#Maori literature

[gennsoup]

He loved them deeply, but sometimes love becomes a power game between the ambitions that parents have for their children and the ambitions that children have for themselves.

Witi Ihimaera, The Whale Rider

#Witi Ihimaera #The Whale Rider #love #love quotes #family #family quotes #children #parenting #power game #ambition #Maori literature #New Zealand literature #quotes #quotes blog #literary quotes #literature quotes #literature #book quotes #books #text #words

[in-sufficientdata]

A bilingual book about the Māori creation story has won the highest accolade in children's literature.

Te Wehenga: The Separation of Ranginui and Papatūānuku by Motueka writer Mat Tait (Ngāti Apa ki te rātō) won the Margaret Mahy Book of the Year Award at New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults held at Wellington's Pipitea Marae.

Te Wehenga simultaneously tells the Māori creation pūrākau, which explains the beginning of the world, in te reo Māori and English.

#language #english #maori #māori #aotearoa #new zealand #news #current events #books #reading #kids #children #children's literature #articles #rnz

[von-octave]

reading potiki by patricia grace for an indigenous literature class and it is absolutely amazing. definitely impacting how i understand time! I think it seems abstract but isn’t very much different from western understandings of determinism, for example.

#booklr #maori #literature #books

[justwatchmyeyes]

Turn your face toward the sun and the shadows will fall behind you.

Maori proverb

#Maori proverb #quotes #life #love #important #tumblr #instagood #aesthetic #girl #literature #sad quotes #sad poem #zitate

[bettyandthebaddays]

Happy Queen Birthday Weekend to all her unloved children of distant lands

#dark academia #gothgoth #Byronic #anti colonialism #postcolonial literature #postcolonial theory #maori #opium war #the queen #queen elisabeth

[the-monkey-ruler]

So immortals can be stronger than some gods and vice versa, but what about demons? Besides Sun Wukong, are there demons that gods or immortals could not defeat or represented a real threat?

There are a good amount of demons that are threats to gods or immortals. But because that is such a wide question I would have to say that it depends on what novel or what mythos you are talking about.

In most cases, demons are never as strong as immortals or gods because of their lack of formal training. It is very hard to cultivate without training and thus most demons just eat humans to gain cultivation, and while still powerful, far sloppier skills than compared to a trained immortal. You would see in a lot more modern literature that demons have communities or clans while in ancient literature that is rarely the case as because demons are all abnormalities and cultivated individually it is hard for them to form clans and create communities.

I asked around and I was nicely told that the Four Perils are considered like progenitors to yaoguai. While they are not quite the same as yaoguai as they are considered either natural disasters or just malicious creatures depending on the context. They are considered the antithesis of the four benevolent creatures that are the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise. But in either case they are to be considered the embodiment of chaos and thus directly oppose heaven which is to symbolize the embodiment of order.

There are other creatures that toe the line between god and yaoguai just depending on different regions, similar to that is Shuimu niang niang who is a water deity but in Suzhou, Anhui she may be a yaoguai, while in Taiyuan, Shanxi it is believed that she was a woman who was gifted a magical whip by an old man. I was also informed that even the Four Perils, the taotie in particular, can be connected with ding due to the idea that taotie collected the offerings in ding for the ancestors and shen, and offered protection to the people. 

Wukong in the demon world is very much an outlier when it comes to power scaling, he is like the Sailor Moon to anime of the demon world. There are plenty of strong demons in Xiyouji but there is always a catch, so to speak. Scorpion Demon has a poison strong enough to hurt even the Buddha, but she was taken down by Maori Xingguan who turned into a rooster her natural enemy. That is more like a glass cannon where she can do a lot of damage but not take a lot in return. Demon Bull King was pretty strong, Nezha had to cut his head off like 50 times or something for him to falter and eventually be cornered but he fell as well. Single Horned Rhino King was also super strong in that he was able to take on so many celestial warriors but that was because he had the help of his magic item. Also when they found out his origins he was able to be captured fairly quickly by his owner.

