Description
M?ori oral tradition is the rich, poetic record of the past handed down by voice over generations through whakapapa, whakatauk?, k?rero and waiata. In genealogies and sayings, histories, stories and songs, M?ori tell of 'te ao tawhito' or the old world: the gods, the migration of the Polynesian ancestors from Hawaiki and life here in Aotearoa.A voice from the past, today this remarkable record underpins the speeches, songs and prayers performed on marae and the teaching of tribal genealogies and histories. Indeed, the oral tradition underpins M?ori culture itself.This book introduces readers to the distinctive oral style and language of the traditional compositions, acknowledges the skills of the composers of old and explores the meaning of their striking imagery and figurative language. And it shows how ng? k?rero tuku iho - the inherited words - can be a deep well of knowledge about the way of life, wisdom and thinking of the M?ori ancestors.
About the Author
Jane McRae was a lecturer in M?ori language and literature at the M?ori Studies Department of the University of Auckland from 1993 to 2003; since then she has been a freelance translator and researcher of nineteenth-century M?ori literature. Among her publications are, as author, 'Maori Literature: A Survey', in Terry Sturm (ed.), The Oxford History of New Zealand Literature (1998) and Ng? M?teatea: An Introduction / He Kupu Arataki, translated by H?ni Jacob (Auckland University Press, 2011), and, as editor with Jenifer Curnow and Ngapare Hopa, Rere atu, taku manu! Discovering History, Language and Politics in the Maori-language Newspapers and He Pitopito K?rero n? te Perehi M?ori: Readings from the Maori-language Press (Auckland University Press, 2002, 2006).
Reviews
Book Information
ISBN 9781869408619
Author Mcrae Jane
Format Paperback
Page Count 260
Imprint Auckland University Press
Publisher Auckland University Press
About the Author
Jane McRae was a lecturer in M?ori language and literature at the M?ori Studies Department of the University of Auckland from 1993 to 2003; since then she has been a freelance translator and researcher of nineteenth-century M?ori literature. Among her publications are, as author, 'Maori Literature: A Survey', in Terry Sturm (ed.), The Oxford History of New Zealand Literature (1998) and Ng? M?teatea: An Introduction / He Kupu Arataki, translated by H?ni Jacob (Auckland University Press, 2011), and, as editor with Jenifer Curnow and Ngapare Hopa, Rere atu, taku manu! Discovering History, Language and Politics in the Maori-language Newspapers and He Pitopito K?rero n? te Perehi M?ori: Readings from the Maori-language Press (Auckland University Press, 2002, 2006).
Reviews
This is an enriching contribution to popular scholarship and the conclusion makes it clear how many new pathways now lie open for further discovery. - Paul Little, North & South
"There were also ways in which they recorded the oral tradition. Carving is one example. Patterns in artworks. Aspects of the landscape speak to Maori, the names on the landscape, but mostly in the time of an oral society when there is no writing you depend on memory to pass on things that are vital to you, your knowledge and your histories and your philosophies and customs." - Jane McRae
Book Information
ISBN 9781869408619
Author Mcrae Jane
Format Paperback
Page Count 260
Imprint Auckland University Press
Publisher Auckland University Press
