Kia ora

The comic today ties with the mental health awareness week currently happening across Aotearoa New Zealand.

Kia ora is a Māori expression commonly used in New Zealand. It can be used to convey a greeting, but also as a wish of well-being and a recognition of the other person’s worth.

Māori language itself (te reo, or simply reo) is a fitting example of this growing awareness of other people’s worth. Once nearly extinct, the language has now come back from the brink and its phrases are increasingly alive in kiwi vernacular.

Today on the street one might hear a shy Kia ora, but most kids will know at least a few songs and many words. In schools and in households with young kids words like tamariki (children), kai (food), or whanau (family) are in common use.

Due to generational change, workplaces are also now slowly adopting the language, with words like hard mahi (hard work), across the motu (across the country), or hui (meeting), and sometimes even a karakia (incantation, a poetic recitation).

So - kia ora and be well!