Navigating the Stars: Māori creation myths, Witi Ihimaera (2020)
Witi Ihimaera creatively retells traditional Māori myths for the twenty-first century, bringing together the work of countless tohunga-historians and Indigenous storytellers from Hawaiki to Aotearoa and honouring Māori history, identity, ancestors and futures.
Publication details
W. Ihimaera. Auckland: Penguin Books, 2020.
About the book
In this milestone volume, Ihimaera traces the history of the Māori people through their creation myths. He follows Tawhaki up the vines into the firmament, Hine-titama down into the land of the dead, Maui to the ends of the earth, and the giants and turehu who sailed across the ocean to our shores . . . From Hawaiki to Aotearoa, the ancient navigators brought their myths, while looking to the stars — bright with gods, ancestors and stories — to guide the way.
‘Step through the gateway now to stories that are as relevant today as they ever were.’
Further information
This book is part of the series marking the publication of Books of Mana (Otago University Press, 2025). It builds on the project Te Takarangi: Celebrating Māori publications and adds 30 titles to a selected list of 150 non-fiction books, led by Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga in collaboration with Royal Society Te Apārangi.