Hiwa, Contemporary Maōri Short Stories
Paula Morris (ed)
He aha te tikanga o tēnei kupu, Hiwa? I roto i tāna Tīmatanga Kōrero, ko te tohutoro a Morris, ‘Hiwa-i-te-rangi, te iwa me te whetū whakamutunga o te kāhui Matariki,’ me te whakauru i te whakamāramatanga a Rangi Matamua, ‘Ko te kupu ‘hiwa’ ko te ‘tūkaha o te tipu’.
Na reira, ka whakatinana a Hiwa i te ingo kia tutuki ngā awhero me ngā wawata o te tangata, kia tupu i roto i te ao o te mārama, te ao o te whakatupu, me te tohu o tēnei paenga kōrero, 'tētahi wā anō o te tipu mō ngā kaituhi me ngā tuhituhinga Māori.'
E 27 ngā paki poto i roto i tēnei pukapuka, he rerekē te roa mai i ngā tūtaki poto a Jack Remiel Cottrell me te pōhauhau, tae atu ki te pūrākau tawhiti roa o Anthony Lapwood kimikimi me te whakawhitinga whakatipuranga. I runga anō hoki, ko te momo kanorau e pa ana ki te kaipānui i a ia e rīti ana i roto i te paenga kōrero, kua māka.
He rerekē anō ngā takiwā wā me ngā wāhi o ngā paki, nā te mea karekau katoa e puta i roto o Aotearoa New Zealand o ināianei, i tuhia rānei e te tangata Māori i konei. Hei tauira ko Paradise nā Colleen Maria Lenihan ka tū ki Hapani, ko The Kiss nā Patricia Grace kei Itari, ko ngā kaituhi pēnei i a David Geary, Aramiha Harwood, me Nick Twemlow, e noho ana ki tāwāhi.
He pai ake te mahi o ētahi o ngā paki i ētahi atu, ahakoa te āhua o te kaupapa, te āhua o te tāera. Ka tū ētahi. Hei tauira, te paki pūkare a.k.a nā Aramiha Harwood, te tino whakaahuatanga a Kelly Ana Morey mō te oati a Maungapōhatu rāua ko Rua Kenana, me te tūtaki a tētahi kotiro ki e rua - ko Faithful and True - e hanga ana mō te pānuitanga kaha, he pērā anō a Pai, nā Rawinia Parata, he whakaahua whai kiko e ahu mai ana i ngā rangirua o te oranga o he matua wahine Māori takitahi
Tekau mā rima o ngā paki kua whakaputahia ki ētahi atu wāhi, ko ētahi mai i te tau 2006. A, ki te kī tātou i ngā kōrero 'hou' hei rite ki te 'ināianei' he āhua o he
t o r o n g a, e.
E wha anake kua tuhia ki te reo Māori. He tohu pōuri tēnei mō te kōrero a Morris - i tana whakakōwaro i tētahi kaupapa nui mai i te rokiroki kawainga o Te Ao Mārama i te tau 1992 - ngā kōrero me ngā takitaki e pēnei ana, 'kei te haere tonu te nōnoki mō te pukapuka reorua'. Ko te pōuri, nō te mea ki ahau nei, ko te whakapuaki i a koe anō i roto i tona ake reo ka uruhia atu ki roto i ngā āria me ngā māharahara kāore i te rite ki tētahi atu reo, ka tūtohi whakapoto e ngā paki poto kua tuhia i te reo Māori kei konei.
Hei whakamutunga, he rawe te kite i tēnei paenga kōrero kua taia. He rawe hoki ki te kite i ētahi atu paenga kōrero hōu o ngā tuhituhinga Māori kua taia, pēnei Te Awa o Kupu raūa ko Ngā Kupu Wero, he mea whakamere, he tokomaha ngā kaituhi e whakaatuhia ana i a Hiwa.
Karekau he wāhi mō te whakataetae i waenga i ngā taitara pēnei, ko te maha o ngā paenga kōrero pēnei ka pai ake, i te mea ko te tīkanga, ka whakarite mātau he 'tuhi pai' o rātau wāhanga. Ko Hiwa me ērā atu taitara he whakanui i te tere o te tipu me te rere o te awa o ngā tuhinga auaha me ngā tuhinga kōrero pono a te Māori.
What is the meaning of this word, Hiwa? In her Introduction, Morris references, ‘Hiwa-i-te-rangi, the ninth and final star of the Matariki cluster,’ and includes Rangi Matamua’s definition, ‘The word ‘hiwa’ means ‘vigorous of growth’.
As such, Hiwa epitomises the desire for one’s ambitions and aspirations to be fulfilled, to prosper into the world of light, the world of advancement, and as such this anthology represents, ‘yet another time of growth for Māori writers and writing.’
