For Te Wā Tuku Reo Māori we are sharing … famous books

For Te Wā Tuku Reo Māori we are sharing … famous books

Click on each book cover to read an extract.

If you are not fluent, getting familiar with words and texts, reading them, and comparing it with the English version it’s a great tool to learn at your own pace.

A te reo Māori translation of Witi Ihimaera’s award-winning novel about two rival Māori families on the East Coast, Bulibasha.

Bulibasha is the title given to the King of the Gypsies, and on the East Coast of New Zealand two patriarchs fight to be proclaimed the king.

Tamihana is the leader of the great Mahana family of shearers and sportsmen and women. Rupeni Poata is his arch enemy. The two families clash constantly, in sport, in cultural contests and, finally, in the Golden Fleece competition to find the greatest shearing gang in New Zealand. Caught in the middle of this struggle is the teenager Simeon, grandson of the patriarch and of his grandmother Ramona, struggling with his own feelings and loyalties as the battles rage on many levels.

Winner of the 1995 Montana New Zealand Book Award, brilliantly realised in the film Mahana and loved by generations of readers, this powerful te reo Māori translation of a New Zealand classic will introduce Bulibasha to a whole new audience.

A lifetime of insights on Māori dance arts told in te reo Māori by one of our luminaries in this field.

Sir Tīmoti Kāretu is one of the country’s chief exponents of te reo Māori – from leading the Māori Language Commission to producing a new generation of language experts through his teaching at Te Panekiretanga o te Reo Māori. He is also an unrivalled creator of waiata and haka, composing songs and judging at Te Matatini and other events. In this book, Sir Tīmoti shares his extensive experience in the artforms of haka and waiata – from Māori songs of the two world wars to the rise of kapa haka competitions, from love songs to action songs, from Sir Apirana Ngata to Te Puea Hērangi, and from Te Matatini to contemporary hui on marae. Throughout the book, he draws on exemplars of Māori song and haka, explaining form and meanings, maintaining his stance that Lyric is Paramount! Written in exemplary te reo Māori, Mātāmua ko te Kupu! will become a taonga of Māori knowledge and language.

Paulo Coelho’s inspirational global bestseller now available in te reo Māori. Paulo Coelho’s masterpiece tells the mystical story of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who yearns to travel in search of a worldly treasure. His quest will lead him to riches far different – and far more satisfying – than he ever imagined. The Alchemist teaches us about the essential wisdom of listening to our hearts, of recognising opportunity and learning to read the omens strewn along life’s path. And, most importantly, to follow our dreams. With over 85 million copies sold around the world and translated into more languages than any other book by a living author, The Alchemist has established itself as a modern classic, now brilliantly translated into te reo Māori by Hēmi Kelly.

One of the greatest children’s stories of all time, J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, translated into te reo Māori. Harry Potter has never even heard of Hogwarts when letters start arriving for Mr H. Potter, The Cupboard under the Stairs, 4 Privet Drive. In emerald-green ink on yellowish parchment, they are swiftly confiscated by Harry’s grisly aunt and uncle, the Dursleys. Then, on Harry’s eleventh birthday, a great giant of a man called Rubeus Hagrid bursts in with some astonishing news: Harry Potter is a wizard, and he has a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. In the first volume of one of the greatest children’s stories of all time, Ron and Hermione, Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall introduce Harry and the reader to Quidditch and You-Know-Who, to the promise of magic and the inheritance of the past. Now inspirationally translated into te reo Māori by Leon Heketū Blake, the story starts here.

 

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