Bilingual book brings to life the humour of te reo Māori

Te Reo Kapekape: Māori Wit and Humour

Hona Black

Publishing on 1 September, a new book by scholar Hona Black lifts the curtain on all the humour, wit, innuendo and play that distinguishes everyday te reo Māori.

Te Reo Kapekape (literally, ‘the language of poking fun’) will make readers cry with laughter, engage in lively banter, and perhaps blush a little. 

From calling a silly person a ‘roro hipi / sheep’s brain’, to telling them to get stuffed or suggesting they live amongst the dinosaurs (‘Ētahi mokoweri!’), this book has a witty saying or comeback for any situation.

Using a cast of characters and dramatised dialogue, Hona explains more than 130 phrases and gives examples and suggestions for use – whether to tease, crack a joke or just add some spice to the language. 

The text is printed in te reo on the left-hand pages and English on the right, making it accessible to language learners, fluent speakers or general readers interested in Māori culture and language. 

 

With this new publication, Hona aims to ‘reposition te reo kapekape as a language of every day again, in the hope that it is heard and that Māori can once again laugh through their own language.’ 

Te Reo Kapekape extends Oratia's language reference series, which includes Hona's first book, He Iti te Kupu: Māori Metaphors and Similes.

 

Publishing in time for Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, Te Reo Kapekape offers plenty of ideas to have fun and spice up your language, while supporting the revitalisation of te reo Māori.

The author

Hona Black (Tūhoe, Te Whānau a Apanui, Ngāti Tūwharetoa) lectures on teaching for Māori medium schools at Te Pūtahi a Toi: School of Māori Knowledge at Massey University, Palmerston North. He has worked as the Senior Māori Adviser on Massey’s Wellington campus, and been Head of Te Reo Māori at Hato Pāora College in Feilding. Hona lives in Porirua with his partner and their baby son.

Publication: 1 September 2023  |  ISBN: 978-1-99-004237-9 | RRP $39.99

Paperback, 210 x 148 mm portrait, 308 pages, b&w

Setting the record straight on extraordinary New Zealand Wars mass abduction

Te Kooti's Last Foray

The extraordinary story of Te Kooti’s 1870 abduction of two Whakatōhea communities into the Waioeka Gorge and how Whanganui’s pursuit won the day but never the credit

Ron Crosby

The evidence in support of the conclusions drawn is compelling. This book is well worth the read.’ 

— Justice Sir (Tā) Joe Williams, from the Foreword

Previous histories of the New Zealand Wars have either overlooked the events that are retold in Te Kooti’s Last Foray, or have got them wrong by relying on questionable accounts by Lieutenant Thomas Porter. 

Te Kooti

The key facts are these: in March 1870, on the run from government forces and seeking to challenge their authority, Māori leader Te Kooti and his followers abducted 218 Whakatōhea people from Ōmarumutu and Ōpape, near Ōpōtiki in the Bay of Plenty — marching them back into Te Urewera and constructing a pā called Waipuna.

This constituted one of the largest abductions in New Zealand history, and subjected the captives (largely old people, women and children) to extreme hardship, traversing rugged forest and river valleys.

 

The government forces tracking Te Kooti — mostly Whanganui forces under the command of Major Kēpa Te Rangihiwinui and Ngāti Porou led by Major Ropata Wahawaha — headed into Te Urewera in pursuit. 

After formidable feats of marching and scouting, Whanganui took Waipuna pā and secured the release of all the captives on 24 March, although Te Kooti was able to escape.

Accounts by Porter, who fought with Wahawaha, formed the primary source for later historians — and he gave credit for the successful outcome to Ngāti Porou. 

Samuel Austin, whose diaries cast new light on the 1870 events

The recent emergence of diaries written by another Pākehā soldier, Samuel Austin, who served with Whanganui, have revealed the inaccuracy of Porter’s account, and informed Ron Crosby’s painstaking fieldwork.

This is a book based on walking the ground, not solely on written records. Over many years Ron Crosby has tramped the Urewera forests to retrace the steps of Te Kooti and his pursuers. 

