Horouta out now

M E D I A    R E L E A S E

28 November 2012

HOROUTA

The History of the Horouta Canoe, Gisborne and East Coast

Rongowhakaata Halbert

A classic of tribal history back in print

Few works in New Zealand publishing rival the scope of Horouta, the definitive history of the descendants of those voyaging canoes that brought the first settlers from Polynesia to the lands that stretch from East Cape to northern Hawke’s Bay.

Horouta looks back over a thousand-year period to tell the origins of iwi including Ngati Porou, Rongowhakaata, Te Aitanga a Mahaki, Ngati Kahungunu and Ngai Tahu. Its three parts respectively present a narrative history, whakapapa, and maps of lands settled, in a fine, jacketed hardback.

Rongowhakaata Halbert (1894–1973) devoted his life to compiling Horouta, but died before it could be completed. Family members led by the late Te Nonoikura Haronga brought the work to publication in 1999; the present edition brings Horouta back into print.

This outstanding work of scholarship will be in bookstores from the end of November, and will have a formal launch at the Mangatu Block conference hall in Gisborne on 13 December.

Release Date: 30 November 2012  | ISBN: 978-1-877514-32-6 | RRP $120

496 pages

Vapi Kupenga speaks to Pā Henare Tate about He Puna Iti i te Ao Mārama

Listen to it here:

http://www.waateanews.com/site/uma/images/podcasts/Thursday_Night_23_11_2012_-_Pa_Henare_Tait_1_Pub.mp3

Create your own bum-per!

Whakatere ki Tai: The Launch of He Puna Iti i te Ao Mārama

It was a drizzly and windy day at Arai-te-uru, Hokianga South Head, when Pā Henare Tate and his ope from Motuti arrived to a powerful pōwhiri by over 60 people - kaumātua, kuia, parents, young people and a baby - from various South Hokianga communities. It was Saturday 17^th November 2012. Pā Henare had come for a ritual he termed, “Whakatere ki Tai”. The first copy of his book, He Puna iti i te Ao Mārama (A Little Spring in the World of Light) was to be gifted to the sea. Following the pōwhiri and whakahoki mihi, the book was wrapped in a gold cloth, tied with flax, and placed in a kete, and carried by an appointed person down to the water’s edge for Pā Henare to cast into the sea. It was not the best day for the ritual. E pari mai ana te tai. The tide was coming in. E papaki tū ana ngā ngaru o Hokianga. The waves were pounding against the rocks. After a short karakia, Pā Henare cast the book into the swirling water. The tide and waves brought the book back into shore, as if it didn’t really want to go. Then there was a second cast of the book. It was told in no uncertain terms that it was to go. Eventually, the book disappeared from sight. 

The ceremony signified the letting go and sending forth of the first fruit of his labour just as the practice was in the days of the tūpuna. In their days, the first fruit of crops, fish, arts, crafts were given away. Even the first-born child, called mātāmua, was taken and raised by the tūpuna (grandparents). The spirituality behind the ritual was that in giving away, one received the same in greater abundance. Secondly, in giving away what one had produced, one learnt that nothing produced was for oneself alone. In this case, a book is for others to read and not just reserved for the author. 

It was the fifth book Pā Henare had brought to Arai-te-uru for release. He said Arai-te-uru was a very special place for him. In 1976, he had composed pātere, waiata, haka and waiata poi from nearby for the Rāwene 150^th celebrations in 1977. The waiata “Karanga Hokianga” is one of those songs. The first performance by the combined culture groups for the Rāwene celebrations were also performed for the open sea at a nearby spot.

“Whakatere ki Uta” (launching ashore) will be held during celebrations on Tamatea marae on 1^st December. The book will be available on that day.

To end the ceremony, all retired to Waiwhatawhata marae for mihi and kai – anō te manaaki o te iwi. What hospitality!

by  Pā Henare

He Puna Iti i te Ao Mārama

HE PUNA ITI I TE AO MĀRAMA
A Little Spring in the World of Light

Pā Henare Tate

A bold attempt to harmonise Christian and
traditional Māori beliefs
 
From one of the most influential Māori leaders in the Catholic Church comes this visionary attempt to create an indigenous theology for New Zealand.

The Christian message “has always fallen short of
speaking intimately and powerfully to Māori experience
in Aotearoa New Zealand,” writes Pā Henare Tate
(Ngāti Manawa, Te Rarawa), a former lecturer at the Auckland Catholic Institute of Theology and the University of Auckland. “Māori people are crying out for a form of Christianity that is ‘theirs’, one that is relevant to their
concerns in their context.”

In this work he seeks to create some systematic foundations for this Māori theology, based on cultural concepts such as tapu, mana, pono, tika and aroha. A clear, cogent discussion of how those concepts align provides the basis of this work, which will provoke plentiful discussion in church circles, and serve as a valuable resource for educational and pastoral use.

He Puna Iti i te Ao Mārama was blessed during a ceremony in the Hokianga Harbour on 17 November, and will be officially launched at Motuti marae, in the northern Hokianga, on 30 November.

Release Date: 23 November 2012 | ISBN: 978-1-877514-54-8 | RRP $75
308 pages

New Zealand Tattoo review by the Northern Advocate

Patu out now

M E D I A    R E L E A S E

12 November 2012

PATU

Tim Tipene                                                                                 

Hard-hitting young adult novel young from award-winning children’s author

A powerful new novel out this week will challenge teenage readers to confront issues of identity, historical truth and life choices in contemporary New Zealand.

Patu, a first young adult novel from award-winning children’s author and counsellor Tim Tipene, tells the story of Jahnine Byrne – a 16-year-old West Aucklander who has dropped out of school to support her mother in her fight against cancer, helped only by an aunt (her dad is no longer around, and her elder brother has disappeared).

A family legend blames their bad luck on a patu (greenstone club) that her great-great-grandfather took during the New Zealand Wars. The patu’s curse needs to be lifted, something that can happen only if the weapon is returned. But returned to where? Jahnine meets a strange Maori boy, Andy, who out of kindness offers to help her, and with his brother and friends leads her away from the city to try and put things right. But then everything starts to go wrong  …

Patu is an honest and hard-hitting novel that answers a pressing need for Maori-themed junior fiction on New Zealand bookshelves.

Release Date: 16 November 2012  | ISBN: 978-1-877514-50-5 | RRP $29.99

236 pages

New Zealand Tattoo on TV1's Good Morning

TV1 interviewed author Chris Hoult and tattoo model Chante Neblett on 5 November on the breakfast show Good Morning.