A multiplicity of kōrero are on display throughout Ngā Tai Whakarongorua | Encounters. The name itself reflects the multi-vocal approach to translation as a parallel to, rather than directly from, English to te reo Māori, or vice versa. The decision made to bookend the gallery with a taonga tūturu and the portrait of an unknown Māori woman is a further example of representing this range of approaches.
In English, the title has echoes of the sanitised and nostalgic way in which early meetings between Māori and the crew of the Endeavour were first described, a description absent of the violence that occurred. When approached through the te reo title, however, the room speaks of tides of listening and of duality.
The te reo title gives us the first instruction on how to read the room: be aware of how you interpret the many kōrero captured on the wall, your interpretation could differ from how others make their way through these stories.
Close English textE hia nei ngā au kōrero e rere ana i te whakaaturanga o Ngā Tai Whakarongorua | Encounters. Kei te ingoa tonu te tikanga, arā, ehara i te mea e hāngai pū ana te whakamāoritanga o te taitara ki te reo Pākehā, engari anō, he huihuinga tēnei o ngā reo maha, he whakatūtukinga o ngā tai kōrero o te moana nui, o te moana pokopoko. Hei tauira, ko te whakatūnga o te taonga pūoro me te kōwaiwai kiritangata o tētahi wahine Māori hei pou mō te whakaaturanga nei – he momo tūtakinga anō tēnei.
He wairua pai tō te taitara i te reo Pākehā, he hokinga mahara ki ngā whakaahuatanga pai o mua mō te tūtakinga tuatahi o te Māori me ngā kaumoana o te Endeavour. Kāore he kōrero mō ngā tūkinotanga i pā. Heoi anō, kō tā te taitara reo Māori, he whakaahua i te whakarongotanga o ngā tai, ā, he mana ō ngā tai e rua.
Kei te taitara reo Māori te tohutohu tuatahi e pā ana ki tō tirohanga ki te rūma: kia mahara ki ōu anō whakamārama mō ngā tini kōrero e mau ana ki te pakitara nei, he rerekē anō te rere o tō tai kōrero ki ō ētahi atu.
Close te reo Māori text
![2010-0029-1; Poedua [Poetua], daughter of Oreo, chief of Ulaietea, one of the Society Isles; 1785; Webber, John](https://media.tepapa.govt.nz/collection/271820/preview "Poedua [Poetua], daughter of Oreo, chief of Ulaietea, one of the Society Isles")
