2026 Wātaka/Calendar
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E te whānau, it's nearly 2026 🤯 - time to get your wātaka/calendar sorted for the new Gregorian year. As usual, we've got you covered here at Reo Māori Mai. This year, the kaupapa for our wātaka is kupu whakarite - with one included each month, our wātaka is the perfect way to add more reo to your vocab as the year progresses.
Kupu whakarite can be translated to mean metaphor, simile, figurative language, figure of speech, or cryptic saying. They usually contain kernels of wisdom from our tīpuna/ancestors about life, and are often sourced from observations of te taiao/the natural world or significant events or traits.
We've chosen a range of different kupu whakarite to include in our 2026 wātaka, sourced from He Iti Te Kupu (2021), nā Dr Hona Black (Tūhoe, Te Whānau a Apanui, Ngāti Tūwharetoa). We have 13 different kupu whakarite from Hona's book, which we offer in our wātaka with her permission and support. There are many more kupu whakarite in the pukapuka than we could fit in our wātaka so grab yourself a copy here.
Vicci Sword (Kōtimana) has created the mahi toi/art for our wātaka for 2026. Vic's mahi toi was inspired by kupu whakarite from He Iti Te Kupu.
Each wātaka has:
- 13 months: Jan 2026 - Jan 2027
- kupu mino (phonetic translations) for the months of the Gregorian year and days of the week
- key dates (Waitangi, Matariki, school terms, new and full moons, public holidays etc)
- information on the reverse of wātaka for reo around time (more can also be found in our blog here)
Our wātaka are printed in Ōtautahi/Christchurch by Ngāi Tahu printer, Ruruku.
Please note that colours may differ slightly from the photos shown.
For bulk orders (10+ wātaka) please email Nic: kiaora@reomaorimai.co.nz