Introduction

Abstract

This volume derives from a small symposium, “He Tuhinga nō Neherā”, held at the Hocken Collections in November 2018.[i] The event’s title, which may be translated as “Writings from the Past”, defined the subject of the meeting, that is, historical texts written by Māori. We have changed the name slightly for this publication; “He Tuhinga Tuku Iho”, playing with the kīwaha, “he taonga tuku iho” (treasures handed down), writings that pass on the language of earlier generations, and the thoughts, feelings and aspirations of tūpuna. Nine authors contribute to this collection, all but one of whom presented at the symposium. We encouraged them to consider various textual genres, such as petitions, newspaper articles, wills, pamphlets, letters, and speeches, although they could be interpret the term “text” as broadly as they wished.

We would like to thank Megan Pōtiki as a co-convenor of the symposium, the Hocken Library for hosting the event, and the University of Otago’s Centre for Research on Colonial Culture for its financial support of the symposium and subsequent publication. We hope that this volume aligns with the Centre’s stated goal of producing “critical histories of the present”.