Māori non-fiction books are being celebrated by Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga (NPM) and Royal Society Te Apārangi as an acknowledgement of NPM’s 15 years as New Zealand’s Māori Centre of Research Excellence since 2002, and also Te Apārangi’s 150th anniversary since the passing of the Act that established the New Zealand Institute in 1867. The 13th February 2018, marks a year since the first formal meeting between the leaders of NPM and Te Apārangi Council at Waipapa Marae, with the shared aim of strengthening the intent of Te Apārangi to connect more with Māori researchers and Māori communities.
“This is a powerful opportunity to celebrate together with Te Apārangi the long history of Māori scholarship that exists in Aotearoa. The cumulative weight of the research these books embody is outstanding, representing an incredible collection of voices of Māori inspiration for this nation, talking to us from the past and charting a pathway forward into the future,” says NPM Chair Tā Tīpene O’Regan.
“We are thrilled to be working together with Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga to acclaim these Māori authors and their publications, with this special project that flows on from our 150th celebrations. The books we are promoting represent only a sample of the Māori scholarship that is available to us, but this small selection provides an excellent insight into the depth and breadth of Māori academic excellence and mātauranga that we hope will inspire young and old alike,” says Royal Society Te Apārangi President Professor Richard Bedford.
“We greatly appreciate the work of NPM Co-Director Professor Jacinta Ruru, Associate Professor Angela Wanhalla and Jeanette Wikaira for collating the list and preparing short pieces on each book. It is an excellent piece of work which we are privileged to be able to jointly sponsor,” says Bedford.
Information on each of the 150 books will be progressively published on the Society website over the coming months, and NPM and the Society will also publicise them via their other social media channels. The project will culminate with activities timed to coincide with Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori | Te Wiki o te Reo Māori - Māori Language Week in September 2018.
“The Te Takarangi collection provides an overview of some of the most important Māori leaders, thinkers and authors of our time. There were many outstanding publications we didn’t have room to include, but from the first book published about the Māori language in 1815, to current Māori scholars, researchers and writers making their mark, this list of 150 publications is something we can all celebrate” says Professor Jacinta Ruru.
The list prioritises non-fiction publications and mainly monographs, however includes some periodicals, as well as language textbooks, dictionaries, and edited collections. Although the list is heavily weighted to the later 20th century and beyond, the 150 books chart a wide variety of Māori scholarship and its richness, stretching back into the nineteenth-century.
To view Te Takarangi, and the books as they are added daily, visit royalsociety.org.nz/TeTakarangi