There are 27 short stories in this volume, varying in length from Jack Remiel Cottrell’s brief encounters with absurdity, through to Anthony Lapwood’s far longer fantastical and transgenerational romance. Accordingly also, the genre diversity a reader encounters when reading through the anthology, is marked.
The time and place settings of the stories vary markedly, for by no means all are set within contemporary Aotearoa New Zealand or are written by Māori resident here. As for example Paradise by Colleen Maria Lenihan takes place in Japan and The Kiss by Patricia Grace occurs in Italy, while writers such as David Geary, Aramiha Harwood, and Nick Twemlow, all reside overseas.
Some of the stories work better than others, regardless of their thematic or stylistic character.
Some stand out. For example, Aramiha Harwood’s evocative story a.k.a, Kelly Ana Morey’s excellent depiction of the promise of Maungapōhatu and Rua Kenana and a young girl’s encounter with both – titled Faithful and True - makes for compulsive reading, as does Pai, by Rawinia Parata, a based-on-life portrayal of the uncertainties of being a solo matua wahine Māori.
Fifteen of the stories have been published elsewhere, some as far back as 2006. Which, if we are to take ‘contemporary’ as equivalent to ‘now’ might be a bit of a
s t r e t c h, eh.
Four only are written in te reo Māori. Which is sadly indicative of what Morris – in echoing a key point from the precursor collective of Te Ao Mārama in 1992 – notes and quotes as the, ‘struggle for a bilingual literature’ continues’. Sad, because for me, expressing onself in one’s own language necessarily involves inluding concepts and concerns that another tongue does not often have an equivalent for, as succinctly indicated by the short stories penned in te reo Māori here included.
To conclude, it is great to see this anthology published. It is also great to see other recent anthologies of writing by Māori published, such as Te Awa o Kupu and Ngā Kupu Wero, which interestingly, share several writers as represented in Hiwa.
There is no room for competition between such titles either, in fact the more such anthologies the merrier, given that of course, we ensure their components are ‘well-written’. Hiwa and these other titles are a celebration of the rapidly growing and flowing river of both creative and non-fictive writing by Māori.
Paula Morris (ed)
He aha te tikanga o tēnei kupu, Hiwa? I roto i tāna Tīmatanga Kōrero, ko te tohutoro a Morris, ‘Hiwa-i-te-rangi, te iwa me te whetū whakamutunga o te kāhui Matariki,’ me te whakauru i te whakamāramatanga a Rangi Matamua, ‘Ko te kupu ‘hiwa’ ko te ‘tūkaha o te tipu’.
Na reira, ka whakatinana a Hiwa i te ingo kia tutuki ngā awhero me ngā wawata o te tangata, kia tupu i roto i te ao o te mārama, te ao o te whakatupu, me te tohu o tēnei paenga kōrero, 'tētahi wā anō o te tipu mō ngā kaituhi me ngā tuhituhinga Māori.'
E 27 ngā paki poto i roto i tēnei pukapuka, he rerekē te roa mai i ngā tūtaki poto a Jack Remiel Cottrell me te pōhauhau, tae atu ki te pūrākau tawhiti roa o Anthony Lapwood kimikimi me te whakawhitinga whakatipuranga. I runga anō hoki, ko te momo kanorau e pa ana ki te kaipānui i a ia e rīti ana i roto i te paenga kōrero, kua māka.
He rerekē anō ngā takiwā wā me ngā wāhi o ngā paki, nā te mea karekau katoa e puta i roto o Aotearoa New Zealand o ināianei, i tuhia rānei e te tangata Māori i konei. Hei tauira ko Paradise nā Colleen Maria Lenihan ka tū ki Hapani, ko The Kiss nā Patricia Grace kei Itari, ko ngā kaituhi pēnei i a David Geary, Aramiha Harwood, me Nick Twemlow, e noho ana ki tāwāhi.
He pai ake te mahi o ētahi o ngā paki i ētahi atu, ahakoa te āhua o te kaupapa, te āhua o te tāera. Ka tū ētahi. Hei tauira, te paki pūkare a.k.a nā Aramiha Harwood, te tino whakaahuatanga a Kelly Ana Morey mō te oati a Maungapōhatu rāua ko Rua Kenana, me te tūtaki a tētahi kotiro ki e rua - ko Faithful and True - e hanga ana mō te pānuitanga kaha, he pērā anō a Pai, nā Rawinia Parata, he whakaahua whai kiko e ahu mai ana i ngā rangirua o te oranga o he matua wahine Māori takitahi
Tekau mā rima o ngā paki kua whakaputahia ki ētahi atu wāhi, ko ētahi mai i te tau 2006. A, ki te kī tātou i ngā kōrero 'hou' hei rite ki te 'ināianei' he āhua o he
t o r o n g a, e.