In other works like FSYY we have Daji who is more known for her cunning and manipulation than power itself but she is still considered one of the most dangerous demons to have ever lived just by how much damage she caused an entire dynasty. It is noted that in Xiyouji the more powerful demons are from heaven as they were able to get some kind of information or training while up there, but they also have the great weakness that they are still submissive to their owners when they are found out. This is the usual chip in the stronger demons armor as while more earth-demons like Red Boy or Demon Bull King must be overtaken with force.

There have been PLENTY of powerful demons that have given the gods trouble, but in most if not all mythos, they were able to be defeated by the end through some kind of chip in their armor or loophole in their magic. While there are legendary demons of great feats and fight other legendary heroes like Nezha, Jiang Ziya, Erlang Shen, there aren't any demons that like... defeated them. At least not enough that cannot come back with stronger forces and eventually overrun the demon in question. Demons can be very powerful but they always have some kind of weakness whether in their cultivation, or in their origins as depending on the demon's original species helps in determining how to stop them a lot.

Wukong doesn't have that.

Wukong is the strongest, smartest, most powerful, most skilled, most clever, most cunning demon to have ever lived and is the only one I can think of that has gone to the heavens, defeated everyone, almost defeated the Jade Emporer and just before about to kill him needed Buddha ALL THE WAY from Eastern Heaven, a completely DIFFERENT heaven, needed to step in to stop him. He is to be considered an outlier of demon kind really. And I think that is because of his creation as the Monkey Mind. He isn't a being of havoc and destruction and that is what makes him separate from more demons at the start, rather he is intelligent, can learn, can adapt, and thus we see that he can bring order to the world. The whole point of the journey is how Wukong is able to overcome his own base desires and learn how to discipline himself to be more in control of his actions. Wukong is able to be seen as a person that provides and protects, very different from most yaoguai that reek chaos, and it could be that because of this Wukong was able to match to the gods just because it is so similar to them from the start.

#anon ask #anonymous #anon #jttw #journey to the west #sun wukong #xiyouji #ask #monkey king #he just built different #I mean that literally

[musingsofmonica]

February 2024 Diverse Read

February 2024 Diverse Reads:

•”My Beloved Life” by Amitava Kumar, February 27, Knopf Publishing Group, Historical/Literary/World Literature/India

•”Whiskey Tender: A Memoir” by Deborah Taffa, February 27, Harper, Personal Memoirs/Women/Cultural, Ethnic & Regional/Native American & Aboriginal

•”I Love You So Much It's Killing Us Both” by Mariah Stovall, February 13, Soft Skull, Contemporary/Coming of Age/Friendship/African American/Women

•”Private Equity: A Memoir” by Carrie Sun, February 13, Penguin Press, Personal Memoirs/Women in Business/Business/Finance/Wealth Management/Investments & Securities

•”Village in the Dark” by Iris Yamashita, February 13, Berkley Books, Mystery & Detective/Police Procedural/Thriller/Suspense/Women

•”Redwood Court” by Délana R. a. Dameron, February 06, Dial Press, Literary/Coming of Age/Women/African American/Southern

•”Wandering Stars” by Tommy Orange, February 27, Knopf Publishing Group, Literary/Cultural Heritage/Native American & Aboriginal

•Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop

Hwang Bo-Reum & Shanna Tan (Translator), February 20, Bloomsbury Publishing, Contemporary/City Life/World Literature/Korea

•”Dreaming of Ramadi in Detroit: Essays

Aisha Sabatini Sloan, February 20, Graywolf, Essays/Cultural, Ethnic & Regional/African American & Black/LGBT/Anthropology/Cultural & Social

•”The Things We Didn't Know” by Elba Iris Pérez, February 06, Gallery Books, Literary/Coming of Age/World Literature/Puerto Rico/20th Century

•“The Fox Maidens” by Robin Ha, February 13, Harperalley, Comics & Graphic Novels/Historical/Fairy Tales/Folklore/Legends & Mythology Fantasy/Romance/LGBT/World Literature/Korea

•”Hope Ablaze” by Sarah Mughal Rana, February 27, Wednesday Books, Magical Realism, Poetry/Religious/Muslim/Social Themes - Activism & Social Justice

