A new edition of this iconic book includes new larger format and photographs rescanned from Marti Friedlander's originals. It is an indepth photographic study of the ancient art of moko.

Paki Harrison is widely regarded as New Zealand's greatest living master carver, a man with a huge reputation as a leading tohunga of the art form. He possesses immense knowledge about the traditional arts of the carver, extending way beyond the actual physical arts to include its most ancient aspects - the symbolism contained in Maori art, to its role in transmitting old tribal history. Few know more about the symbolism of the waka taua (war canoe), whare whakairo (carved meeting houses) and kowhaiwhai patterns. This major biogra... read more

Every kete has a story. This collection is drawn from the rich store of information and memories associated with kete - these much loved but often overlooked 'baskets of knowledge'. Some stories are short, others grow with the telling. All are told with warmth, humour and humility, giving us insight into how the humble kete so often helps to establish ongoing friendships and relationships. Some stories are told by the kete makers. They tell about the process of weaving a kete - learning the techniques, gathering and preparing the m... read more

Anyone can learn to make a plaited kete, one of the oldest and most popular of Maori art forms, from the leaves of New Zealand flax (phormium tenax). Te Mahi Kete gives detailed, step-by-step instructions, illustrated with numerous line drawings and black-and-white photographs, for preparing the flax and plaiting two simple types of kete. It also shows variations in technique for starting and finishing, making the handles and incorporating a decorative pattern.

Most visitors to New Zealand identify New Zealand with the haka, but few know the meaning or history of this powerful challenge. This little book is a beginner's guide to haka, covering the various types of haka and their use including the famous Ka Mate haka and the new Kapa O Pango. Both black and white and full colour photographs showcase the haka in history as well as modern renditions by kapa haka groups. Both a source of pride and a source of controversy, the haka is an integral part of New Zealand's culture.

DoP 2008, Auckland
First published in 1984
178x248mm /104pp
Softcover

The arts of the Maori are among the most alluring and sophisticated of the Pacific peoples. They developed their skills through centuries of endeavour and craft experimentation, expressing religious and artistic ideas in wood, stone, bone, shell and other materials. In particular, their carving and weaving are universally admired; Maori themselves proudly preserve their artistic traditions and honour the great historic art works. I... read more

This book sets before the reader a compilation of printed and manuscript information on the healing practices of the New Zealand Maori. It does not claim to be complete, indeed this is impossible, and probably always was, given the secrecy surrounding the rituals, practices and healing methods of individual iwi and tribes. The noted ethnologist Elsdon Best acknowledged that even in his day, when discussion could be held with persons of great knowledge, only a mere fraction of understanding could be obtained by a non-Maori researc... read more

Drawing on the most up-to-date scholarship, Maori Art and Design takes a fresh look at the Maori visual arts, with an emphasis not so much on the history of craft as on the design itself. Covering tattooing, drawing and painting, carving and weaving, the book explores the origination, evolution, and significance of the designs, and also explains the materials and techniques used to create them. The book is illustrated throughout with a mix of black-and-white and colour photography, representing the full range of artefacts from hist... read more

Winner of the 2004 NZ Society of Authors Best First Book award for Non-fiction This book is an introduction to the art of whakairo rakau (Maori wood carving) from Northland (Te Tai Tokerau). It discusses the characteristics and definitions of the regional style, its history and the role of museums, as well as northern carvers and their tools, materials and work. The core of the book is a comprehensive illustrated catalogue of Tai Tokerau wood carvings in national and international museums, which cannot normally be viewed by the ... read more

Fascinating profiles of more than 20 Mäori artists working in various media. Superbly illustrated and accessibly written, this is an ideal resource for anyone interested in contemporary art and art history in New Zealand. The artists included in Tai?whio are: Jolene Douglas, Star Gossage, Fred Graham, Lyonel Grant, the Hetet Whanau (Erenora Puketapu-Hetet, Verenora Hetet, Len Hetet and Sam Hauwaho), Dion Hitchens, Emily Karaka, Hemi Macgregor, Nathan Pohio, Moko Productions (Leonie Pihama, Sharon Hawke and Glynis Paraha), Baye... read more

Ta Moko is an outstanding work of Maori scholarship. The art of Maori tattoo has always been regarded with fascination, and this was one of the first comprehensive books on the subject. The author,a former ethnologist with the Auckland Museum, provides an examination of Maori moko in all its aspects - its historical develpment, tribal variations, design principles and social significance. In this illustrated study of male and female moko, the author draws on the records, journals and sketches of early European observers in New Z... read more

This book is an introduction to the star group Matariki. Known in other cultures by names including the Pleiades and the Seven Sisters,
Matariki featured strongly in pre-European New Zealand. It marked the beginning of the Maori calendar, and its rising before the sun in late May or early June was greeted with great festivals. It was used as a guide to planting and harvesting, and was studied by tohunga as an omen which told whether the food-gathering season would be plentiful or lean.
Libby Hakaraia includes interviews... read more

This book is a Finalist in the Picture Book Category, New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards 2010.

In Maori.
Everyone loved Old Hu-Hu. But nobody loved him quite as much as little Hu-Hu-Tu. Old Hu-Hu is a thoughtful tale of young Hu-Hu-Tu's search for understanding of what has happened to his beloved Old Hu-Hu, who flew all the way to the moon (or so they said), then fell down dead. Sensitively written, this is a beautiful story of death and the celebration of life, with powerful, evocative illustrations by Rach... read more

Drawing upon the work of archaeologists and historians and quoting extensively from the myths and songs recorded by the Maori writers of the 18th century, this text vividly evokes the Maori experience of Aoteaora, while the photographs present the country's landscape, birds, fish and plants.

Pop's vege garden is growing well until someone gives him a pet magpie - which wreaks havoc on Pop's prize veges! Pop's refusal to put the pesky magpie into a cage results in him ending up building a cage for his veges - and himself - instead!

Kete, much-loved but often overlooked, are a rich store of information and memories. Here a weaver and a teacher present interviews with makers, owners and users — and stunning colour photos of their humble ‘baskets of knowledge’.

Soon after the missionaries arrived in nineteenth-century New Zealand, Maori began converting to protestant Christianity in large numbers. Without the manpower or materials to build their own churches, missionaries largely relied on Maori to build houses of worship. As a result, the early churches drew on strands from the British ecclesiastical tradition as well as elements from Maori art and architecture to produce a distinctive and arresting new style. The last of these whare-style churches was destroyed when the Rangiatea church... read more

Kura Koiwi is both a personal account of Brian Flintoff’s career as a carver, but also an important exploration of Maori art and how it relates to carving.
Heavily illustrated with exquisite examples of his, and other people’s work, this book explains the mythology and symbolism behind his work, and in doing so provides an inspiring window into the power and beauty of our indigenous culture.
Conceived as a sister publication to Taonga Puoro: Singing Treasures, his acclaimed earlier book on Maori musical inst... read more

Five books in basic Maori with English translations.

Peter Gossages Maui series is well-known and loved. The six titles in the series have been repackaged and redesigned for a new generation of readers, without losing the integrity of the initial artwork. The books follow Maui’s birth, his abandonment by his mother and his search for her, his search for his father and discovery and eventual owners of his grandfather’s magic jawbone, and his fishing up of Te Ika a Maui (the North Island). How Maui found the Secret of Fire is the story of how, on a mission to discover how ... read more