What do you think?
Rate this book
Tangata Whenua: A History
Tangata Whenua: A History presents a rich narrative of the Māori past from ancient origins in South China to the twenty-first century, in a handy paperback format. The authoritative text is drawn directly from the award-winning Tangata Whenua: An Illustrated History; the full text of the big hardback is available in a reader-friendly edition, ideal for students and for bedtime reading, and a perfect gift for those whose budgets do not stretch to the illustrated edition. Maps and diagrams complement the text, along with a full set of references and the important statistical appendix.
Tangata Whenua: An Illustrated History was published to widespread acclaim in late 2014. This magnificent history has featured regularly in the award lists: winner of the 2015 Royal Society Science Book Prize, shortlisted for the international Ernest Scott Prize, winner of the Te Kōrero o Mua (History) Award at the Ngā Kupu ora Aotearoa Māori Book Awards, and Gold in the Pride in Print Awards.
The importance of this history to New Zealand cannot be overstated. Māori leaders emphatically endorsed the book, as have reviewers and younger commentators. They speak of the way Tangata Whenua draws together different strands of knowledge – from historical research through archaeology and science to oral tradition. They remark on the contribution this book makes to evolving knowledge, describing it as ‘a canvas to paint the future on’. And many comment on the contribution it makes to the growth of understanding between the people of this country.
Tangata Whenua: An Illustrated History was published to widespread acclaim in late 2014. This magnificent history has featured regularly in the award lists: winner of the 2015 Royal Society Science Book Prize, shortlisted for the international Ernest Scott Prize, winner of the Te Kōrero o Mua (History) Award at the Ngā Kupu ora Aotearoa Māori Book Awards, and Gold in the Pride in Print Awards.
The importance of this history to New Zealand cannot be overstated. Māori leaders emphatically endorsed the book, as have reviewers and younger commentators. They speak of the way Tangata Whenua draws together different strands of knowledge – from historical research through archaeology and science to oral tradition. They remark on the contribution this book makes to evolving knowledge, describing it as ‘a canvas to paint the future on’. And many comment on the contribution it makes to the growth of understanding between the people of this country.
- GenresHistoryNonfictionRace
1001 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 17, 2015
38 people are currently reading
120 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 20, 2022
Dense but incredible.
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.
February 21, 2019
“…the past matters. It matters now. It will matter again, and again”. These are the last words of this incredible read. It deftly weaves amongst the history of Māori, drawing out points in time and people that makes the past feel so immediate and close. It was at times an emotional read and often times I found myself astounded and frustrated that I had never been taught properly the history of my tūpuna. Though it gets tedious towards the end (for me anyway) when covering more modern day government policy, it really is a wonderful read.
May 5, 2024
It has taken me a long time to get through this - it's very dense, but that's because it's positively stuffed with research and has ended up extremely detailed because of it. There were a few short stretches where I felt that the detail overwhelmed the narrative somewhat, but on the whole it's really quite incredible how so many disparate elements of a history, of a land, and of its peoples are drawn together to give a real sense of cause and effect. It has narrative sweep, is what I'm saying. History on an epic scale.
It really should be read by every New Zealander.
It really should be read by every New Zealander.
April 4, 2025
There were a couple of historical events that were not included (Tūhoe raids) or brushed over (Māori battalions) but I guess that had a lot of ground to cover.
Like most historians I feel the authors tried to steer clear of being too 'political' in an attempt to simply 'tell the facts' in more recent history. I would've preferred they pulled less punches.
Like most historians I feel the authors tried to steer clear of being too 'political' in an attempt to simply 'tell the facts' in more recent history. I would've preferred they pulled less punches.
February 4, 2024
Highly recommend this to anyone interested in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews