Te reo Māori Turi: new te reo taonga for Deaf whānau
Published 8 July 2026
Ko te manu e kai ana i te miro, nōna te ngahere. Ko te manu e kai ana i te mātauranga, nōna te ao.
The bird that feeds on the miro berry owns the forest. The bird that feeds on knowledge owns the world.
This whakataukī carries the heart of a new kaupapa.
(Back row) Tania Davidson, Beccah Curtis and Zand Parah Johnson. (Seated) Starr Phillips, Tarsh Takarangi-Berry, Recenia Kākā, Geneva Kareko, Tanesha Sleeman and Brooklyn West.
A group of Turi Māori (Deaf Māori) leaders has launched Te Reo Māori Turi, a new set of video resources that help whānau Turi learn new te reo Māori.
The resources launched to a large gathering of invited guests from across the motu on Tuesday 17 June 2026 at Ngā Puna o Waiōrea in Tāmaki Makaurau. The project was funded by Te Mātāwai, a crown entity that protects, promotes and supports the revitalisation of te reo Māori.
For generations, many Deaf Māori have stood at the edges of their own culture. Te reo Māori and tikanga have been carried in sound. They live in waiata, in whaikōrero, in the rhythm of the marae. When that world is spoken and sung, it can pass Deaf whānau by. Te Reo Māori Turi sets out to change that, opening a clear pathway home to te ao Māori.
What is Te Reo Māori Turi?
Te reo Māori Turi is a language grounded in te reo Māori, tikanga Māori, and Te Ao Māori. It carries the same meaning and mana as the spoken language and, like NZSL, is expressed visually so whānau Turi can hold it in their own hands and bodies.
The need has been clear for a long time. Since a 1994 performance of the waiata Wairua Tapu, the Turi community has had only one well-known waiata it could fully access. That left many Turi Māori without signed cultural touchpoints to call their own.
Over the past 10 months, a Turi Māori leadership rōpū worked through a series of wānanga to create new te reo Māori Turi signs. They drew on existing signs, shaped new ones, and tested them together. Each sign was made to stay true to both Deaf culture and te ao Māori.
The launch shared three new video resources:
the waiata Tūtira Mai Ngā Iwi
the waiata Tōku Reo, Tōku Ohooho | My language, my awakening
the karakia Rūaumoko
Tōku Reo, Tōku Ohooho speaks directly to the journey behind the kaupapa.
Creating a connection to te ao Māori
Starr Phillips, one of the Turi leaders, said the kaupapa is about belonging.
(From left to right) Zana Paraha Johnson, Brooklyn West, Recenia Kaka, Tarsha Takarangi-Berry, Starr Phillips, Tanesha Sleeman, Eric Matthews and Beccah Curtis.
"The launch of our video, there's a song, Tōku Reo, Tōku Ohooho, which is my awakening, my language, and I believe that sits well with us Turi whānau, because we're on a journey of creating Turi te reo," he said.
He pointed to the everyday barriers these resources can lift.
"There are some barriers, like going to a marae where there's whaikōrero going on and there's no communication for our Turi whānau," he said. "We're here to remove those barriers and to uplift our Turi whānau to be more included, in things like pōwhiri."
Tanesha Sleeman, another of the Turi leaders, said the response at the launch was moving.
"I'm incredibly proud to see so many people here tonight celebrating the work that has gone into this journey," she said. "We've had rangatahi, whānau, and friends come together. This is the moment for the kaupapa to be launched and taken out into the world."
She wants the resources to open doors for Deaf people across Aotearoa.
"These videos and resources will help Deaf people engage with te ao Māori," she said. "We are no different from anyone else, we simply can't hear. This gives us another way to experience and connect with Māori culture."
The video resources are available online for anyone to use as a learning tool. They are a gift, freely shared, in the spirit of ngā taonga tuku iho (treasures passed down through the generations).
Led by Turi Māori, supported by CCS Disability Action
This kaupapa belongs to the Turi Māori leaders who created it. They hold the vision, the tikanga, and the right to shape where it goes next.
CCS Disability Action helped lay the foundations alongside them. CCS Disability Action’s Māori Development Team co-designed the project and developed the original plan with the rōpū. We then walked beside the leaders through every wānanga. We see our role as an ally, not a driver, holding space and providing support while Turi Māori lead.
Recenia Kaka, Kaiārahi ā-Motu at CCS Disability Action, paid tribute to the leaders who carried this mahi.
Recenia Kaka, Kaiārahi ā-Motu at CCS Disability Action
"For the past 10 months, our Te Reo Māori Turi leadership rōpū have given their time, knowledge, and passion through a series of wānanga," she said. "Their commitment has resulted in the successful launch of our new Te Reo Māori Turi video resources. These resources support whānau Turi to access, learn, and engage with te reo Māori in ways that are meaningful and culturally grounded."
For whānau Turi, this all means being able to take a full place on the marae ātea (the open space in front of the meeting house where formal welcomes happen). It means being able to follow a karakia, to join a waiata, and to stand with their people rather than at the edge of the gathering.
What's next
The leadership rōpū plans to keep growing Te Reo Māori Turi. They will run ongoing wānanga, regular lessons, and build a wider network of local teachers. The aim is long-term: to nurture new leaders, pass the language to rangatahi, and weave it into the lives of Turi Māori across the motu.
CCS Disability Action and our Māori Development Team will keep walking alongside the rōpū, supporting their leadership as the language grows.
The bird that feeds on knowledge owns the world. With these resources in their hands, whānau Turi need no longer stand at the edges of their culture. They can take their full place within it.
You can watch the resources on the te reo Māori Turi YouTube channel.
Frequently asked questions
What is Te Reo Māori Turi?
It is a set of video resources that express te reo Māori visually for Deaf Māori, so whānau Turi can learn and use the language in an accessible, culturally grounded way.
Is te reo Māori Turi the same as NZSL?
No, they’re not the same. NZSL includes a growing set of signs expressing Māori concepts, kupu, place names, and cultural practices (for example, marae, tangihanga, haka), reflecting the role of Māori Deaf in shaping the language.
Spoken te reo Māori can be interpreted into NZSL and vice versa, with interpreters working between the visual NZSL grammar and the oral/written structures of te reo Māori. The new signs co-created by this group were developed to stay true to both Deaf culture and te ao Māori.
What launched on the night?
Three video resources: the waiata Tūtira Mai Ngā Iwi, the waiata Tōku Reo, Tōku Ohooho, and the Karakia Rūaumoko.
When and where did it launch?
It launched on Tuesday 17 June 2026 at Ngā Puna o Waiōrea in Tāmaki Makaurau.
Who created it?
A rōpū (group) of Turi Māori (Deaf Māori) leaders created Te Reo Māori Turi over 10 months of wānanga. CCS Disability Action's Māori Development Team supported them as an ally, while the Turi Māori leaders led the kaupapa. You can learn more about CCS Disability Actions work with whānau hauā Māori on our ‘Working with whānau hauā’ information.
Where can I watch the Te Reo Māori Turi videos?
The videos are free and available online for anyone to use as a learning tool. You can watch them on the Te Reo Mori Turi YouTube channel.
Who funded it?
Crown agency Te Mātāwai funded the kaupapa.
About CCS Disability Action
CCS Disability Action is the largest pan-disability support and advocacy organisation in Aotearoa New Zealand.
We support people with all types of impairments and have been working alongside disabled people since 1935.
We are at the forefront of service provision, advocacy and information sharing in the disability sector. We partner with disabled people, their families and whānau to enable them to have choice and control in their lives. Our vision is to see every disabled person and whānau hauā interwoven into the lives of their whānau and community.