Author(s): Rawiri Te Maire Tau

Te Ao Māori

Second hand.

How much can oral traditions tell us about the past of a people? Rawiri Te Maire Tau examines the nature and forms of Ngai Tahu traditions-waiata/songs.karakia/chants,whakapapa/genealogies, and placenames and how they might be interpreted.His principle sources include family manuscripts written by elders of the tribe in the late nineteenth century.He looks at key events and relationships,compares them with the traditions of other tribes,and asks what is myth and what is history? The Ngai Tahu story is one of migration from the North Isalnd to the north of the South Island,and the occupation of lands further south.But the purpose of this major study is not to construct a history.The real questions the author addresses are how,why and by whom the tribe's traditions were formed,and how they might be unravelled to understand Ngai Tahu's past.