Mauri
Merryn Jones 
Isobel Joy Te Aho-White

 

Mauri
Merryn Jones
Ill. Isobel Joy Te Aho-White
Māori trans. Kanapu Rangitauira
Oratia (2026)
Picture book
24 pages, Paperback
ISBN 978 1 99004 296 6

 

‘From the source to the mouth of the sea all things are joined together as one.
Mai i te mātāpuna ki te ngutuawa ka tuituia ngā mea katoa hei Kotahi.’

 Merryn Jones has had the brilliant idea of creating a picture book which explores the Māori concept of Mauri for young readers. Mauri is variously defined as ‘spirit’ or ‘life principle’, or ‘vital spirit that connects all living things.’ The genius of this book is that it uses the traditional Māori creation story to show the interconnection of everything in the environment. The text is written in clear simple English, accompanied by a Māori translation by Kanapu Rangitauira.

 The story begins with Papatūānuku, the Earth Mother, sweltering in heat and darkness beneath Ranginui, the Sky Father.

‘I’m hot and thirsty,’ she said. ‘My forests and rivers need water.’
‘Kei te wera, kei te hiainu ahau,’ hei tāna. ‘Me whai wai ōku ngahere, ōku awa.’

 The first of their offspring to be called to help is Tāwhirimātea, the god of weather, who presses the rising heat into clouds. Soon rain is falling on the mountains and streams are flowing through the forests.

‘Fish and eels moved gracefully in the river currents.’
‘Tau an te tere o ngā ika me ngā tuna i te au o ngā awa.’

 Papatūānuku tells Ranginui that her trees and plants need sunshine to grow. He calls on Tamanuiterā, the sun god, to provide sunlight, thus bringing joy to Tāne Mahuta and his oxygen-breathing forests.  The plants in the vegetable gardens of Rongomātāne, god of crops and peace, flourish. The winds of Tāwhirimātea carry the seeds of the plants and help the birds to fly on their migrations.

Exhausted, Papatūānuku needs rest, so Tamanuiterā passes some of his light to Te Marama, the goddess of the moon. All the creatures of Tangaroa, the sea god listen and he sheds tears of joy.

‘Millions of stars glittered as Te Marama whispered a lullaby.’

‘Whērikoriko ana ngā tini whetū i a Te Marama e oriori ana.’

 

Aware that all living things are connected to each other and the environment, Ranginui and Papatūānuku sleep quietly.

 Most young readers will be familiar with the Māori pantheon and the gods’ particular responsibilities but Merryn Jones has carefully emphasised examples of the way all aspects of the natural environment are connected. Thus there are subtle reminders of plants breathing out oxygen, birds carrying seeds, the wind’s involvement with clouds and the importance of water.

 The illustrations are an important part of this book and Isobel Joy Te Aho-White has excelled herself with her beautifully symbolic pictures. Papatūānuku is clothed in vegetation greenery, while Ranginui appears dressed in a sky-blue cloak with a cloud patterns. Meanwhile the various minor gods are skilfully represented as they appear in traditional carvings, with stylised bodies and three fingers. Tāne Mahuta is shown standing tall before his kauri trees, while Rongomātāne is presented as an earth-coloured gardener, working a kō in a kūmara patch. Tangaroa, with his fish-like tail is all sinuous curves of green and blue, as he listens to his whales singing. A single tear can be seen dropping from his eye, even though he is underwater.

 The picture of sky-blue Tāwhirimātea captures the theme of Mauri, as he simultaneously puffs out wind and squeezes the clouds to release the rain which nurtures the plants and trees below. All is connected.

 Mauri is the work of three talented people coming together to share their special abilities, making this book a symbol of mauri in action.

 In the words of Dr Pita Sharples, speaking in 2009:
‘From the source to the mouth of the sea all things are joined together as one.
Mai i te mātāpuna ki te ngutuawa ka tuituia ngā mea katoa hei Kotahi.’

 Trevor Agnew

17 Oct 2026  [Review 3870.]

 

Note for further reading:

The Urban Activity Book, a recently published nature guide for young people, includes several references to the concept of mauri, as part of ‘helping tamariki to build respectful, joyful relationships and connections with the world around them.’ -  The Urban Activity Book by Rachel Haydon, Te Papa Press, (2026) pages 5, 26-31.

 

Mauri is also the theme of Robyn Kahukiwa’s picture book The Koroua and the Mauri Stone, Puffin (1994). (see below) The text of this book is also reprinted in the collection Te Ao Marama, Volume 4: Contemporary Māori Writing for Children, edited by Witi Ihimaera (1994).

 Trevor Agnew
17 Oct 2026  [Review 3870.]

