He whenua, he moana, he kura

Whakamana te reo LIFTING THE STATUS OF TE REO

You may have noticed that when we launched our new logo for Kono, in 2018, the text under the logo read: ‘Love for the land, respect for the sea’. This is because the mauri of our moana and whenua is at the heart of everything we do as a Māori business, and because the wellness of our people is intrinsically linked to the wellbeing of te taiao. It was important to us to be able to sum up in a few words the fundamental philosophy that underpins all that we do and what carries across all our businesses and brands, from Tohu Wines through to New Zealand Greenshell mussels. Recently we worked with Dr Karena Kelly (Ngāpuhi), a specialist in Māori language and linguistics, to develop this phrase ‘Love for the land, respect for the sea’ into te reo Māori. This is now the text, developed by Dr Kelly: He whenua, he moana, he kura. There are multiple levels of meaning in our language, and so, while there may be only six kupu (words) underneath our logo, what is being expressed is multilayered. Kura means a treasure, an heirloom, and something precious. Kura can also mean to be educated, or a place of learning. So, we both treasure the land and sea as taonga, and we can also learn from the land and sea.