•“ASAP” by Axie Oh, February 06, Harperteen, YA/Romance/Contemporary/Coming of Age/Asian American

•”Smoke and Ashes: Opium's Hidden Histories” by Amitav Ghosh, February 13, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Nonfiction/Historical/Travelogue/Memoir/Family History/Essay in History/Globalism/Capitalism

•”Fathomfolk” by Eliza Chan, February 27, Orbit, Fantasy/Action & Adventure/Dragons & Mythical Creatures/East Asian Mythology 

•”Ours” by Phillip B. Williams, February 20, Viking, Literary/Historical/African American/Magical Realism

•”Neighbors and Other Stories” by Diane Oliver, February 13, Grove Press, Short Stories/Literary/Historical/African American & Black

•”Greta & Valdin” by Rebecca K. Reilly, February 06, Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster, Literary/Romcom/Family Life/LGBT/Cultural Heritage/World Literature/New Zealand/Cultural, Ethnic & Regional/Russian-Maori-Catalonian/Indigenous/Polynesian 

•”The American Daughters” by Maurice Carlos Ruffin, February 27, One World, Historical/Civil War Era/Saga/African American/Women

•”My Side of the River: A Memoir” by Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez, January 13, St. Martin's Press, Personal Memoirs/Cultural, Ethnic & Regional/Hispanic & Latino/Public Policy - Immigration

#books #bookworm #bookish #book lover #bookaddict #reading #book #bookaholic #bibliophile #booklr #reading list #to read #books and reading #reading recommendations #book recs #book reccs #book recommendations #books to read #diverse books #diverse authors #new books #bookstagram #books & libraries #books and libraries

[dropout-if]

Aaa! It's so rare to see Pacific Islander ROs I'm so happy you created Kai✨

What inspired you to make their heritage that way? And will it be explored?

AAA Thank!

Last year I did my thesis on Postcolonial Ecofeminist Literature in the South Pacific and I feel like that has really moved and changed me^^

There are so little references to Oceania in media I knew I wanted to use some of my knowledge to create a character from the Pacific😭 Kai was originally going to be either Maori, Samoan or Hawaiian (the three areas I investigated).

I feel like Samoan societal ideals (such as Faʻa Sāmoa, the Samoan way) are really interesting when analysing Kai^^

For anyone interested I plan on doing my Master's thesis on the Representation of Female Neurosis in Media🏃‍♀️

#as a reference i mostly analysed Where We Once Belonged by Sia Figiel and I LOVED that book sm #Izzy nerd moments pls dont ask i will ramble if you hate rambles dont as pls #im a bit of a nerd🥺 #ask #kai alofa #dropout #dropout if #personal #rambles

[gulfportofficial]

Moby Dick again.

Guys, one of my students is reading an abridged, age-appropriate, ESL learner-appropriate copy of Moby Dick and it is so interesting. A lot of things they simply spell out because that makes sense for the English level as a reader (some of which are weird choices, like for example explicitly stating Queequeg is from New Zealand, like specifically New Zealand the British colonial nation, not Aotearoa the indigenous name, but he isn't from there anyway, maori is just another word for indigenous, in Te Reo it's Māori and from description IMO Queequeg's Tahitian Mā'ohi. Other changes are more straightforward.) Like for example, this version starts, "Call me Ishmael. That is not my real name." Obviously OG you pick that up even though it's never said but it's interesting because it means we can talk about it together. Especially because I had such a great time explaining the concept of an unreliable narrator, and how some are lying to you on purpose, some are not in their right minds, some don't even have an inkling they're not seeing clearly, some have a view that is simply limited by being one human, and most are combinations.

Anyway, it was such a lovely chat to have and I am absolutely beyond touched that she literally started reading this because I like it so much. Also she has OPINIONS about Ahab and it's dope and also it's very fun to be in a super homophobic situation like my school and just casually say about a work of great literature, "Oh yes, they'll be sharing a bed for the rest of the book."