 

The Koroua and the Mauri Stone
Robyn Kahukiwa
Puffin/Viking (1994)
Picture book
Paperback, 32 pages
ISBN 0 14 054582 4

 

Maori language edition:
Te Koroua me te Kohatu Mauri
Robyn Kahukiwa Te reo Māori translation
by Wi Kuki Kaa
Puffin/Viking (1994)
Picture book
Paperback, 32 pages
ISBN 978 0 14 054583 2

 Robyn Kahukiwa has written and illustrated The Koroua and the Mauri Stone, a wonderful story of an elderly Māori man who is searching for the lost Mauri Stone of his ancestors. As a koroua (Māori elder), he is anxious to restore the land and ‘the children of Tane’ (the plants and trees of the forest) to their original strength.

He builds a traditional Māori kite, which he names Kahau (linking to the idea of a messenger to the gods). In his kite, he incorporates mana, ihi and wehi. Then he flies it over the ancestral land. While it is being flown, the kite breaks the string holding it and takes its own path, falling where the Mauri stone lies. The rediscovery which follows inspires the old man’s whānau (extended family) to take heart and begin the restoration work which will help the forest to recover. The birds and insects will live there again.

A list of the birds and trees that once inhabited the land is given in a guide at the back of the book. It also lists those trees and plants that are being replanted by the family.

A Glossary explains that ‘Ihi’ means power, ‘Wehi’ means fear or awe, and ‘Mana’ means integrity. Mauri is defined as the spirit or life principle enfolding all living things including people as well the land, mountains, rivers, streams and the sea. They all depend on each other. In Māori tradition, Tāne is the name of the deity responsible for the forests.

 Note: A Māori language edition, Te Koroua me te Kohatu Mauri, was also published by Puffin Books in 1994. [ISBN 978 0 14 054583 2] It was translated into te reo Māori by Wi Kuki Kaa.

The text of this story is also reprinted in the collection Te Ao Marama, Volume 4: Contemporary Māori Writing for Children, edited by Witi Ihimaera, Reed (1996).

Trevor Agnew

Nga Atua: Maori Gods Robyn Kahukiwa

 Nga Atua: Maori Gods  Robyn Kahukiwa (text & ill)   
Oratia Books (2017)
32 pages, Hardback NZ$25
ISBN 978 0 947506 26 1

This book fills a need so perfectly that it is hard to know why nobody thought of it before. Our

bookshelves are full of books retelling Maori myths and legends but this is the first book to provide a simple guide to the Polynesian pantheon.

Robyn Kahukiwa has brought together her colourful illustrations of the key gods and her equally dramatic pen portraits of their personalities and powers.
She doesn’t retell the classic myths; instead she describes some of the key participants.
‘Hinemoana is a powerful being. She looks after the sea with Tangaroa.’ The accompanying illustration shows Hinemoana underwater, shimmering in shades of blue and green, arm-in-arm with a taniwha. Both look as if they had just stepped off the wall panel of a meeting house. The result is a lively and attractive introduction to the gods who figure so largely in our shared mythology, our place-names, our traditions and our culture.
In creating this book as a special gift for her then six-year-old grandson, Kahu, Robyn Kahukiwa has also made a special taonga for all young New Zealanders.

Trevor Agnew

22 June 2017

Why did the Tiger eat the Dental Nurse?

Winter reading for young readers: Why did the Tiger eat the Dental Nurse?

The Kuia and the Spider, Robyn Kahukiwa, Puffin/Penguin, paperback
Just One More: stories by Joy Cowley ill. Gavin Bishop, Gecko Press, paperback
Waiting For Later, Tina Matthew, Walker, hardback
The Kiwi Kid’s ABC, Rebekah Holguin, HarperCollins, paperback
At the Lake, Jill Harris, HarperCollins, paperback
The Lost Tohunga, David Hair, HarperCollins, paperback
The Loblolly Boy and the Sorcerer, James Norcliffe, Longacre/Random House, paperback
Sacrifice Joanna Orwin, HarperCollins, paperback

Since the 1980s, New Zealand publishing for young readers has been in a golden age, with self-assured writers, confident illustrators and knowledgeable publishers and booksellers. A quick glance at some of the titles available for this winter’s reading shows just how far books for Kiwi kids have come. (The gender bias in favour of males appears to be a seasonal oddity.)

It is incredible that thirty years have passed since that classic New Zealand picture book The Kuia and the Spider first appeared. The children who read it in 1981 are now middle-aged but Patricia Grace’s tale has remained timeless. An old Maori lady sits by her stove, peeling kumara and arguing with a spider about which of them is the best weaver. When their grandchildren visit, the unlikely pair argue about whose descendants are the best.
‘My grandchildren are much better than yours.’
Robyn Kahukiwa’s pictures may be a little simple but the central figure, the old kuia, is as solid and powerful as a statue. She and her spider adversary are the stuff that myths are made of. ‘And they argued and argued and argued for the rest of their lives.’

