Auckland Council Libraries: Tikanga Māori

Tikanga Māori

​Learn about tikanga Māori through these fascinating books that draw from history and legend.

Māui’s taonga tales: a treasury of stories from Aotearoa and the Pacific

Book

Māui, the great Pacific hero and trickster tells the stories from both long ago and recent times, the tales of some of the taonga held at Te Papa.

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Wāhia ngā rua

Kimai Huirama

Book

When Hekeiterangi of Ngāti Maniapoto elopes with Ngaere of Waikato, this leads to tensions which are only resolved through a communal feast.

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Mihi

Gavin Bishop

Picture book

Presents the basic structure of a mihimihi (introduction in Te reo Māori).

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I'm Māori and proud

Abel Junior Tutagalevao

Picture book

A picture book resource that supports Te ao Maori. The book provides great examples of how tamariki may recognize Te ao Maori principles using Maui as a mentor.

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Kaitiaki of the whenua: we can change the world

Abel Junior Tutagalevao

Book

This picture book story shows how young learners can become kaitaki (caretakers), keeping their environment clean, safe and a happier place.

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Daniel's Matariki feast

Rebecca Beyer and Linley Wellington...

Picture book

Daniel is nervous on his first day at school. In class he learns that the Matariki Festival is a time of sharing and friendship, showing him the importance of Māori New Year.

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The forgotten taniwha

Robyn Kahukiwa

Picture book

A taniwha sleeps, forgotten. The people he once protected left long ago when the Pākehā arrived in New Zealand. Then one day, the taniwha awakes to the sound of a karanga. His people have returned and they need his help.

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The marae visit

Rebecca Beyer and Linley Wellington

Picture book

When the class visits the marae they have lots to learn and lots to do. And they have lots of fun! This is a wonderful story about what to expect when visiting a marae.

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Haere: farewell, Jack, farewell

Tim Tipene

Picture book

In this poetic and moving tale, we watch a year in the life of one whanau through the eyes of a little girl. A death is mourned; a birth is celebrated; and life comes full circle.

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Rāhui

Chris Szekely

Picture book

A death in the village leads to a rāhui being placed on a beach in a rural Māori community. After a year, as joy begins to return to the community, the rāhui is lifted.

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Atua: Māori gods and heroes

Gavin Bishop

Book

Meet the gods, demigods and heroes of the Māori world, and explore Aotearoa's exciting legends from the Creation to the Migration.

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The standing strong house

Reina Kahukiwa

Book

When Kahurangi, a kuia from Ngāti Tū Māia dies, her whare is left neglected until, hundreds of years later, it is reclaimed by a community in need and becomes a source of strength and identity.

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Tāngata nunui, tāngata nohinohi = Humans big and small

Howard Reti

Book

This book is designed to to help educate children and their parents on kaimoana (seafood) gathering in an environmentally and culturally friendly way.

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Kura Toa: warrior school

Tim Tipene

Book

An old man snatches Haki’s grandfather’s pounamu from around his neck. He must become a warrior and fight a taniwha to get it back.

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The pōrangi boy

Shilo Kino

Book

The government plans to build a prison in Niko’s town and destroy the home of its taniwha. He is called crazy for believing in the taniwha, but he knows that telling the truth is the only way of stopping the destruction.

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Te ao o te Māori = The world of the Māori

Ruth Naumann and Frank Winiata

Book

This book looks at the first New Zealanders who came in canoes from an ancestral home somewhere in the Pacific called Hawaiki.

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Tikanga: an introduction to te ao Māori

Keri Opai

Book

The book we've all been needing for decades - a unique explanation of the Maori world for Pakeha, and for Maori people wishing to learn more about tikanga.

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Auckland Council Libraries:Book list Recommended reading lists about different topics and genres to help you find new books to read.