Ko Tautoro te Pito o Tōku Ao: A Ngāpuhi Narrative

Abstract

This book is a revelation. Iwi history, traditions and philosophy told in the parlance of the people, utilising te reo Māori and Māori literary forms including karakia, waiata, whakapapa and kōrero paki. Ko Tautoro te Pito o Tōku Ao: A Ngāpuhi Narrative presents a richly detailed and intricately woven narrative which draws the reader in to the places and people who are Ngāpuhi nui tonu. Author Hōne Sadler takes the reader on a journey into the intellectual history of Ngāpuhi which, though based on evidence the author presented to the Waitangi Tribunal in support of the WAI 1040 Te Paparahi o Te Raki claim, in book format reads more as a tribal manifesto. Indeed, Sadler’s work aligns with Muskogee Creek and Cherokee literary scholar Craig Womack’s assertion that, ‘To exist as a nation, the community needs a perception of nationhood, that is, stories…that help them imagine who they are as a people, how they came to be, and what cultural values they wish to preserve.’[i] Accordingly, this book plants a stake firmly, deliberately and articulately in the ground by drawing together multiple narrative strands in a complex introductory account poised at this moment in Ngāpuhi history.

[i] Craig Womack, Red on Red: Native American Literary Nationalism. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1999, p. 26.