Reviews

Book Reviews

Aphrodite's island

By Anne Salmond

Published by Penguin

RRP $65

Review nā Donald Couch

Tahiti. The images we associate with that island!

Anne Salmond, one of New Zealand's leading historians and writers, especially regarding the early contacts between the indigenous Polynesian peoples of the Pacific and Europeans, has in this her latest book, narrowed her focus to the European discoveries of Tahiti.

Although that area of Polynesia has ended up under French administration, the first European discoveries there were by the Dutch (Roggeveen) out of Batavia; followed by the British (Byron, Robertson and Wallis); and then came the French (Bougainville). Not to overlook the Spanish via Peru, who even in the eighteenth century tried to assert that that part of the world was theirs under the Treaties of Tordesillas and Zaragoza.

Depending on their cultural background, the Europeans were either bewitched or shocked at what they found. Certainly they were not indifferent. The images and perceptions they took back to Europe have lasted to the present day.

Sex. With good reason Salmond entitles her book Aphrodite's Island. Venus the goddess of love was known to the Greeks as Aphrodite. The European naval captains knew their classics and their encounters on Tahiti had them reaching for this particular classical analogy.

Initially, they completely misread the local cultural intent when Tahitians stripped to the waist in the presence of gods, high chiefs and high ranking strangers. Such ritual presentation had no necessary implication of sexual availability.

This is where Salmond's writing is especially valuable. She has understood and diligently describes the Polynesian culture and how the Tahitians reacted to the contacts with the Europeans.

Donald Couch is Pro-Chancellor of Lincoln University.

Because Māori came from Eastern Polynesia there are many names and behaviours which we will recognise. Ta'aroa (Tangaroa) and Tāne have primary roles. The 1750s and 1760s, when most of the initial Europeans arrived, was a time of considerable inter-iwi/hapū rivalry and conflict in Tahiti. Salmond has balanced well the European accounts of all these encounters with those of the tangata mana whenua.

Of particular interest also, are the considerable descriptions of the Tahitian Ariki Tupaia, who played a major role in interpreting for James Cook in his meetings with Aotearoa Māori.

Traditional Lifeways of the Southern Māori

By James Herries Beattie,
Edited by Atholl Anderson.

Second edition reissued by Otago University Press

RRP $59.95

Review nā Rob Tipa

Historian, writer and researcher James Herries Beattie never saw the culmination of his life's work published but knew one day the manuscript he left with the Hocken Library may become a classic of New Zealand anthropology.

Eventually Beattie's Traditional Lifeways of the Southern Māori, edited by Professor Atholl Anderson, was published by Otago University Press in 1994, 22 years after Beattie's death in 1972.

Beattie would be very proud of the belated recognition of his life's work if he knew the book had just been reissued in a second edition and was now regarded as a valuable source of cultural information on Ngāi Tahu traditions.

Rob Tipa (Ngāi Tahu) is a career journalist and a regular TE KARAKA contributor.

Beattie was very systematic in his methods of interviewing kaumātua on a series of field trips throughout Te Waipounamu in the 1920s and collating information on behalf of the Otago Museum.

His style does not lend itself to light reading, but he did tap into a mine of information that researchers will continue working for years to come. And every year that passes the real worth of this precious collection of taonga will appreciate in value.

TE KARAKA has a copy of Traditional Lifeways of the Southern Māori to give away. The winner will be chosen from contributors to He Reta page.

Counting the stars

By Gavin Bishop

Published by Random House

RRP $34.99

Review nā Fern Whitau

Gavin Bishop is a master at rewriting traditional tales and Counting the Stars is of that genre. This is the sequel to the award-winning Taming the Sun and Riding the Waves. It is an interpretation of four tales: Mother Earth and Father Sky, The Battle of the Birds, Kae and the Whale and the famous love story of Hinemoa and Tūtānekai.

The separation of Ranginui and Papatūānuku in Mother Earth and Father Sky is the epic tale of the evolution of life on earth and why things are the way they are. This is a scary story and the accompanying sharp-edged illustrations capture the chaos perfectly.

