By Alex Glenn • Published: 02 Mar 2021 • 12:40
Mum's Fury as She Defends Cultural Names Credit: Pixabay
MUM’S FURY as she defends cultural names. A mum has had to defend her daughter’s name as the nursery shortened it because it was considered “too hard to say”.
Mum Paris Tautu, who comes from Maori descent has encouraged parents to speak up for the importance of names that have cultural and traditional significance. Paris became furious after she realised that her daughter’s day centre had shortened her daughter’s name after they considered it “too hard to pronounce”.
Five-year-old Mahinarangi Tautu had just started to attend a New Zealand day centre when her mum found out that staff had begun to call the youngster “Rangi” as they could not pronounce her name.
The lovely traditional name of Mahinarangi, means ‘moon in the sky’, and the mum was very upset after hearing that it had been dropped in favour of a nickname. She also found out that other children had been laughing at her daughter’s traditional name.
The mum explained how her daughter’s name comes from Ngāti Raukawa heritage that had been passed down over generations. The mum took to Facebook and 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.”
She also explained to the New Zealand Herald how, “My ancestors changed their original name from Perepe-Perana to Phillips because of colonisation.
“I will not let something similar happen with my daughter.”
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Originally from the UK, Alex is based in Almeria and is a web reporter for The Euro Weekly News covering international and Spanish national news. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com.
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