That legwork deeply informs Te Kooti’s Last Foray, and enables pinpoint location of where events took place — including Waipuna pā, a site largely forgotten for 150 years. 

Annotated photos taken in the depths of Te Urewera, detailed maps, and sketches by artist Stu Spicer (who has accompanied Ron in the area) bring to life this gripping episode, which was to prove pivotal in Te Kooti’s move away from armed resistance and towards spiritual leadership.

The author

Ron Crosby burst onto the publishing scene in 1999 with his landmark The Musket Wars (still in print through Oratia Books), and has followed that with a wide range of books,  including Gilbert Mair: Te Kooti’s Nemesis (2004), NZSAS: The First Fifty Years (2009), Kūpapa (2015) and most recently The Forgotten Wars: Why the Musket Wars matter today (Oratia Books, 2020). Formerly a barrister, Ron was appointed to the Waitangi Tribunal in 2011. His interest in te ao Māori is constantly reinforced by his whānau relationships, his wife Margy being of Te Rarawa and Te Aupoūri descent. They live in Blenheim (see www.roncrosby.co.nz).

Publication: 8 August 2023  |  ISBN: 978-1-99-004234-8 | RRP $49.99

Paperback, 240 x 160 mm portrait, 280 pages, b&w with 16 pages colour

 

Fun picture book bridges the generations with tall tales and true in English and Māori

 

You Don't Know How Lucky You Are – Me i Mōhio Koe ki tō Waimarietanga

Belinda O'Keefe

Illustrated by Ross Kinnaird

In this beguiling picture book, Christchurch author Belinda O’Keefe joins bestselling illustrator Ross Kinnaird for a tale that connects young readers with the experience of their grandparents’ generation. 

Accident-prone Izzy is consoled and then distracted by Great-uncle Arthur’s tales of the trials he encountered when he was a boy.

When Izzy moans about unloading the dishwasher, her Pākehā    great-uncle says, ‘You don’t know how lucky you are!”

He’s always done something worse — having to hand-wash stacks of dishes, or dodging arrows in a battle. 

As the stories get wilder — like taking three days to finish a meal of tough food — his great-niece starts to wonder if Arthur may be exaggerating a little …

Lovingly translated into te reo Māori by Te Ama-Rere-Tai Rangihuna, You Don’t Know How Lucky You Are!/Me i Mōhio Koe ki tō Waimarie-tanga!  promises to give its readers as much fun and bonding as the characters it features. 

 

The author

Belinda O'Keefe is an editor and writer who lives in Christchurch with her family. She based this book on the funny stories that her dad told her while growing up. Belinda is a dedicated writer for children, and her other books include Journey through the Cat Door (2022) and Partners in Slime (2021). 

The illustrator 

Ross Kinnaird is an illustrator and graphic designer whose books have been published in many countries, and include the international bestsellers of the I Need a New Bum! series. He lives close to the water on Auckland’s North Shore. 

The translator 

Te Ama-Rere-Tai Rangihuna (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Kahungunu) is a registered Māori translator and cultural advisor who lives in Wellington. A mother of two young children, she is a keen translator of books and shows for young people.

Publication: 5 July 2023  |  ISBN: 978-1-99-004236-2 | RRP $21.00

Paperback, 230 x 215 mm portrait, 32 pages, colour

 

Debut picture book by Waikato author helps kids feel okay about diverse families

Tōku Whānau Rerehua – My Beautiful Family

Rauhina Cooper

Illustrated by Isobel Joy Te Aho-White

Publishing in time for the annual Schools Pride Week, Tōku Whānau Rerehua tells of a young girl’s experience learning that all families come in all types, and all can be beautiful. 

 

‘How was school today, Huia,’ her mum asked. ‘It was okay … but our news topic is our family.’

Huia feels too shy to talk to her classmates because she has two mums. What will her friends think? 

 

Over the next days, she learns that some whānau have a step-parent   or one parent, and some children are adopted. So when it’s her turn to show her family photo, she doesn’t have to be shy.

