A pepeha is a way of introducing yourself in Māori custom, usually following a set format to identify who a person is, where they are from, and where they belong.  

Educator and Linguist Keri Opai says ‘​​In essence, the pepeha is an introduction for any person and their affiliations in a Māori context for one purpose, to make connections. (their emphasis). For Māori, this follows the pattern of ‘maunga [mountain], then awa/moana [river/sea], iwi, hapū [tribal/kinship groups], marae [meeting house] because ‘it is following the water cycle’ (Opai, 2022).

I, Jo — and likely many people reading this — am not Māori, but being someone who has made Aotearoa New Zealand my home I respect this process as something important to (and owned by) Māori (who are the first nations / Indigenous peoples of Aotearoa). 

As I negotiate being here as an immigrant, I think about how a non-culturally-appropriative version of the pepeha, that respects the intent of connection but acknowledges my incomer status and lack of Te Reo Māori language could look, balancing those tensions.

I introduce the word here with a suggestion that if it is used, those tensions are acknowledged.