Story: Māori and television – whakaata

Mai time

Mai time, a bilingual magazine show for Māori teenagers, integrated the casual, relaxed use of te reo Māori (the Māori language). Mai time started as a segment of Marae in 1993, becoming a stand-alone programme in 1995, and finishing in 2007. The taonga puoro (traditional musical instruments) excerpt shown here was a regular feature in the 1996 series. The presenters in this clip are Quinton Hita (standing) and Bennett Pomana (seated). Hita also acted in the soap opera Shortland Street and went on to found Kura Productions, while Pomana was a founding member of hip hop group Dam Native.

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TVNZ Television New Zealand

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How to cite this page:

Tainui Stephens, 'Māori and television – whakaata - Growing capacity: 1980s and 1990s', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/video/44613/mai-time (accessed 30 March 2024)

Story by Tainui Stephens, published 22 Oct 2014