 

“I want to show tamariki that there is no such thing as a ‘normal’ family structure and that whānau is whānau,” first-time author Rauhina Cooper says. 

 

“I’ve not yet seen a picture book that discusses this topic and thought there was a need for respecting our varied and diverse families.”

Written in te reo Māori and translated into English (te reo appears first on the pages), Rauhina’s story is beautifully illustrated by award-winning illustrator Isobel Joy Te Aho-White. 

The author

Rauhina Cooper (Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāi Tahu) is a teacher and facilitator in kura supporting teachers in te reo Māori. She is passionate about the survival and use of te reo Māori. Rauhina lives in Ōhaupō. She was inspired to write the book by her own ‘blended’ whānau. 

The illustrator 

Isobel Joy Te Aho-White (Ngāti Kahungunu, Kai Tahu, UK, Denmark) is an  award-winning book illustrator. She is passionate about whānau, whakapapa and tikanga Māori. Izzy lives in Te Whanganui-a-Tara/Wellington. 

Publication: 2 June 2023  |  ISBN: 978-1-99-004238-6 | RRP $22.99

Paperback, 270 x 210 mm portrait, 32 pages, colour

 

Oratia Books Catalogue 2023 — now in booklet form to fit a growing list of books ...

 The Oratia Books Catalogue 2023 is out now in print and digital form. 

 

The new-look catalogue is 32 pages in length, offering the scope to showcase the 16 new books we are publishing this year, along with over 100 backlist titles.

This year brings a more diverse range of books than ever, from an ever-more diverse inhouse team — as noted in the catalogue introduction that follows with screenshots of relevant pages.

Thanks to Cheryl Smith for the catalogue design and content, and Simon and team at Haysom Print for the fine print job. 

Click here to view or download the PDF, or to request a print copy please email info@oratia.co.nz

Haere mai, welcome and benvenuti to the Oratia Books Catalogue 2023. 

After six years our foldout catalogue format gives way to a booklet, largely because there was no longer space to present our growing list of books adequately. This format offers a more detailed look at both new and existing titles; to learn more visit www.oratia.co.nz. 

 

For our publishing and our people also, 2023 represents development. In 2021 Oratia committed to a diversity, equity and inclusion policy that aims to have our books and our workplace embody different ethnicities and languages, sexual orientations and genders, cultures and abilities. 

We have an expanding multicultural, multilingual team. Hirini Tane (Ngāti Kawa, Ngāti Rahiri) is now guiding our Māori publishing as Kaiārahi/Counsellor, and Ella Fischer (originally from Austria) has joined as a part-time Assistant Editor.

You can see this in our new titles: from the bilingual Moana Oceania Series books (in Cook Islands Māori, Samoan and English) to Philippa Werry’s survey of migration in the latest New Zealand Series title. Ron Crosby and Paul Moon challenge received histories in their substantial books, respectively on an overlooked but pivotal episode in the New Zealand Wars, and Auckland in the twentieth century. 

 

Te reo Māori me ōna tikanga is fundamental to Oratia. This year’s pukapuka Māori celebrate the language of humour in Te Reo Kapekape, take Robyn Kahukiwa’s stunning Ngā Atua: Māori Gods into a bilingual paperback, and bring back to print Te Rangi Hīroa’s masterpiece Vikings of the Sunrise in the New Zealand Classics series. 

We now bring our selected books from overseas authors under the new Five Oceans (Moana e Rima) umbrella. Not incidentally, this year’s addition, Lucky Me, addresses disability — extending the diversity of local titles Toku Whānau Rerehua/My Beautiful Family (written in te reo Māori about rainbow families) and The Book that Wouldn’t Read/Te Pukapuka Ka Kore E Pānuihia (separate English and te reo editions, reluctant readers).

 

Not to take things too seriously, the New Bum! phenomenon rocks on globally! There are no less than three new titles from super-duo Dawn McMillan and Ross Kinnaird, all publishing simultaneously in New Zealand, Australia, the US and the UK. Ross also teams up with Belinda O’Keefe for You Don’t Know How Lucky You Are, a bilingual romp inspired by Monty Python!  

