He iti hoki te mokoroa nāna i kakati te kahikatea.
The mokoroa (grub) may be small, but it cuts through the Kahikatea (whitepine).
The Reo Project | Day 221
whakatauki
Food, leadership and whakataukī
He aha te kai o te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero.
What is the food of the leader? It is knowledge. It is communication.
The Reo Project | Day 220
Do the mahi, get the treats
I often hear the line “do the mahi, get the treats”.
It turns out, it’s kind of a whakatauki.
“Mauri mahi, mauri ora”
“Through work, we prosper”
In fact, the full whakatauki is:
“Mauri mahi, mauri ora: Mauri noho, mauri mate”
“Industry begets prosperity: idleness begets poverty”
“Do the mahi, get the treats” is pretty catchy, but I wonder if we could just say it in Te Reo Māori. The short version only has three words!
Here’s a file you can print, made by the great people over at Kupu o Te Rā.
The Reo Project | Day 174