Naming NZ Aotearoa Meaningful Step for Travellers

The Māori Party has launched a petition to revert to the country’s original name of Aotearoa. In an opinion piece for Condé Nast Traveler, Māori authors Stacey and Scotty Morrison say travellers don’t need to wait to start using it.

“We’ve heard travellers struggle to explain what they feel when they’re in our country, particularly in majestic natural spaces – they seem to sense a vibration that affects them in ways that are hard to put into words. The Māori language has the means to express that energy,” the Morrisons write.

“Societal shifts have been embraced by many and derided by some, but the debate is being brought to a head by another petition, this one led from inside parliament by Indigenous leaders of the Māori Party. It challenges the name New Zealand – and pushes for a return to the Māori name for the land, Aotearoa. Said co-leader of the Māori Party, Rawiri Waititi, “Aotearoa is a name that will unify our country rather than divide it.”

Original article by Stacey Morrison and Scotty Morrison, Condé Nast Traveler, November 15, 2021.

Photo by Kyle Byburgh.