From a small publishing house in the Oratia valley, we seek to open for you a wide window onto New Zealand and the world. 

Thank you for reading. 

Robyn Kahukiwa's Ngā Atua – Māori Gods returns in bilingual paperback

Ngā Atua – Māori Gods

Written and illustrated by Robyn Kahukiwa

Translated by Kiwa Hammond

Bilingual paperback relaunches Robyn Kahukiwa's classic introduction to Māori gods

A new paperback edition brings Robyn Kahukiwa’s beloved Ngā Atua – Māori Gods into te reo Māori thanks to a fine translation by Kiwa Hammond. 

 

Robyn dedicates her book to her mokopuna so they can learn  of  ‘the supernatural beings who are important to the Māori people of Aotearoa New Zealand’. 

 

In the hands of an internationally renowned artist, Robyn Kahukiwa brings to brilliant life the pantheon of Māori deities. 

 

Simple text, in te reo Māori and English, explains the arena of life for which each god is responsible: 

 

Hine Moana is a powerful being, She looks after the sea with Tangaroa.

He mana hoki tō Hine Moana e tiaki ana i te moana i te taha o Tangaroa. 

 

Then there is Mahuika, who has the power of fire; Tāwhiri-mātea who controls the weather, wise Muri-ranga-whenua, warrior god Tūmatauenga and many others.

 

This new paperback version (ISBN 978-1-99-004242-3) replaces the popular hardback edition in English (published by Oratia Books in 2017). 

The author

Robyn Kahukiwa (Ngāti Porou, Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti) is one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most important artists. Her paintings have been exhibited worldwide and are held in galleries, museums and private collections. Robyn has written and illustrated numerous children’s picture books, garnered awards and herself been the subject of books including The Art of Robyn Kahukiwa (Reed, 2005). 

The translator 

Kiwa Hammond (Ngāti Kahungunu o Te Wairoa, Ngāti Ruapani, Rongowhakaata, Moriori, English, Irish, Scottish) is a noted writer, educationalist and registered translator of te reo Māori who lives in Wairoa. He is co-director of AATEA Solutions and a passionate advocate for language regeneration. 

Publication: 17 May 2023  |  ISBN: 978-1-99-004242-3 | RRP $22.99

Paperback, 270 x 210 mm portrait, 32 pages, colour

 

New team members add te Ao Māori and international perspectives to Oratia Books

Everyone at Oratia Books is pleased to welcome two outstanding new members to our multicultural team. 

Hirini Tane (Ngāti Kawa, Ngāti Rāhiri) joins on a part-time basis as Kaiārahi/Counsellor — to guide our work in Māori publishing, including te reo, tikanga and matauranga. 

 

Hirini’s whakapapa is to the marae of Oromahoe in the Bay of Islands where he grew up before attending the universities of Auckland and Otago.

­

Hirini Tane

He holds a doctorate in Māori Studies from the University of Otago Te Whare Wānanga o Otākou, and has ongoing research interests in relationships of people, land and water.

 

Based in Ōtepoti/Dunedin, he is a principal of independent Māori research organisation Takarangi Research, and kaiwhakahaere/manager of the Māori Maps social enterprise. 

 

A fluent speaker of te reo Māori, Hirini will offer editorial support for our growing list of books in te reo and bilingual editions. 

 

Hirini and Oratia's publisher Peter Dowling have worked together for many years on the Māori Maps kaupapa, where Peter was kaihautū/executive director until recently.

 

Ella Fischer is building on her publishing career by taking the role of Assistant Editor on a freelance basis. Ella is assisting us with a range of editorial and marketing tasks. 

 

Originally from Tulln, Austria, Ella graduated with distinction in Comparative Literature from the University of Vienna before working in France and lecturing at Queen Mary University of London. 