E wha anake kua tuhia ki te reo Māori. He tohu pōuri tēnei mō te kōrero a Morris - i tana whakakōwaro i tētahi kaupapa nui mai i te rokiroki kawainga o Te Ao Mārama i te tau 1992 - ngā kōrero me ngā takitaki e pēnei ana, 'kei te haere tonu te nōnoki mō te pukapuka reorua'. Ko te pōuri, nō te mea ki ahau nei, ko te whakapuaki i a koe anō i roto i tona ake reo ka uruhia atu ki roto i ngā āria me ngā māharahara kāore i te rite ki tētahi atu reo, ka tūtohi whakapoto e ngā paki poto kua tuhia i te reo Māori kei konei.
Hei whakamutunga, he rawe te kite i tēnei paenga kōrero kua taia. He rawe hoki ki te kite i ētahi atu paenga kōrero hōu o ngā tuhituhinga Māori kua taia, pēnei Te Awa o Kupu raūa ko Ngā Kupu Wero, he mea whakamere, he tokomaha ngā kaituhi e whakaatuhia ana i a Hiwa.
Karekau he wāhi mō te whakataetae i waenga i ngā taitara pēnei, ko te maha o ngā paenga kōrero pēnei ka pai ake, i te mea ko te tīkanga, ka whakarite mātau he 'tuhi pai' o rātau wāhanga. Ko Hiwa me ērā atu taitara he whakanui i te tere o te tipu me te rere o te awa o ngā tuhinga auaha me ngā tuhinga kōrero pono a te Māori.
What is the meaning of this word, Hiwa? In her Introduction, Morris references, ‘Hiwa-i-te-rangi, the ninth and final star of the Matariki cluster,’ and includes Rangi Matamua’s definition, ‘The word ‘hiwa’ means ‘vigorous of growth’.
As such, Hiwa epitomises the desire for one’s ambitions and aspirations to be fulfilled, to prosper into the world of light, the world of advancement, and as such this anthology represents, ‘yet another time of growth for Māori writers and writing.’
There are 27 short stories in this volume, varying in length from Jack Remiel Cottrell’s brief encounters with absurdity, through to Anthony Lapwood’s far longer fantastical and transgenerational romance. Accordingly also, the genre diversity a reader encounters when reading through the anthology, is marked.
The time and place settings of the stories vary markedly, for by no means all are set within contemporary Aotearoa New Zealand or are written by Māori resident here. As for example Paradise by Colleen Maria Lenihan takes place in Japan and The Kiss by Patricia Grace occurs in Italy, while writers such as David Geary, Aramiha Harwood, and Nick Twemlow, all reside overseas.
Some of the stories work better than others, regardless of their thematic or stylistic character.
Some stand out. For example, Aramiha Harwood’s evocative story a.k.a, Kelly Ana Morey’s excellent depiction of the promise of Maungapōhatu and Rua Kenana and a young girl’s encounter with both – titled Faithful and True - makes for compulsive reading, as does Pai, by Rawinia Parata, a based-on-life portrayal of the uncertainties of being a solo matua wahine Māori.
Fifteen of the stories have been published elsewhere, some as far back as 2006. Which, if we are to take ‘contemporary’ as equivalent to ‘now’ might be a bit of a
s t r e t c h, eh.
Four only are written in te reo Māori. Which is sadly indicative of what Morris – in echoing a key point from the precursor collective of Te Ao Mārama in 1992 – notes and quotes as the, ‘struggle for a bilingual literature’ continues’. Sad, because for me, expressing onself in one’s own language necessarily involves inluding concepts and concerns that another tongue does not often have an equivalent for, as succinctly indicated by the short stories penned in te reo Māori here included.
To conclude, it is great to see this anthology published. It is also great to see other recent anthologies of writing by Māori published, such as Te Awa o Kupu and Ngā Kupu Wero, which interestingly, share several writers as represented in Hiwa.
There is no room for competition between such titles either, in fact the more such anthologies the merrier, given that of course, we ensure their components are ‘well-written’. Hiwa and these other titles are a celebration of the rapidly growing and flowing river of both creative and non-fictive writing by Māori.
Review by Vaughan Rapatahana
Vaughan Rapatahana is series editor for the PRH volumes
Te Awa o Kupu and Ngā Kupu Wero
Vaughan Rapatahana is series editor for the PRH volumes
Te Awa o Kupu and Ngā Kupu Wero
Title: Hiwa, Contemporary Maōri Short Stories
Paula Morris (ed)
Publisher: Auckland University Press
ISBN: 978 86940 9951
RRP: $45
Available: bookshops
Paula Morris (ed)
Publisher: Auckland University Press
ISBN: 978 86940 9951
RRP: $45
Available: bookshops
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