Maori Folk-Tales of the Port Hills

by James Cowan

Reprint of the 1923 Whitcombe & Tombs version.
A collection of Maori poetic legends and historical traditions of the Canterbury Port Hill ranges principally narrated by Hone Taare Tikao of Ngai-Tahu and recorded by historian James Cowan.

109 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2016

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

James Cowan (born 1942) is an Australian author. James Cowan is author of a number of internationally acclaimed books, including A Troubadour's Testament and Letters from A Wild State. In 1998 he was awarded the prestigious Australian Literature Society's Gold Medal for his novel, A Mapmaker's Dream. His work has been translated into seventeen languages.

Reviews

[K M Laume]

The title of this book was a little misleading, as though it discussed folktales, it’s not actually a book of folktales, rather a tour around the port hills with an incredibly poetic tour guide. He tells you of the histories, myths and folklore of the region as he travels from peak to peak. Much of the narration was that of Hone Taare Tikao of Ngāi-Tahu recorded by historian James Cowan (though Cowan is only listed as author on the front). Since the porthills are my home, where I am from, it’s really nice to read about their past, a past I’ve never heard of before. I wish the stories and histories like those in this book were more well known. I remember being invited to the Rāpaki marae as a school child so it was good to revisit through book form and to learn more of the area. It is interesting that there is often a fight about place names, as in the chapter about Rāpaki, a good point is made how the place has had many names, depending on the people who have inhabited it (Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Māmoe etc); around six names for Rāpaki are mentioned. I am not any expert on Māori history nor myth so can not discuss the accuracy of any of the stories contained in the book, so as with most tales of this kind I hold it loosely. I imagine like most histories intertwined with myth and legend there are probably many variations told. I look forward to reading my next book on Māori myth but might read my Celtic one first just to mix it up and read about some other lands parts of me hail from. If anyone knows of any good Polish folktales I’d love to read them too.

[Rob · Rating 3 out of 5]

An informative 'local tour' of old Christchurch with a sprinkling of local legend.