There weren’t many locally-produced books around for Kiwi kids in the 1980s but there were some magnificent stories in school journals and readers. Gecko Press have raided the archives for some of Joy Cowley’s liveliest stories. Just One More makes 17 of these wonderful read-aloud stories available to a new generation. What was the dragon doing in the library? Can a pirate become a bus-driver? Best of all, why did the tiger eat the dental nurse? Gavin Bishop’s witty colour illustrations add to the fun

Tina Matthew has used a delicate Japanese technique of woodcut and stencil to create Later, a charming picture book about Nancy, a small overlooked girl. ‘Will you tell me a story?’ ‘Later.’ When Nancy finds that nobody in her family has time to spare for her, she climbs a tree and waits till later comes. As the moon rises, Nancy listens to the tree and watches her family, who are soon waiting for her return. ‘I know I’m small, but tonight I feel big,’ she says, having gained a better idea of herself.

Alphabet books are now as much cultural indicators as guides to the 26 letters, so The Kiwi Kid’s ABC is as likely to be purchased by a Swedish tourist as a doting grandparent. Neither will be disappointed. Rebekah Holguin’s sharp-edged illustrations depict Kiwi life, from jandals to rugby, aroha to sausage sizzle, by way of lambs and tuatara.

Brothers sharing a summer holiday at their grandfather’s lakeside home sounds like a Kiwi idyll, in At the Lake by Jill Harris, but relations between brothers Simon (14) and Jem (11) have been scratchy since their father left home to work in Australia. The discovery that their holiday spot now includes a paddock full of relocated houses, with a truculent security guard, only makes matters worse. As well as being an exciting adventure, this well-written novel has a convincing picture of young people coming to understand their emotions, and reaching out to help others.

With The Lost Tohunga David Hair concludes the fantasy-thriller trilogy begun in 2009 with The Bone Tiki and The Taniwha’s Tears. Once again young Mat finds the worlds of New Zealand’s myth and history, past and present, are flowing together, so that a visit to Taupo catapults him into a violent (and sometimes blood-drenched) adventure. The skilful interweaving of legend and reality makes for fascinating reading. As rival magicians struggle for total control, Mat has only his skill with a taiaha to depend on, when the climactic battle erupts in the Rotorua Bath House.

Another book that cried out for a sequel was James Norcliffe’s The Loblolly Boy (2009). Now, in The Loblolly Boy and the Sorcerer, we have an even more intriguing tale. The loblolly boy – a green-winged flying boy invisible to almost everyone – is currently Ben, who is desperate to return to his original body. The swapping of bodies can be done with a simple handshake but the interloper, now calling himself Benjy, is enjoying life in his borrowed body, making trouble at home and risking expulsion at school. When Benjy refuses to exchange, Ben is trapped as the loblolly boy in ‘an in-between world’. His dream has become a nightmare. Ben’s only ally is Mel, a schoolgirl he rescued from bullies in a very funny encounter. Can they use the services offered by the sinister Sorcerer, or is he manipulating them? The only advice Ben has comes from a supernatural sea captain and a singing gorilla. This is a richly detailed fantasy, one which cries out for another sequel.

Older teenagers (and adults) will find Joanna Orwin’s Sacrifice rewarding reading. Generations after a volcanic cataclysm has destroyed New Zealand, a gathering of the survivors’ descendants agrees on a mission of sacrifice. Five young men will be sent out into the Great Ocean on a double-hulled reed canoe in search of the legendary kum, a vegetable that may be able to raise the people above their grim struggle for subsistence in the swamps. Taka (16) would rather dance but as he learns how to build and navigate the great canoe, he and his four unlikely comrades become a team. They also become aware of the sacrifice that is demanded of them. What they find, when they undertake their voyage, challenges each of them to the utmost. Although Sacrifice is a lively adventure story, it is also a mature, thought-provoking novel.

Would a publisher have had the courage to produce such a book thirty years ago? Would the reading public for such a volume have existed? Books for New Zealand’s young readers have come a long way in three decades.

Trevor Agnew

Publisher details:
The Kuia and the Spider, Robyn Kahukiwa, Puffin/Penguin NZ, 32 pages, paperback NZ$19.99
ISBN 978-014050387-6
Just One More: stories by Joy Cowley ill. Gavin Bishop, Gecko Press, 91 pages, paperback, NZ$22.99
ISBN 978-1-877467-67-7
Waiting For Later, Tina Matthew, Walker, 32 pages, hardback, NZ$27.99 ISBN 978-1-921720-05-5
The Kiwi Kid’s ABC, Rebekah Holguin, HarperCollins NZ, 32 pages, paperback NZ$19.99
ISBN 978-1-86950-895-1
At the Lake, Jill Harris, HarperCollins, 192 pages, paperback, NZ$19.99 ISBN 978-1-86950-884-5
The Lost Tohunga, David Hair, HarperCollins NZ, paperback, 368 pages, NZ$24.99
ISBN 978-1-86950-827-2
The Loblolly Boy and the Sorcerer, James Norcliffe, Longacre/Random House NZ, 297 pages, paperback, NZ$19.99 ISBN 978-1-877460-69-2
Sacrifice Joanna Orwin, HarperCollins NZ, 368 pages, paperback, NZ$26.99
ISBN 978-1-86950-912-5


This review originally appeared in Winter 2011 in the Your Weekend supplement of The Press, Christchurch, New Zealand.