Whaikorero: The World of Maori Oratory

Author(s): Poia Rewi

Maori Books

Anyone who has been welcomed on to a marae in New Zealand, will understand that whaikorero - oratory - is at the heart of Maori culture. Whaikorero: The World of Maori Oratory is the first introduction to this fundamental Maori art to be widely published. It is based on broad research as well as oral histories from 30 of the leading exponents of whaikorero, many of whom have subsequently died. In Whaikorero, Poia Rewi assesses the origin and history of whaikorero; its structure, language and style of delivery; who may speak; and where speech happens. It will be a major book for everyone interested in Maori and Polynesian cultures.


Product Information

Winner of the 2011 New Zealand Society of Authors Best First Book Awards: E. H. McCormick Award for Non Fiction 2011  

Associate Professor Poia Rewi (Tuhoe, Ngati Manawa, Te Arawa) holds a PhD from the University of Otago and teaches there in Te Tumu: The School of Maori, Pacific, and Indigenous Studies, having previously taught at Waikato University for a decade. A certified translator and interpreter of Maori into English he is also a qualified teacher of English as a second language. He has been a judge at many regional Maori-language speaking competitions as well as being a judge at national, regional and tribal Maori performing arts competitions (adult/senior and high school levels).

General Fields

  • : 9781869404635
  • : Auckland University Press
  • : Auckland University Press
  • : 0.458128
  • : September 2010
  • : 240mm X 195mm
  • : New Zealand
  • : books

Special Fields

  • : Poia Rewi
  • : Paperback
  • : English
  • : new
  • : 240
  • : illustrations