Ngā mihi nui. Ko tēnei Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori. It's Māori Language Week and at Mighty Ape we will be marking the occasion in several ways.

First of all, have you noticed anything different about our logo? Makimaki Toa is a name that we have created to represent Mighty Ape in te reo Māori.

The name is comprised of Makimaki meaning ape or monkey, and Toa meaning mighty, brave, champion, warrior, etc. Coincidentally “Toa” also means shop or store. We did consider other options for “Mighty” including kaha (strong), nui (big, great), and wewehi (awesome) but decided that toa was the best fit because it looked the part visually, and the double meaning of mighty and shop was perfect.

Why are we doing this? Mighty Ape is a New Zealand-owned company, something that we are very proud of, so it makes sense that we celebrate te reo Māori, the first language of Aotearoa (New Zealand), and an important part of our nation's identity and history. Te reo Māori is an ātaahua (beautiful) and poetic language that has faced many threats to its existence. By supporting the reo we are playing our part in normalising it, and ensuring the survival of this precious taonga (treasure) for future generations.

Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori (Māori Language Week) presents us with a challenge to increase our use of the reo (language) and we're happy to accept the wero (challenge). So in the spirit of that you will notice some more kupu Māori (Māori words) on our Pukamata (Facebook), Pae Tīhau (Twitter), and īmēra (emails) this week. Check out our video below where we introduce you to some kupu hou (new words) that are relevant to online shopping and Mighty Ape; or rather Makimaki Toa!

If you are interested in learning or improving your te reo Māori we've got some great books, movies, music, toys, and more listed on our site including the popular recent release Māori at Home. Another great online resource is Māori Dictionary. There are also several institutions where you can take courses for free including AUT and Te Wānanga o Aotearoa.

We hope that you enjoy Te Wiki o Te Reo and learn something new. We intend to build on our knowledge more so that we can use te reo more regularly into the future. So if you have any kupu or phrases that are relevant to Mighty Ape and online shopping feel free to let us know in the comments. Also if you know of some good resources for learning te reo Māori feel free to add them too. He rau ringa e oti ai (many hands make light work).

Kia pai tō wiki. Have a good week :)