by POIA REWI, to be published tomorrow, Friday 10 September, by Auckland University Press, explores for the first time the complexity of Māori oratory, both past and present.
Rewi says, “It is my hope that, by providing an in-depth account of the context of whaikōrero and, in particular, an explanation of its diversity and variability, core values and principles, intricacies and nuances, this book will provide a means by which the spirit of older whaikōrero can be reinstated in the modern context and upheld by current and potential orators.
“Offering a worthwhile insight into tribal and individual uniqueness and specificity, as well as revealing comparative differences and similarities, could encourage a shift from ‘standardising’ the way whaikōrero is delivered. With an invigorated approach to both delivery and observance, and a more informed appreciation of whaikōrero, I hope there will be a resurgence of excellence in whaikōrero.”
WHAIKŌRERO draws on Poia Rewi’s thesis, for which he conducted 31 interviews with exponents of whaikōrero and cultural repositories between 1995 and 2003, as well as examining documentary sources. Most of his informants were chosen because they were renowned as quality practitioners of whaikōrero, well known throughout their tribal boundaries or recognised as great orators because of the memorable whaikōrero they had delivered. Their tribal affiliations include Tūhoe (Ngāi Tūhoe), Kahungunu (Ngāti Kahungunu), Te Arawa, Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Awa, Waikato–Maniapoto, Te Whakatōhea, Ngā Puhi and Ngāti Whare; the majority being from Tūhoe since the general belief, when Rewi began his research, was that Tūhoe have managed to evade the assimilation process, in comparison with other tribes and, therefore, orators from Tūhoe were referred to him as knowledgeable in the arena of whaikōrero.
“All of these kuia and koroua of the 1990s,” he says, “embodied a link with highly skilled orators they would have witnessed who would, in turn, have been educated by elders schooled in wānanga, the special schools of learning of the early twentieth century.”
In his book WHAIKŌRERO, Dr Rewi delves into the underlying philosophies of the art, which impact on, and are influenced by, a diverse range of systems within the Māori world, its culture, etiquette, and belief system.
Beginning with the origin of whaikōrero, he moves on to discuss modes of learning and the acquisition of whaikōrero, providing the basis to discuss the locations where whaikōrero takes place and who is permitted to deliver whaikōrero. Having designated the people to deliver whaikōrero and their ‘space’ for delivery, there follows an exploration of the speaker, and the attributes which qualify a particular individual, or the type of delivery that is acceptable. He then covers the structure of whaikōrero and moves onto the future of whaikōrero and what adaptations may lie ahead. An appendix provides some sample whaikōrero.
About the author:
Poia Rewi’s passion to find out more about Māori culture and lore was imbued in him as he traversed the Bay of Plenty, Gisborne and bordering areas as a small boy with his beloved grandfather Sonny White.
“We would attend Ringatū days in the Mātaatua area where I recall sleeping at the feet of elders. The last thing I would hear at night were Ringatū prayers, and the first thing to enter my ears in the morning were Ringatū prayers again. Although what was going on at the time was not always apparent to me, I think the teaching began there.”
Born in 1967 in Rotorua, Poia Rewi (Tūhoe, Ngāti Manawa, Te Arawa, Ngāti Whare, Ngāti Tūwharetoa) is associate professor at the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. He has taught in Otago’s Te Tumu (School of Maori, Pacific and Indigenous Studies) since 2003 and prior to that taught at the University of Waikato University for 10 years. He was educated at Tawhiuau School and Te Aute College and completed his MA at the University of Waikato and his PhD at the University of Otago with a thesis on “Te Ao o te Whaikōrero”.
He is a certified translator and interpreter of Maori into English, a qualified CTEFLA teacher and has been a judge at regional Maori language speaking competitions and at Maori performing arts competitions (adult/senior and high school levels).
In 2002–2005 he was contracted as a Maori language lexicographer by the Maori Language Commission to provide Maori language definitions of Maori language words for the largest monolingual Maori language dictionary ever published, He Pātaka Kupu (2008).
Whaikōrero: The World of Māori Oratory by Poia Rewi
Auckland University Press - $45
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