New agency to foster translations into Te Reo Māori
The National Spiritual Assembly wrote to all Local Spiritual Assemblies and Bahá’í groups on 8 March 2022:
Tēnā koutou katoa! Ngā mihi aroha!
Tuia ki runga,
Tuia ki raro,
Tuia ki roto,
Tuia ki waho,
Ka rongo te ao,
Ka rongo te pō,
Haumi ē,
Hui ē!
Tāiki ē!
The National Spiritual Assembly is happy to inform you that a Māori translations agency has been appointed with a mandate to carry out an ongoing programme of translations of Bahá’í literature, messages of guidance and other materials into Te Reo Māori. The agency has adopted the name “Taumata Rei” (explained below).
Taumata Rei comprises a team of members who all have an excellent depth of relevant expertise. Their work is guided by terms of reference which set out two main aims: to increase core texts available in Te Reo Māori and to increase the capacity within the community to engage in the translation work.
The National Assembly sees the establishment of the agency as a truly significant milestone as we move forward within the framework of the Plan. It is an initiative that promises, in time, to greatly enhance the community’s capacity for translating the Sacred Writings and in this way making them available to Tangata Whenua in a form that touches hearts and minds with special intensity.
Regarding the name “Taumata Rei” — the Taumata is often referred to as the group of speakers on the marae but is also a summit or brow of a hill. Rei is a taonga or precious gift. The kaupapa of Taumata Rei is to serve as an agency of the National Spiritual Assembly of Aotearoa whose task it is to advance the translations of the Teachings and Writings of the Bahá’í Faith into te reo Māori as a precious gift (rei) to our Beloved. The journey to the summit (taumata) begins. So the translations are the rei, and to advance to the taumata is the goal.
Among the first priorities to be pursued is translations of the institute materials, and particularly Ruhi Book 1, and some of the junior youth books, as decided in consultation with the Institute Boards. As the Agency identifies their own capacity as an agency, and as their collective capacities develop, the core literature of the Faith will be next in view — over time works such as Some Answered Questions, The Dawnbreakers, The Seven Valleys and the Four Valleys, and The Kitáb-i-Iqán, to mention a few possible examples.
The approach set out in the agency’s terms of reference is based on guidance from the Guardian and the Universal House of Justice on requirements for translation of Bahá’í literature. Taumata Rei has the flexibility to engage collaborators, with a preference for teamwork rather than individuals working on their own.
Besides collaborators who are fluent in Te Reo, the agency may wish to draw on the knowledge of friends who are deepened in Bahá’í concepts and can shed light on the significance of the Writings and insights into the Persian and/or Arabic language meaning of the word/s and the context. Grassroots translations which can be used locally will also be encouraged, therefore we trust that the whole body of the friends in Aotearoa will support the agency with their prayers, and in some cases with their expertise. The agency will also be responsible for overseeing the process for formal approval by the National Assembly of translations that have been comprehensively developed and reviewed.
For contact with the agency, please use the email of the National Spiritual Assembly: nationaloffice@bahai.org.nz, in the first instance.
Taumata Rei will strengthen the foundations for engagement of Māori in the advancement of the Cause and the spread of its healing Message. We look forward to the steady unfoldment of its potential in the years ahead.
Kia kaha tātou ki te whakaora ake i te reo Māori i te kainga, i te mahi, i te kura, i te marae rānei, tēnā tātou katoa.
[Signed: National Spiritual Assembly]
