Te Haurapa: An Introduction to Research Tribal Histories and Traditions

Bridget Williams Books 1992

Te Haurapa offers an introduction to researching tribal histories and traditions. Written primarily for those who have just begun to learn about their families and wider tribal history, Te Haurapa offers advice on oral history interviews, working in libraries and archives, and much more. It includes a lengthy discussion concerning history and the Māori tribal world, as well as offering proposals for the retention and maintenance of tribal histories and traditions.

Kāti au i konei: He Kohikohinga i ngā Waiata a Ngāti Toarangatira, a Ngāti Raukawa

Huia 1994

Kāti au i konei is a collection of waiata from Ngāti Toarangatira and Ngāti Raukawa of the southern reaches of Te Ika-a-Māui (North Island of New Zealand). It contains waiata composed by members of these two tribes. The collection follows the model created by Sir Apirana Ngata in his monumental Nga Moteatea series of collected waiata. Kāti au i konei contains contributions by current authorities and exponents of waiata including Pāteriki Te Rei, Te Waari Te Rei, Ngārongo Iwikātea Nicholson and Dr. Tūkawekai Kereama. Their contributions are published alongside information drawn from the manuscripts of Mātene Te Whiwhi, Te Rangihaeata, Wiremu Neera Te Kanae and Tāmihana Te Rauparaha. The text is fully bilingual.

Te Takoto o te whenua o Hauraki, Hauraki Landmarks

By Taimoana Tūroa
Edited and additional material by Te Ahukaramū Charles Royal
Reed 2000

Te Takoto o te Whenua o Hauraki/Hauraki Landmarks represents many years of scholarly and field research by the late Taimoana Tūroa of Whanganui and Ngāti Tamaterā of Hauraki. Following in the tradition of the great tribal histories, this work unfolds the long history both of the Māori peoples and the landscapes of the Hauraki region. After Tūroa's untimely death in 1998, the book has been brought to completion by his nephew, Te Ahukaramū Charles Royal. 

'Native traditions by Hukiki te Ahu Karamu o Otaki Jany 1st 1856'

Edited by Te Ahukaramū Charles Royal
Te Wānanga-o-Raukawa 2003

This publication contains a re-presentation of a manuscript written in 1856 by Sir Donald McLean – first Minister of Native Affairs – at the dictation of Hūkiki Te Ahukaramū, a Ngāti Raukawa chief. A facsimile of the original manuscript is presented as well as an edited version and English translations. As the manuscript was written in Māori, the publication is presented primarily as a work of literature in that language. Hence, the text will be of interest to Māori language speakers generally and particularly those interested in traditional Māori literature. The translations into English, however, will assist English speakers toward gaining an understanding of Māori mythological material as presented by a 19th century ancestor of the Ngāti Raukawa people.

The Woven Universe: Selected Writings of Rev. Māori Marsden

Edited by Te Ahukaramū Charles Royal
The Estate of Rev. Māori Marsden 2003 (Buy here)

Rev. Māori Marsden (1924-1993) was a tohunga, scholar, writer, healer, minister and philosopher of the latter part of the twentieth century. A member of the Tai Tokerau peoples of the north, Māori was both an ordained Anglican minister and a graduate of the whare wānanga, the traditional tribal centre of higher and esoteric learning. He was uniquely placed to explore and explain the frontier between pre-Christian theology, understandings of divinity and the Māori worldview, and his Christian faith and vocation. His conclusions and perspectives on these matters are widely influential and speak meaningfully to his people whose spiritual welfare he was dedicated to. The Woven Universe brings together for the first time, Marsden’s substantial statements on Māori philosophy, theology and the Māori worldview. The collection includes his seminal essay, ‘God, Man and Universe: A Māori View’ and an extract is also included from his final seminar delivered at Te Wānanga-o-Raukawa in Ōtaki. In his writings, Marsden’s thoughts venture far and wide and include analyses and views on key concepts in the Māori worldview and knowledge, politics, science (particularly the New Physicists), the Treaty of Waitangi, the legal system and much more. All of his work, however, is underpinned by a devout sense of divinity and mana that is central to Māori notions of the human person and his/her relationship with God and the universe.

Te Ngākau: He Wānanga i te Mātauranga 

Mauriora-ki-te-Ao/Living Universe Ltd 2009

This work is the first of its kind – an attempt to create and present a view of knowledge using the Māori language and employing concepts and perspectives drawn from traditional Māori literature and knowledge. It commences with an introduction in which Charles describes his journey into mātauranga Māori and by which he came to undertake the task of writing this book. He discusses elders and experiences that have been important in his development. Part One of the book explores the nature of knowledge generally and its place in human experience. This part of the book employs a wealth of material drawn from mātauranga Māori to illustrate universal aspects of all knowledge, whatever the culture or circumstance. Part One comprises chapters on Teaching and Learning (Ako), Worldview (Āronga) and the Creation of Knowledge (Wānanga).

Part Two of Te Ngākau explores mātauranga Māori in more detail. It offers a draft definition of mātauranga Māori, discusses various ‘contents’ and applications of mātauranga Māori, analyses the work of three key thinkers of mātauranga Māori (Winiata, Mead, Tau), explores the meaning of the word mātauranga itself before concluding with various perspectives on knowledge and knowing that can be found within mātauranga Māori.

The overall message of Te Ngākau is to urge learners to engage knowledge for the purposes of aroha (love) and māramatanga (understanding, wisdom). Knowledge can be used for both good and bad purposes and Te Ngākau asserts that ultimately aroha is the most important thing of all and that our efforts to advance knowledge and mātauranga Māori should be grounded in and dedicated to aroha.