About this Item
First edition. Hardcover, octavo; red cloth boards with gilt spine titling; map endpapers; 573pp., b&w photographic illustrations. Moderate wear; board edges rubbed; upper front edge frayed, worn and scraped corners; mild scattered spotting to endpapers; toned and spotted text block edges. Well-rubbed, unclipped dustwrapper with scraping to fore-edges, edges and corners. Very good otherwise and wrapper now professionally protected by superior non-adhesive polypropylene film with white paper backing. Postage quoted is for a standard format octavo book. Final charges may vary depending on size and weight. It is said in proverbs that the bow of Te Arawa canoe rests at Meketu and the stern at Tongariro; thus the descendants from that vessel may be found all over this area. But it was not always thus, for many, many years ago the Arawa people, then known as Ngati Ohomairangi, lived in legendary Haaiki, far to the north of New Zealand. Now, after some wars the decision was made to build a great canoe and migrate to Aotearoa. The jouney was long, and there was much anxiety; the winds rose and the seas were whipped up and the canoe was drawn into a fearsome whirlpool. But all survived, eventually landing at Maketu. Then followed a long history of exploration and settlement, with many excitements on the way, for example the story of Hatupatu and Kurangaituku, the woman who speared birds with her long sharp lips and ate them raw. She had wings on her arms and feathers on her body, and she took Hatupatu as her unwilling husband to her cave high up in the cliff. But there are stories of true love, like that between Hinemoa and Tutanekai. The lovers were forbidden to marry but one night Hinemoa swam to her beloved on the island; and when the villagers looked in on Tutanekai's sleeping place in the morning they saw four feet instead of two and thus was the beginning of a happy married life. But life was not an idyll. There were wars, often characterised by treachery, and grim vendettas involving whole tribes. Fighting continued into Pakeha times. Indeed, many early missionaries suffered raids, and even terrible deaths. This history of Te Arawa, who today occupy the Rotorua lakes district and part of the central bay of Plenty coastline, is notable for its readable scholarship. Included are genealogies, as well as chants and prayers (with translations where possible). As a boy in his father's shop in Rotorua, the author heard the stories of the old Maori world from the kuia and kaumatua who visited the store. As a fluent speaker of Te Reo Maori, Dr Stafford had 'mana' (standing) in the Maori world. His remarkable skill with the English language and the knowledge he shared as a speaker has been recognised in Rotorua, across New Zealand and worldwide. 'Te Arawa: A History of the Arawa People' is now a collector's item. Although some people disagreed with certain versions of the stories told in the book, Dr Stafford believed this was healthy as the stories were kept alive by people talking about them.
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