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Tangata Whenua: An Illustrated History
Tangata Whenua portrays the sweep of Maori history from Pacific origins to the twenty-first century. Through narrative and images, it offers an overview of the past, grounded in specific localities and histories.
- GenresHistoryNonfictionRace
543 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 14, 2018
I've been delaying writing a review for this book, simply because it is so big, so dense and so diverse it is hard to know where to start - which is a shame, because if you only want to read one book on New Zealand, this for sure is it. Only really, it is two books: Tangata Whenua: An Illustrated History is a large, gorgeous coffee table book, and Tangata Whenua is the ebook/paperbook version. I started, as is my wont, on the ebook; but ended up borrowing the hardback so I could see the detailed illustrations, charts etc. I kept switching between the two, ebook with handy text lookup feature in my hand, large book with illustrations resting on my knees, for the three weeks it took me to read the whole thing. For that reason, I'm posting this review in both versions of the book.
The book has three sections. The first - all attributed to Atholl Anderson - deals with pre 1830 history, starting with the debates over origins of the Polynesian peoples, which are covered in some depth. This was much more up to date than anything I had found before, and the depth and clarity (and the many maps of possible migration routes, cultural influences etc) was alone worthy of a five star book review. It is primarily a post-Enlightenment science perspective, with content around Maori beliefs about Hawaiki covered fairly briefly. A big strength, however, is the detailed use of whakapapa genealogy, and an explanation of how these can be married to an academic framework relatively easily. Or to put it another way, a defence of the accuracy of this primarily oral history information to chronology. Anderson also takes a somewhat provocative view, arguing that just because Polynesians had access to the components of technology that could have travelled vast distances, this doesn't mean that they used it that way, but he covers the majority opinion (that they did) compellingly nevertheless.The second part covers the first century of Pakeha settlement from 1820 through 1920, with the late Judith Binney as primary author. This section was slightly more personality based, perhaps, and travels through movements and individuals, while telling a familiar but depressing story of land sometimes honestly purchased, but more often stolen by some combination of deception and force, the subsequent wars and rapid shift in population balance. It was startingly to realise how - in comparison to Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait cultures - fluid Maori culture can be. To see, in particular, how different Maori leaders and communities took ideas from Christianity which were relevant to them, and created something new from this, challenges a simplistic view of Maori cultural destruction by all powerful missions. Embedded within Maori worldviews is the celebration of innovation, discovery and travel. Ideas about peace and opposition to slavery are taken into a different framework entirely. Parihaka is absolutely fascinating in this sense, the non-violent resistance movement Gandhi studied, which came from a distinctly Maori worldview, and challenges simplistic interpretations of a "warlike people". At the same time, the history of how every scheme developed to more 'fairly' manage Maori land eventually ends up being used to take it away is immensely depressing reading, a triumph of market greed and settlement hunger for land over any individuals attempt at respectful negotiation.The final section - with primary author Aroha Harris - looks at 1920 through to 2014, much of which is occupied by a struggle within New Zealand society for recognition of Waitangi, and how to create a society which lives it's central agreement and premise. The history of Maori Affairs, the growth of both parliamentary and extra parliamentary movements, and the impact of migrations and changing employment patterns are all covered. Cultural, literary and artistic movements get a look in, and a sense of society groping towards a new identity permeates. The book finishes with an excellent appendix of statistics - much more readable on the ebook I must say rather than in the reduced size type of the main book.I can't recommend this highly enough - I am seriously considering purchasing the coffee table book simply for future reference. The illustrations are more than simply pretty - they are primary objects, references and knowledge that will stand long after the analysis shifts. They invite a reader to think for themselves about Tangata Whenua, and allow the objects, the illustrations and the faces in the portraits to speak direct.