The Battle of the Birds, which is the least familiar of the four tales, tells us why the tītī (mutton bird) and tāiko (black petrel) nest on land, we also learn the Māori names of many birds and some rules of engagement. What an adventure! Gentle souls may be horrified at the graphic detail, "…blood fell like hail."

The original story of Kae and the Whale is said to explain the origin of kapa haka however that theme takes a back seat to the trick that Tinirau plays on Kae as utu (revenge) for eating his whale. The images are dark and forbidding.

The softly illustrated, romantic tale of Hinemoa and Tūtānekai and her determination to be with her loved one slows the heartbeat after the previous scary and suspenseful tales.

Counting the Stars is more likely to appeal to the upper age-range of the intended three to ten year-old readers. Older children with a taste for blood and guts, fighting and adventure will be enthralled, especially if they haven't heard the stories before. My four and six year-old moko were not interested.

Fern Whitau hails from Moeraki and is a taua who loves to read to her mokopuna.

The stories are told in an informal uncomplicated style, "Then just like that, there was darkness. Lots of it. Everywhere." The suspense builds perfectly and the reader is captivated by the fearsome and bold adventures of the characters.

Three of the tales are well told and close to the original stories. However, Kae and the Whale is a watered down version of the original in which Kae is usually killed. Considering that he ate a beloved pet, they went to all that trouble to get him, and the other stories aren't coy about blood-shed and death, I don't know why Kae wasn't killed off.

I enjoyed Counting the Stars and look forward to reading it, with appropriate drama, to my moko when they are older.

Album Reviews

Inspiration information

Shuggie Otis

Luaka Bop (Real Groovy, Slowboat Records Wellington)

RRP $30

Review nā Joseph Tipa

Shuggie Otis is the child prodigy of Johnny Otis, a white American rhythm and blues singer and radio host. Otis recorded his first album Here comes Shuggie Otis in 1970 at the age of sixteen, introducing himself as a young master of blues guitar. Inspiration Information not only established his ability as an instrumentalist (he plays almost every instrument on the album), but also as a composer of real depth beyond his years. However, this album almost didn't see the light of day after it slipped under the public radar in 1974 and was shelved by the record label Luaka Bop. I discovered it for myself after it was reissued in 2001 and remember distinctly the moment I first heard Aht uh mi hed, it was thing I had been waiting for in a record: great melodies, string arrangements and the usage of early drum machines pre-dating Prince. He has been distinguished as the missing link between Sly Stone and Prince but he really went further in terms of an attention to detail, apparent in his employment of string arrangements, closer in nature to David Axelrod or Quincy Jones.

Time is not much

Ladi 6

Self Release (amplifier.co.nz, Real Groovy)

RRP $25

Review nā Joseph Tipa

Speaking to Karoline Tamati aka Ladi 6 recently, I found out 2009 has been the hardest year of her life; she's had to deal with family losses both here and in the recent tsunami that struck Samoa. However it has also been her most productive year musically in more than ten years of constant touring, writing and recording. She released her debut solo album Time is not much earlier this year.

Joseph Tipa (Ngāi Tahu ki Moeraki, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Maniapoto) is a musician, singer, and songwriter. He is based in Wellington.

Parks, her all-in-one partner, deejay/ producer/vocalist, is one of the most proficient musicians and beat makers in Aotearoa. He provides a solid foundation of contemporary soul tracks upon which Ladi rather cathartically voices her stories of Christchurch suburbia, Polynesian life, love and loss. The pair's ability to traverse soul, hip hop and reggae and Ladi's ability as both an MC and a singer are encapsulated in the first single Walk right up. Her cousin, Scribe, is rallied for Call you out in which they pull no punches, dispatching useless critics – in and out of the media. There is a real sense of loyalty and family. Other Julien Dyne, Tyra Hammond. Opinions expressed in REVIEWS are those of the writers and are not necessarily endorsed by Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu.