Ngā Kōrero o Mohi Ruatapu, Tohunga Rongonui o Ngāti Porou: The Writings of Mohi Ruatapu by Anaru Reedy (1992)
Mohi Ruatapu's writings are regarded as the most important single body of writing on Māori myth produced by any 19th-century Māori writer.
Publication details
Reedy, A. (Ed.). Ngā Kōrero o Mohi Ruatapu, Tohunga Rongonui o Ngāti Porou: The Writings of Mohi Ruatapu. Christchurch: Canterbury University Press, 1992.
About the book
Mohi Ruatapu was a tohunga from Tokomaru, Ngāti Porou, who wrote a number of manuscripts in the 1870s. The Alexander Turnbull Library and the Hocken Library house these manuscript books. They contain text of myths, legends, ritual chants and songs. Four texts of these manuscripts were published in the Journal of the Polynesian Society in 1928 and 1929 by Elsdon Best.
Mohi Ruatapu's writings are regarded as the most important single body of writing on myth produced by any 19th-century Māori writer. Prior to Anaru Reedy’s 1992 publication, The Writings of Mohi Ruatapu, only a few short extracts had been published. Reedy’s work includes the Māori text in full, with an introduction, English translation and annotations.
Further information
- Out of print
- Hocken Library holdings
- Alexander Turnbull Library holdings: Te Ao Hou | Mohi Ruatapu search
This publication is part of the series Te Takarangi: Celebrating Māori publications - a sample list of 150 non-fiction books produced by a partnership between Royal Society Te Apārangi and Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga.