Nag Tai Korero means the currents of speech, a reference to the Maori tradition of oral storytelling. This book retells in simple form fourteen Maori stories and myths that have been passed down over centuries.
Traditional Maori Legends
New Zealand
Materials from New Zealand
Ola
When Olamaiileoti Monroe takes her seventy-five-year-old father, Finau, on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, both are caught up in a search for udnerstanding of each other and the ties that bind them. Their story unfolds on an international stage, in Samoa, New Zealand, New York, and Israel–and opposes the modern selfishness of Ola to the moral complexity of Finau.
Whanau Ii
As soon as she saw it, Miro Mananui knew what it was. An owl, its cryptic colors flaring with the dawn. Who has the owl come for? Whose name has it cried out to Miro Mananui the Matua of the village of Waituhi? In Whanau II, many lives and many stories intersect. The passionate Mattie Jones bears a horrifying secret; Tama Mananui makes the most of an arranged marriage with a woman twenty years older; Nani Paora holds the key to the past and a history filled with bloodshed; and his grandson Pene may well be the key to the future. Pita Mahana’s attempts to reinstate the past set in train events that lead to the return of the owl for its victim.
Ihimaera
A selection by Witi Ihimaera of his best short stories from throughout his career. Beginning with A Game of Cards from his now-classic Pounamu Pounamu (1972) and finishing with Going to the Heights of Abraham, a story by a mature Witi about his relationship with his father. Included are 11 stories previously unpublished in an author’s anthology.
Black Rainbow
Set in a future New Zealand where only the Citizen who asks no questions can achieve happiness, a renegade hero seeks to rescue his family in the State-sponsored Game of Life.
Potiki (Talanoa)
This compelling novel will resonate for people everywhere who find their livelihood threatened by “Dollarmen” – property speculators advocating golf courses, high rises, shopping malls, and tourist attractions. In ‘Potiki’, one community’s response to attacks on their ancestral values and symbols provides moving affirmation of the relationship between land the the people who live on it.
The Whale Rider
As her beloved grandfather, chief of the Maori tribe of Whangara, New Zealand, struggles to lead in difficult times and to find a male successor, young Kahu is developing a mysterious relationship with whales, particularly the ancient bull whale.
The House That Jack Built
The familiar cumulative nursery rhyme is illustrated with scenes placing the characters in an Aotearoa, New Zealand, setting during the early 19th century.
Hunter
When fourteen-year-old Jordan and her younger brothers learn they’ll have to ride a rickety plane home for the holidays, they’re a little scared. But when it crashes on a wild and deserted peninsula in New Zealand, they are completely terrified.
Elizabeth, Queen Of The Seas
Here is the incredible story of Elizabeth, a real-life elephant seal who made her home in the Avon River in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand.