RAUKURA Roa wrote the pioneering book alongside her dad, Tom Roa. She is shown here at the launch at Taarewaanga marae in Ōtorohanga. PHOTO: Sigrid Christiansen
FATHER and daughter duo Dr Raukura and Professor Tom Roa have published a youth fiction book about the Waikato wars.
Mahuripounamu is only the third work of fiction for rangatahi to be originally written in te reo Māori, that Raukura knows of.
And other available titles, such as Witi Ihimaera’s Te Kaieke Tohorā (Whale Rider), were first written in English. These sit alongside more obvious translations such as JK Rowling’s Hare Pota (Harry Potter).
Mahuripounamu’s title relates to a magical pounamu, which allows for time travel. “Māhuri” means a young sapling in English, and the word implies growth.
Main character Tomairangi is the real-life mokopuna of matua Tom and the nephew of Raukura. In the book he learns history from his koro and travels back in time.
Alongside the book, the authors have released another resource – a jigsaw.
The puzzle Te Riri Ki Waikato – The Waikato War depicts the racehorses and prosperous lands owned by Waikato Māori before the invasion and confiscation of lands by the colonial government. It also shows battle scenes, and historical figures such as rangatira Rewi Maniapoto.
“Piecing together our past reminds us of what happened in Aotearoa, particularly during the battles in the Waikato, which is a powerful access to reconciliation, forgiveness, and moving forward together,” Tom and Raukura said.
The immediate whānau was “not a jigsaw puzzle family” but a cousin Moana and her kids loved them, which is why they made one.
The book started life as a text explaining the puzzle, Raukura said. But the writing felt boring, and she became concerned it might impact readers in a similar way.
“Then I thought, let’s turn it into a story.”
Timing was tight – she started the jigsaw project in October 2022 and the book in February this year. But it had to be ready for Matariki in 2023.
That was where Tom came in, after Raukura asked, “Dad, can we work on this together?”
She initially wrote each chapter; then he would “jump in”.
Language was a key concern for father and daughter – balancing the old and the contemporary reo, to create an understandable book with an accurate older feel.
“We wanted quite simple, modern Māori. But we also wanted [to feature] a more, I don’t want to say archaic, but the older type of reo Māori for the 1800s.
“How would they have phrased their thoughts back then?”
The Māori language has evolved greatly in the past 20 years, let alone 150, she said.
“So, Dad channelled his mother. He would remember the way his mother would phrase her words. He wrote in that style.”
Raukura had only previously published for younger children. This book is aimed at the 8-12-age group, but also university age learners. And that had been challenging.
“Have we pitched it at the right level? The language, the vocabulary, the sentences?”
The duo kept the Roa children in mind while writing – both the teenage boys enrolled at wharekura, in the immersion system, as well as another niece and nephew in mainstream schooling.
“They grew up speaking Māori, so it is definitely pitched towards the kids who are speaking, who are kind of fluent,” Raukura said.
Both Raukura and Tom hold positions at Waikato University. They see a big difference between the students’ English language and Māori language reading levels.
The latter was often considerably lower, even among third years. So, these students were also in Raukura’s mind as she wrote.
“[We were] giving them more literature to read, to expand their … reo capacity really. Reading and writing are very critical.”
She said it would be valuable to learn how the students managed the material. Was it too hard for them, or too easy?
“I really want to get the teachers’ perspectives. How they’re using it, how the kids are grappling with it.”
This book may not be the last.
“I can see some more. We’ve got Tomairangi going back in time to the New Zealand Wars, and then we can take him back in time to the Treaty of Waitangi. We can take him back in time to the establishment of the Kīngitanga. All these special historical events.”
Her biggest literary inspiration is English language Māori writer Witi Ihimaera, especially the novel Bulibasha. Another is the late Hoani Waititi, who wrote pioneering te reo textbooks.
“It’s beautiful storytelling, actually. [Hoani Waititi] He’s definitely one of my favorite te reo Māori writers.
“His reo is beautiful. It’s so simple and eloquent … that old school simple country life. That sort of speaking. There’s so much honesty in it.”
The book and puzzle were launched earlier this month at Ōtorohanga’s Taarewaanga marae.
Mahuripounamu | He Kōrero Paki Mō Te Riri Ki Waikato SPECIAL EDITION is available from rauringa.co.nz
The New Book
Join Tomairangi on his intrepid journey to the past where he discovers what happened to his people during the Waikato wars.
Tomairangi is gifted a special mahuri pounamu from his Koro Tom, and is transported back to the past, to the times of the wars in the Waikato.
How is he supposed to get home?
Who is this shadow that keeps following him?
And what was the point of this war, where so many people, particularly tamariki, fought and died?
Te pukapuka hou
Tārūrū kau ana te tinana o Tomairangi, he hauaitū, he maiangi. Rongongia ana te mātao, te kūnāwiri, ka hinga anō nei he makere, taka ka taka …
Oho ake ana a Tomairangi i tana moe, engari mō te whakaāhuru o tana moenga. I runga kē ia i te papa paruparu e takoto ana ki tētehi maioro. Ngāueue ana te whenua i te pahūtanga mai o te pū repo. Tāwiriwiri ana te tinana o Tomairangi i te kino o te mataku.
– Book blurb by Te Raukura and Tom Roa
