Ngā rā o te wiki, backstory to the days of the week

Kia ora koutou, 

We are now exploring kei te pehea koe in our classrooms and learning the days of the week in Te Reo Māori! 

Did you know the special reason behind the names of the days of the week? 

In Te Ao Pākeha (English) the names of the days of the week relate to these planets and their celestial beings; 

Sunday (Sun) - Sól is a goddess in Norse mythology. 'Sol' means Sun. Over time, the day of the sun became Sunday. In the runic alphabet, the rune-S name is Sun.

Monday (Moon) - The Latin name for moon is 'Luna', and in French Monday is still called 'Lundí'. In the Nordic areas, the moon was called "Mani", and in time Mánadagr became Monday.

Tuesday (Mars) - Mars is a god of war, and so is the Nordic god 'Tyr' or 'Tír'. It is Týr who has given his name to Tuesday.

Wednesday (Mercury) - Odin can be compared to the Roman god Mercury, so in the Nordic tradition Odin (also known as 'Woden') gave his name to Wednesday.

Thursday (Jupiter) - Thor is reminiscent of Jupiter, as they both deal with lightning and thunder. So this day of the week became Thursday.

Friday (Venus) - Venus is the goddess of love, and so is Frigg (and maybe also Freya, as they may have originally been the same goddess). Frígg gave the name to Friday.

Saturday (Saturn) - In Latin the day was named after Saturn (Saturni), and we can recognize it in the English language; Saturday.

The 'newer' Te Reo Māori terms, different from the transliterations, are derived from a similar origin. These are the ones we are learning at kura; 

Each word starts with Rā meaning Day 

Rātapu (Sunday) is the sacred day 

Rāhina (Monday) personification of the moon 

Rātu (Tuesday) Tūmatauenga (god of war) 

Rāapa (Wednesday) Āpārangi (the name for Mercury)

Rāpare (Thursday) Pareārau (name of Jupiter)

Rāmere (Friday) Meremere (Name of Venus)

Rāhoroi (Saturday) Horoi (wash)

We could also use the transliterations which a lot of us are familiar with...

Mane = Monday.

Tūrei = Tuesday.

Wenerei = Wednesday.

Tāite = Thursday.

Paraire = Friday.

Rāhoroi / Hāterei = Saturday.

Rātapu / Wiki = Sunday

That's all for now.. Until next time!