Author(s): Kuini Rikihana

Children's Māori Books

Koia tenei, ko Manawa Hine, te hua o te ringa auaha o Kuini Rikihana, kaituhi o te Illustrated Maori Myths and Legends. He paki matatoa e whakatairanga ana i nga mahi whakahirahira a etehi wahine Maori aumangea i te ao o Hinemoana. Ara a Kahe Te Rau o te Rangi, ka kauria e ia te au kino i te po hei whakaora i tona iwi, ko tana kohungahunga tonu tana pikau i a ia e kauhoe ana. Ko Hinepoupou ia, ka whakarerea atu ki te mate e tana tane kino, engari ka kauhoe roa ano ko ia ki tona kainga i tawhiti, he tupuna aihe ana hoa haere, me tana manakonako ano ki te kimi utu mo te he o tana tane. Tera hoki a Huria Matenga ka kakari nui ki te wai pukerikeri ki te whakaora kaumoana i te waka kua paea. A, ko ta Pania, te kohine i kaimomotu ki te moana, he tukaha atu ki tana tane, he atete atu i ana mahi tukino. Ra roto mai i ta Kuini Rikihana, tana taki auaha i nga paki o nga wahine nei, ka kite ai koe i nga mea whakahirahira ka taea, ki te whakapono koe ki a koe ano, ki te whakapono ano koe ko o tupuna, ko o atua kei te arahi, kei te tiaki i a koe.

From Kuini Rikihana, author of Illustrated Māori Myths and Legends, comes Manawa Hine, a collection of adventure-packed stories celebrating the feats of fearless Māori women within the domain of Hinemoana.

Kahe Te Rau o te Rangi swims a treacherous channel in the dark of night to save her people, with her baby on her back. Hinepoupou, left for dead by her abusive husband, sets out on a long-distance swim home accompanied by her dolphin ancestors and fuelled by thoughts of revenge. Hūria Mātenga battles through raging seas to rescue sailors from a sinking ship. Pānia of the Moana turns the tables on her husband, refusing to let him control her.

Through Kuini Rikihana’s creative re-telling of these women’s stories, we learn what is possible with a healthy measure of self-belief and the unwavering conviction that we are never acting alone.