It’s cool to kōrero — November 2023 – Kaitiaki Nursing New Zealand

The traditional Māori string game displayed by these tamariki in this 1939 photo is known in te reo as whai or maui. In English it is known as the cat’s cradle. (Photo: Children holding Māori string patterns. Making New Zealand :Negatives and prints from the Making New Zealand Centennial collection. Ref: MNZ-2424-1/2-F. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. /records/22324030)

This punua ngeru (kitten) enjoys the comforts of a welcoming home. Photo: Adobe Stock

When feral cats kill rabbits, rats and mice, their hunting is welcome. But they are also a serious threat to native birds, bats, insects and lizards. Photo: iStock

Last year marked 140 years since the formation of the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) in this country. This stamp, released in 1982, marked the 100-year anniversary. Picture: Adobe Stock

Haere mai and welcome to the November kōrero column. Ngeru is a commonly used word for cat in te reo Māori (it is also known as poti, puihi or tori).

This introduced animal is the most popular pet in Aotearoa, where we have a total population of 1.2 million domestic cats. Just over a third of Māori households have at least one cat, and Māori cat-lovers are quite fond of purebreds — Asian NZers are most likely to own a purebred, with Māori second in line, and then European NZers.

Cats are good hunters, and have been valued through history for catching pests such as rats, mice and rabbits. However the large numbers of feral cats in this country pose a serious risk to endangered birds, lizards and insects.

In terms of Māori tradition, there is a popular string game, known in te reo as whai or maui, and in English as the cat’s cradle. A long circle of flax string is looped over the hands and the fingers are used to weave complicated patterns. Sometimes the pattern would be so complicated it would take two or three people to hold it, and often a chant accompanied the finger movements.

Kupu hou (new word)

Ngeru (cat)– pronounced “ne-(as in ‘net’)-rroo”
Kua patua e te ngeru te kiore. — The cat has killed a rat.

More words related to ngeru:

punua ngeru — kitten
whai — cat’s cradle
pūpū — cat’s eye or winkle, a mollusc found on rocks at the seashore, much favoured for eating by Māori
hāmoemoe — catnap
matihao — paw
moenga ngeru — cat bed
kaitiaki kakarehe — vet
kai ma te ngeru — cat food

E mihi ana ki a Titihuia Pakeho rāua ko Mairi Lucas.

