Kia kaha is a

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

phrase used by the people of New Zealand as an affirmation, meaning ''stay strong''. The phrase has significant meaning for Māori: popularised through its usage by the 28th

Māori Battalion The 28th (Māori) Battalion, more commonly known as the Māori Battalion, was an infantry battalion of the New Zealand Army that served during the Second World War. It formed following pressure on the Labour government from some Māori Memb ...

during World War II, it is found in titles of books and songs, as well as a motto. Linguistically, "kia kaha" consists of the desiderative verbal particle ''kia'', used here as 'an encouragement to achieve the state named', that is, to achieve ''kaha'' or strength. ''Kaha'' derives from

Proto-Polynesian Proto-Polynesian (abbreviated PPn) is the hypothetical proto-language from which all the modern Polynesian languages descend. It is a daughter language of the Proto-Austronesian language. Historical linguists have reconstructed the language using ...

''*kafa'', meaning "strong" or "great"; ''*kafa'' is also the Proto-Polynesian term for sennit rope, a strong rope made from coconut fibres and used for lashing canoes, weapons, and buildings together.

Usage

The phrase is used in several different contexts. It is a term of comfort or solace (an equivalent of ''be strong – my thoughts are with you''), or (less often) it can serve a similar function to '

kia ora Kia ora (, approximated in English as or ) is a Māori-language greeting which has entered New Zealand English. It translates literally as "have life" or "be healthy", wishing the essence of life upon someone, from one speaker to the other ...

' – an interjection during a speech to indicate support or approval (similar to ''hear! hear!''). It is sometimes seen used as a

valediction A valediction (derivation from Latin ''vale dicere'', "to say farewell"), or complimentary close in American English, is an expression used to say farewell, especially a word or phrase used to end a letter or message,Māori Battalion The 28th (Māori) Battalion, more commonly known as the Māori Battalion, was an infantry battalion of the New Zealand Army that served during the Second World War. It formed following pressure on the Labour government from some Māori Memb ...

. The phrase has been used for the title of a song by

Split Enz Split Enz were a New Zealand rock band formed in Auckland in 1972 by Tim Finn and Phil Judd and had a variety of other members during its existence. Originally started as a folk-oriented group with quirky art rock stylings, the band built ...

and a book, ''Kia Kaha: New Zealand in the Second World War'' by historian John Crawford. Other songs to use Kia kaha as part of their titles include "Kia Kaha Nga Iwi" (Be strong, o tribes), by Ngoi Pewhairangi.

In Athletics

Steven Adams, starting center for the

Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team plays i ...

wears Kia Kaha on the back of his jersey, as a part of the 2019-2020 NBA season restart.

In product names and campaigns

Kia kaha has been used as the name of various products, most notably a clothing manufacturer. It is also the official name of the New Zealand Police's school anti-bullying campaign.

As a motto

It was adopted as a part of the motto by the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

's No. 75 Squadron in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

and was transferred to the newly formed No. 75 Squadron RNZAF just after the war ended. ''Ake ake kia kaha'' translates as 'ake ake' meaning '(for)ever and (for)ever' and 'kia kaha' meaning 'be strong'. ''Ake! Ake! Kia Kaha E!'' was the marching song of the New Zealand Army's 28th (Māori) Battalion. Numerous schools use Kia kaha as, or as part of, their mottoes, including

Te Aute College Te Aute College (Māori: Te Kura o Te Aute) is a school in the Hawke's Bay region of New Zealand. It opened in 1854 with twelve pupils under Samuel Williams, an Anglican missionary, and nephew and son-in-law of Bishop William Williams. It has a ...

, Hawke's Bay (''Whakatangata kia kaha''); Tikipunga High School, Whangarei (''Kia kaha, kia maia, kia manawanui'');

Golden Bay High School Golden Bay High School is a secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary ...

, Takaka (''Ake ake kia kaha''); Rotorua Intermediate School, Rotorua (''Kia kaha, kia maia''); and Rosehill Intermediate School, Papakura (''Whaia kia kaha'') and Te Awamutu Te Awamutu College, Kingwood Park High school (Kia Kaha) and Richmond Primary School (Kia Kaha). Queen Alexandra's Mounted Rifles (QAMR), an armoured regiment based at Waiouru, also uses Ake Ake Kia Kaha as its motto. Kia kaha is also used in the film ''

Forever Strong ''Forever Strong'' is a 2008 American sports drama film directed by Ryan Little, written by David Pliler and released on September 26, 2008. The film stars Sean Faris, Gary Cole, Neal McDonough, Sean Astin, Penn Badgley and Arielle Kebbel. The f ...

'', and is the motto of the Highland High School rugby team which features in the film.

Christchurch Earthquake

When the 6.3 magnitude earthquake hit the New Zealand city of

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

on 22 February 2011, following 4 September 2010 earthquake, ''Kia Kaha'' became the iconic phrase used by family and friends supporting the city in their time of need. The ''

New Zealand Herald ''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation of all newspapers ...

'' reported the use of the phrase by

Prince William William, Prince of Wales, (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982) is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and his first wife Diana, Princess of Wales. Born in London, William was educa ...

at a memorial service on 18 March 2011 "drew applause and tears from tens of thousands of mourners". A video made by New Zealanders living in New York included the phrase in a message to their loved ones in Christchurch.

Christchurch mosque shootings

Kia Kaha was used by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in their statements after the

Christchurch mosque shootings On 15 March 2019, two consecutive mass shootings occurred in a terrorist attack on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. The attacks, carried out by a lone gunman who entered both mosques during Friday prayer, began at the Al Noor Mosque ...

. Prince William used the term twice after the Christchurch tragedy.

References

{{Reflist Māori words and phrases New Zealand culture