The Lore of the Whare-Wananga—H.T. Whatahoro (1913)
Hoani Te Whatahoro Jury, an early 19th Century Māori scholar whose work contributed to many later significant publications.
Publication details
Whatahoro, H. T., and S. P. Smith. The Lore of the Whare-Wananga, Volume 1: Te Kauwae-Runga, Or ‘Things Celestial’; Or Teachings of the Māori College on Religion, Cosmogony, and History. New Plymouth: Polynesian Society, 1913.
About the book
The first of 150 Māori books to be celebrated, pays tribute to a 19th Century Māori scholar whose life work of recording Māori history and traditions contributed to many significant publications.
Hoani Te Whatahoro Jury of Ngāti Kahungungu was born in 1841 at Rakaukaka, Poverty Bay. Educated at a mission school, Te Whatahoro became a prolific writer on Māori traditions and customs. At a large tribal gathering in 1858 the tohunga, Te Matorohanga assisted by Nepia Pohuhu and Paratene Te Okawhare consented to share their knowledge and a young Te Whatahoro transcribed the teachings. This sparked an enduring interest within Te Whatahoro for recording tribal traditions and much of this material was passed on to several European scholars such as Elsden Best, John White and Percy Smith, whose publications incorporated information supplied by Te Whatahoro but made little or no acknowledgement. Percy Smith used Te Whatahoro’s writings to publish The Lore of the Whare-Wananga, the teachings of Te Matorohanga recorded by Te Whatahoro 48 years earlier. Important manuscript collections of Hoani Te Whatahoro Jury are now held by the University of Auckland, the Alexander Turnbull Library and Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa Tongarewa.
Further information
- National Library record
- Alexander Turnbull Library Collection record
- Online text
- Availability: Out of print
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.