Pūkaki — the comet returns in sparkling te Reo translation

Out in time for Māori Language Week 2017 (from 11 September), Pūkaki – Te Hokinga Mai o te Auahitūroa is a significant body of work in te Reo that will serve readers for years to come.

First published in English in 2000, Pūkaki – a comet returns won Paul Tapsell a Best First Book Award in the Montana Book Awards 2001. 

A grant from the Ngati Whakaue Education Endowment Trust has enabled the work to be revised — Paul has added a new chapter to bring it up to the present day – and then fully translated into Māori by TV presenter, author and te Reo advocate Scotty Te Manahau Morrison.

A page spread from Pūkaki

Scotty's translation of this large, colour work has been a significant undertaking that reflects the regional Reo of the Rotorua area.

Pūkaki — Te Hokinga Mai o te Auahitūroa records the life and transformations of Pūkaki, ancestral father of Ngāti Whakaue of Te Arawa. From mortal rangatira to icon in the Te Maori exhibition, the book follows Pūkaki on his return home to Rotorua in 1997, his representation on New Zealand’s 20-cent coin, and his subsequent relocation to the Rotorua Museum.

An asset for present and future generations of Māori speakers, Pūkaki will be blessed and presented at meeting of the Pukaki Trust in Rotorua on 14 September, during Māori Language Week. It is on sale now at all good booksellers.

Click here for more information. 

Professor Paul Tapsell

Scotty Morrison

Publication Date: 14 September 2017  |  ISBN: 978-0-947506-25-4  |  RRP $39.99

Paperback, 248 x 248 mm, 188 pages colour