A New Zealand mom is spreading awareness about the importance of names—by criticizing her daughter’s daycare for shortening her daughter’s name from the Māori Mahinarangi to “Rangi.”
Paris Tautu, who is from the Ngāti Raukawa tribe, has experienced the erasure of her own name in the past due to racism and colonization.
“My ancestors changed their original name from Perepe-Perana to Phillips because of colonization,” Tautu explained. “I will not let something similar happen with my daughter.”
In a now-deleted community Facebook post, Tautu said: “Can you imagine your child being too embarrassed to say their name because people won’t make a decent effort to pronounce it properly?”
“I am sad that in 2021, in Aotearoa, a 5-year-old girl has lost the pride that comes with her beautiful name.”
Paris said that her daughter told her that many people in her class would not make the effort to say her name correctly.
“It made me so angry, especially because they’d use te ao Māori resources in her classes,” Paris said.
But now with ongoing support from her mother, Mahinarangi is encouraging people to sound out her name: “I have taught her to break down her name into single syllables to educate people and help them with correct pronunciation,” Paris said.
Tautu hopes her outspokenness will help other parents make sure their children are reminded of their cultural heritage and the importance of their names: “It’s important for our kids to be confident in their names, regardless of their ethnicity.”
“Our language isn’t complicated, pronouncing a name properly is massive to us. Your name is your identity. Your parents give you your name for a reason.”
Featured Image: Facebook