Sources

Tags

Click to search for related articles: te reo māori, kōrero

Uncut – news briefs

22 Nov	Whooping Cough epidemic declared across Aotearoa New Zealand Health agencies have confirmed today that Aotearoa New Zealand is now in the early stages of a Whooping Cough epidemic, with a nationally coordinated response now in place.
20 Nov	A Global Map of Winter Depression Healthnews has released an extensive study that ranks 194 countries based on their winter-pattern Seasonal Depression Disorder (SAD) risk.
18 Nov	Potential travel disruption expected with Tuesday’s national Hīkoi Health New Zealand \| Te Whatu Ora urges those with an appointment scheduled at Wellington Regional Hospital on Tuesday morning or early afternoon, to please allow extra time to get to appointments.
15 Nov	ICN’s calls on G20 leaders to address international health worker migration crisis Ahead of the G20 Leaders Summit in Rio de Janeiro next week, the International Council of Nurses (ICN) welcomes the Declarations recently adopted by the G20 Health Working Group and health ministers.
13 Nov	Measles case confirmed in Tāmaki Makaurau Health New Zealand \| Te Whatu Ora has confirmed today that a new case of measles has been identified on Waiheke Island in Auckland. The case and their household are being supported by the National Public Health Service (NPHS), with those most at risk now in quarantine to help reduce the chance of further spread.
5 Nov	Safety fears ahead of changes to mental health 111 calls Mental Health Nurses have serious concerns about the safety of their patients, the public, their colleagues and themselves when police changes to emergency 111 calls come into effect on Monday, New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa says.
31 Oct	General practices welcome fast-track approvals process A new fast-track approval process is a good start, but more is needed to fix New Zealand’s chronic GP shortage, says the General Practice Owners Association (GenPro)
24 Oct	International Council of Nurses Bucharest Declaration priorities for the future of nursing The International Council of Nurses (ICN) marked the 125 years since its founding in 1899 with an anniversary conference held in Bucharest, Romania and hosted by the Order of Nurses, Midwives, and Medical Assistants of Romania.
10 Oct	Call to immunise now as New Zealand at high risk of whooping cough outbreak Pregnant people, babies, children and others at high risk from whooping cough are urged to get vaccinated as soon as possible, as Aotearoa New Zealand stands at high risk of an outbreak.
9 Oct	New pilot with Plunket to deliver childhood immunisations To increase access and boost immunisation rates, Health New Zealand \| Te Whatu Ora and Whānau Āwhina Plunket will pilot the delivery of childhood immunisations at a select number of sites across the country.
8 Oct	Health NZ Begins Development of National Perinatal Bereavement Care Pathway As Baby Loss Awareness Week shines a light on the heartbreak faced by many, Health NZ is taking a compassionate and hopeful step forward in transforming the support available for whānau who experience the loss of a baby.
7 Oct	Govt takes the scalpel to regional health budgets At Labour’s insistence, Te Whatu Ora financial documents have been released by the Health Select Committee today showing more cuts are on the way for our health system.
2 Oct	Orion Health and Streamliners form strategic partnership Orion Health, a global leader in digital health solutions, has announced a strategic partnership with Streamliners, creators of HealthPathways which provides an online manual used to assist with clinical assessments.
1 Oct	Rollout of new medicines across New Zealand begins Today marks the first day a range of new medicines, including cancer medicines, will start to become available in hospitals and health centres across the country.
27 Sept	New Dunedin hospital: Southerners deserve better The Government’s announcement today that it will scale back the new Dunedin hospital will negatively impact patient care, the New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki O Aotearoa says.
26 Sept	Govt not addressing health workforce crisis The National Government is hiding the gaps in the health workforce from New Zealanders, by not producing a full workforce plan nearly a year into their tenure.
25 Sept	New programme offers step up for jobseekers seeking a career in health and wellbeing Local jobseekers have an exciting new opportunity to begin a career in Health following the launch of a new community-based kaiāwhina programme in the Hutt Valley.
23 Sept	Ministers oblivious to cuts’ effect on families The National Government is oblivious to the impact cuts to services will have on New Zealanders who are doing the hard yards caring for mentally ill family members.
19 Sept	Wānaka community to benefit from new overnight health service Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says an Overnight Acute Care Service opening in October will provide people in Wānaka and the surrounding area with the assurance of quality overnight care closer to home.
17 Sept	Dr Le Heron takes title of 2024 Alzheimers NZ Fellow Distinguished neurologist and cognitive neuroscientist, Dr Campbell Le Heron, has been made the 2024 Alzheimers NZ Fellow for his work researching and managing cognitive disorders.
11 Sept	Aged care will be worse off if redesign rushed New Zealanders needing aged care support and the people who care for them will be worse off if the Government pushes through a flawed and rushed redesign of dementia and aged care.
11 Sept	Govt takes action on mpox response, widens access to vaccine The Government is taking immediate action on a number of steps around New Zealand’s response to mpox, including improving access to vaccine availability so people who need it can do so more easily, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti and Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today.
10 Sept	ICN launches new position statement and discussion paper setting out a revolution in the delivery of Primary Health Care The International Council of Nurses (ICN) is launching its new position statement and a discussion paper on Primary Health Care (PHC) at its Nurse Practitioner/Advanced Practice Nursing Network (NP/APN Network) Conference in Aberdeen, Scotland.
9 Sept	First cancer medicine decision following Pharmac funding boost Pharmac has decided to widen access to two medicines for several types of cancer. Pembrolizumab (branded as Keytruda) will be funded from 1 October 2024 for eligible people with advanced triple-negative breast cancer, head and neck cancer, colorectal cancer, bladder cancer, and Hodgkin lymphoma. Nivolumab (branded as Opdivo) will be funded from 1 November for eligible people with kidney cancer.
6 Sept	Health agencies working with Police on rebalancing roles for mental health responses Health New Zealand \| Te Whatu Ora and the Ministry of Health - Manatū Hauora are working with Police to change some of the ways agencies respond to mental health. The change will see an increased health-led response, supporting Police to focus on core Policing.
4 Sept	Nurses’ bargaining starts with action for safe staffing Nurses are kicking off their collective bargaining with Te Whatu Ora by taking action for safe staffing on Friday, New Zealand Nurses Organisation Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa (NZNO) says.