Rukutia

Mō te auahatanga, kāore he painga ake i ngā tīpuna Māori. He tohunga rātou ki te raranga i te whakaaro, ki te whakairo i te reo, me te whakaniko i te kupu. Kāore i kō atu, kāore i kō mai i ā rātou titonga mōteatea, haka, tauparapara, karakia, aha atu, aha atu – inā kē te kounga! Ko te reo titonga o ngā tīpuna Māori te kaiwhakaaweawe i te reo toikupu o te kaitārai kōrero nei, o Aperahama Hurihanganui. Tomokia mai nei te waharoa o tā tātou pukapuka kia wānanga tahi ai tātou. Rukutia kia ū!

Kua hau te rongo o ngā toikupu a Aperahama, ka mutu, ko ia hei kaiwhakaihuwaka ki ngā whakataetae tuhinga auaha. Ko tēnei te tuatahi o ngā pukapuka toikupu, ko ōna kōrero katoa i tuhia ki te reo Māori, arā, kārekau he whakapākehātanga, kīhai hoki a Aperahama i whakamāori i ngā toikupu a ētahi atu.

Ka tōia mai nei e Aperahama ngā wheako huhua o tōna ake ao me te ao Māori whānui tonu hei kaupapa tuhi māna, pēnei i ngā āhuatanga ōkawa – tangihanga mai, tikanga mai, tae atu rā ki ngā take o te wā – tōrangapū mai, A.I. mai, tatū mai nei ki ngā mahi o ia rā – paeāhua mai, inu kawhe mai. Nō reira e te hunga kōrero Māori, kuhuna mai te tatau o te whare kōrero nei e rangona ai, e kitea ai ngā whakaaro me ngā kare ā-roto e iriiri nei i ōna pātū. Rukutia kia mau!

In waiata and haka, tauparapara and karakia, the rich poetry of te reo Māori has filled wharenui and echoed across marae from the tīpuna to today. Now, for the first time, here is Rukutia, a collection of original poetry entirely in te reo Māori.

Written by award-winning author Aperahama Hurihanganui, Rukutia takes the reader on a journey through the waharoa, across the marae ātea, and into the wharenui to wānanga the important kaupapa that adorn its walls. Throughout, Aperahama brings readers a rich variety of Māori experience and expression: from grieving the dead to the love for his son, from politics to A.I., from kapa haka to his morning cup of tea.

‘Tino rangatiratangatia tō reo’, Te Arikinui Kuini Nga wai hono i te po urged in her first kauhau to the nation. Rukutia will enable the increasing number of reo Māori speakers, from beginners to experts, to dive into the thoughts, emotions and experiences relating to te ao Māori through our own language, through te reo rangatira.