The book has three sections. The first - all attributed to Atholl Anderson - deals with pre 1830 history, starting with the debates over origins of the Polynesian peoples, which are covered in some depth. This was much more up to date than anything I had found before, and the depth and clarity (and the many maps of possible migration routes, cultural influences etc) was alone worthy of a five star book review. It is primarily a post-Enlightenment science perspective, with content around Maori beliefs about Hawaiki covered fairly briefly. A big strength, however, is the detailed use of whakapapa genealogy, and an explanation of how these can be married to an academic framework relatively easily. Or to put it another way, a defence of the accuracy of this primarily oral history information to chronology. Anderson also takes a somewhat provocative view, arguing that just because Polynesians had access to the components of technology that could have travelled vast distances, this doesn't mean that they used it that way, but he covers the majority opinion (that they did) compellingly nevertheless.The second part covers the first century of Pakeha settlement from 1820 through 1920, with the late Judith Binney as primary author. This section was slightly more personality based, perhaps, and travels through movements and individuals, while telling a familiar but depressing story of land sometimes honestly purchased, but more often stolen by some combination of deception and force, the subsequent wars and rapid shift in population balance. It was startingly to realise how - in comparison to Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait cultures - fluid Maori culture can be. To see, in particular, how different Maori leaders and communities took ideas from Christianity which were relevant to them, and created something new from this, challenges a simplistic view of Maori cultural destruction by all powerful missions. Embedded within Maori worldviews is the celebration of innovation, discovery and travel. Ideas about peace and opposition to slavery are taken into a different framework entirely. Parihaka is absolutely fascinating in this sense, the non-violent resistance movement Gandhi studied, which came from a distinctly Maori worldview, and challenges simplistic interpretations of a "warlike people". At the same time, the history of how every scheme developed to more 'fairly' manage Maori land eventually ends up being used to take it away is immensely depressing reading, a triumph of market greed and settlement hunger for land over any individuals attempt at respectful negotiation.The final section - with primary author Aroha Harris - looks at 1920 through to 2014, much of which is occupied by a struggle within New Zealand society for recognition of Waitangi, and how to create a society which lives it's central agreement and premise. The history of Maori Affairs, the growth of both parliamentary and extra parliamentary movements, and the impact of migrations and changing employment patterns are all covered. Cultural, literary and artistic movements get a look in, and a sense of society groping towards a new identity permeates. The book finishes with an excellent appendix of statistics - much more readable on the ebook I must say rather than in the reduced size type of the main book.I can't recommend this highly enough - I am seriously considering purchasing the coffee table book simply for future reference. The illustrations are more than simply pretty - they are primary objects, references and knowledge that will stand long after the analysis shifts. They invite a reader to think for themselves about Tangata Whenua, and allow the objects, the illustrations and the faces in the portraits to speak direct.
April 22, 2020
Wow! This book is very impressive, however it is also very dense. There is a lot of information in this book, and reading & ingesting the information is hard work. This feels like a book that needs to be read several times in order to retain & understand the ramifications of all that is discussed.
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September 28, 2015Another general history of New Zealand focusing on Māori. This text is divided into three sections, each written by top New Zealand scholars. First published in 2014, it's up to date with the experience of modern Māori. It is pricey, so check your library.
May 5, 2024
I have a confession to make: I got halfway through this book and almost gave up. Then I got strategic.
It's not that it's bad. It isn't. It's excellent. It's just heavy, and not in an "oh, this is so challenging!" sense, though it's that too. I mean it's a book of monstrous size and substantial weight. I like to take a book to bed every night and read for a bit before I go to sleep, but even propped up on multiple pillows this behemoth is hard on the wrists. "Please let there be an e-copy," I muttered to myself, going back to the library catalogue. I didn't find one. I did find this: Tangata Whenua: A History. Then I went to the publisher's website to corroborate.
After the critical success of this, the illustrated history, Bridget Williams Books sensibly decided to produce a paperback version, sans pictures. As they say on the paperback version page of their website, "the full text of the big hardback is available in a reader-friendly edition." I got this edition from the library too. (Yes, I borrowed both at the same time. I was determined to finish, and I was worried that if I stuck to the hardback version, one of the pillows might dislodge and then the hardback would fall on me and break a rib. Slight exaggeration. Very slight.) I took the paperback to bed and read the text, then once I was done I'd go to my desk, usually the next day, and read through the photos, diagrams, and graphs of the illustrated version. It's a beautiful book, the illustrated version. It deserves all the accolades it got.
It just weighs a fucking ton. Hence, I read both.
It's not that it's bad. It isn't. It's excellent. It's just heavy, and not in an "oh, this is so challenging!" sense, though it's that too. I mean it's a book of monstrous size and substantial weight. I like to take a book to bed every night and read for a bit before I go to sleep, but even propped up on multiple pillows this behemoth is hard on the wrists. "Please let there be an e-copy," I muttered to myself, going back to the library catalogue. I didn't find one. I did find this: Tangata Whenua: A History. Then I went to the publisher's website to corroborate.
After the critical success of this, the illustrated history, Bridget Williams Books sensibly decided to produce a paperback version, sans pictures. As they say on the paperback version page of their website, "the full text of the big hardback is available in a reader-friendly edition." I got this edition from the library too. (Yes, I borrowed both at the same time. I was determined to finish, and I was worried that if I stuck to the hardback version, one of the pillows might dislodge and then the hardback would fall on me and break a rib. Slight exaggeration. Very slight.) I took the paperback to bed and read the text, then once I was done I'd go to my desk, usually the next day, and read through the photos, diagrams, and graphs of the illustrated version. It's a beautiful book, the illustrated version. It deserves all the accolades it got.
It just weighs a fucking ton. Hence, I read both.
December 27, 2017
Comprehensive overview of Maori history from a collection of outstanding historians.
February 18, 2022
Excellent writing, photos, and photo captions.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews