author of 'the adventures of Kupe and Niwa', Dr. Rapata Wiri wants to see more Māori language animation resources.

For the last six months, Māori language linguistic Dr. Wiri has dedicated his time to completing a pilot Māori language animation resource.

“I believe that there are only two types of Māori animation programmes available, 'Sponge Bob' and 'Dora the Explorer', there's not enough animations from a Māori perspective,” says Dr. Wiri.

The animation is based on Kupe a key explorer of the Māori world and Niwa, Niwa being one of the protectors who guided Kupe to New Zealand.  While the main focus is about promoting and revitalising the Maori language, the images are sure to impress.

Dr. Wiri says “the animation firstly is for children who attend Kōhanga, Māori medium level schooling and for those who love the Maōri language.