 

Ella Fischer

In Aotearoa she has worked as a language teacher, writer and marketing/communications advisor, mostly in Auckland, and is currently the Publishing Partnerships Specialist at Auckland Council Libraries.

 

Ella is fluent in German and English, with intermediate proficiency in te reo Māori, French and Latin.

 

“He tino harikoa mātou ki te pōwhiri atu ki a Hirini rāua ko Ella i roto i te roopu Oratia,” said Peter Dowling. 

 

“Hirini’s guidance and knowledge will help ensure our books respect and properly represent Māori communities and develop new authors.” 

 

“Ella brings an impressive suite of communication and marketing skills to Oratia, along with great energy and international vision.”

 

Hirini and Ella are fulfilling Oratia duties around their other commitments and, like all our crew, working from home.

 

For further information, contact Peter Dowling, peter@oratia.co.nz 

Auckland: The Twentieth-Century Story out now

 Auckland: The Twentieth-Century Story

Paul Moon

A bold and original account of what grew Auckland to become our biggest city last century and how that reflects on all of Aotearoa

’Auckland is ambiguously a part of New Zealand yet apart from it — a relationship that has generated both vibrancy and, on occasion, tension.'

 

The relationship of New Zealand’s largest city to the rest of the country is just one of the tensions that Professor Paul Moon teases out in this bold new history of Auckland in the twentieth century. 

How different that relationship was in 1900, when Auckland was just one among equals across the four main centres. What followed over the next ten decades was a remarkable transformation — the result of dramatic changes in populations, cultures, beliefs, aspirations and senses of itself. 

 Auckland: The Twentieth-Century Story journeys through the mosaic of cultures and lifestyles, anxieties and hopes, disasters and triumphs, virtues and vices that led to this transformation. 

Rather than a formal history or chronicle of events and personalities, this is an impressionistic approach, highlighting events because of what they say about the people and time. 

Drawing on diaries, oral history, newspapers and other media, Moon illuminates themes including housing, the harbours, tangata whenua struggles, shopping culture, the immigrant experience and the pervading sense that Auckland sat at the edge of the world yet at its centre.

This crisply written, engaging history will give readers everywhere a sense of a city that has felt triumph and failure but continues to develop and look to the future. 

The Author

Paul Moon (ONZM) is a professor of history at the Auckland University of Technology and the author of more than 30 books of history and biography. He specialises in Māori history, the Treaty of Waitangi and early Crown rule in New Zealand. A fellow of the Royal Historical Society and the Royal Society of Arts, he is a frequent commentator on television and radio. Paul lives with his wife and children in Hobsonville, Auckland.

Publication Date: 5 April 2023 |  ISBN: 978-1-99-004235-5 |  RRP $45

Paperback, 240 x 160 mm portrait, 360 pages, b&w

Sharing Our Stories books back in print, with new Teacher Resources online

The second and third books in Malcolm Paterson's Sharing Our Stories books are now back in print.

The Tunnel in our Backyard tells the story of heritage in the Mount Albert, Owairaka and Point Chevalier areas of Auckland. 

The Taniwha in our Backyard focuses on the southern Kaipara from Helensville to Muriwai. 

The reprints join the latest in the series, The River in our Backyard (published in 2022) and the first, The Castle in our Backyard (2010). 

Sharing Our Stories began life as a project by the Future Auckland Leaders programme, aiming to show young readers the rich heritage that lives 'in our backyard'. 

The stories follow cousins Tui and Jennifer and their whānau on adventures in various locations around Auckland.

Malcolm has developed Teacher Resources for both the reprinted books, which can be downloaded for free from the new, dedicated page on the Oratia Books website. 

While the stories are situated in Auckland, the themes of environmental care, value of Māori and Pākehā histories, respect for other cultures and active recreation resonate wherever children might need persuasion to drop their devices and head into their backyards. 

The Tunnel in our Backyard | ISBN: 978-0-947506-04-9

The Taniwha in our Backyard | ISBN: 978-0-947506-46-9

RRP $22.99 Paperback, 284 x 208 mm portrait, 32 pages, colour