#dickposting

[mychemicalraymance]

Tbh my favorite books when I was a kid (pendragon series) sort of are fucking awesome. I started re reading them. I never finished but ill have to now that I'm thinking about them. Tbh theyre really like.... diverse which is not necessarily a literature virture on its own but its pretty cool considering the culture of children's lit when they were published. And it feels really genuine. The characters are unique and fleshed out. Like his first friend and love interest is a girl who is like, a warrior, and supposed to be from an alternate planet that is based off of Africa. His second friend that he meets is modeled after a pacific islander with an Australian accent (maybe maori?) on a thriving Waterworld utopia, essentially. I say modeled off of because like Africa and Australia and races don't exist in the alternate dimensions but like theyre "our" references via they way they look and obviously this is a children's book series, theyre not going to deconstruct the idea of race in totality. But it doesn't ignore real world racism, the traveller from second earth (1940s america) is a black man. And also obviously the effects of tokenization and subconscious racism are going to affect the way these characters are going to be written by the white author but like... loor is sooooo fucking awesome. I love her. He also has a tendency to make all of his female characters and love interests stubborn and headstrong im guessing as a way to not damselfy them but becomes repetitive after a while. But like I love them. Lol.

There's also the fucking... tragedy of it like I loveee. The characters LOSE all the time. Their homes are devastated and destroyed and wiped from existence, literally and metaphorically. Bobby is FORCED to be a traveler lol his family and home and dog are blipped from existence OVERNIGHT. its fucking brutal. And earth is like. ... apocalypsed. Its GONE. Some territories are other territories after an apocalypse. Fuck. The young travelers are literallyreplacments for the older parent figure travelers like they all fucking are fated to DIE!!!

Also it invented the hunger games way before the books, the two TV announcers in the dystopian televised obstacle course death games book are the same as the hunger games. ✍

[gennsoup]

One must name cats, people, whoever comes close, even though they carry their real names hidden inside them.

Keri Hulme, The Bone People

#Keri Hulme #The Bone People #names #naming #real names #cats #Maori literature #New Zealand literature #Indigenous literature #quotes #quotes blog #literary quotes #literature quotes #literature #book quotes #books #words #text

[resourcesofcolor]

the link on the "books by pacific islanders" post you reblogged is broken :(

nooo that's such a bummer, it had such a great list that didn't just include polynesian authors, but also from all of pasifika/oceana! :(

i'll add some book reccs myself based on the original post! :)

Iep Jaltok: Poems from a Marshallese Daughter by Kathy Jetn̄il-Kijiner  

As a poet and performer, Kathy Jetn̄il-Kijiner uses art and activism as a means to enlighten her readers and followers about her home, the Marshall Islands. In 2012, she co-founded Jo-Jikum, a nonprofit organization committed to helping the next generation of Marshallese to preserve their islands in the face of rising sea levels. Her book, Iep Jaltok: Poems from a Marshallese Daughter, pulls from personal and familial stories to create an illuminating collection of poetry about Marshallese politics, heritage, and climate change.

THE BONE PEOPLE by Keri Hulmes is part Maori, part European, asexual and aromantic and she's outcasted from her family. This Booker Award-winning novel digs into tragic romance, mystery and heritage.

ISLAND OF SHATTERED DREAMS by Chantal Spitz; critiques the French government leading to the time French Polynesia had to undergo its first nuclear tests, making it a controversial piece during its publication. Also included in the storyline is a family saga and a doomed love story.

YEAR OF THE REAPER by Makiia Lucier (Micronesia, Guam). Makiia Lucier grew up on the Pacific island of Guam and has degrees in journalism and library science from the University of Oregon and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

The Properties of Perpetual Light is an homage to the work of the activist-writer, which author Julian Aguon describes as ''the work of bearing witness, wrestling with the questions of one's day, telling children the truth.'' With prose and poetry both bracing and quiet, Aguon weaves together stories from his childhood in the villages of Guam with searing political commentary.

My Urohs: the first collection of poetry by a Pohnpeian poet, Emelihter Kihleng's My Urohs is described by distinguished Samoan writer and artist Albert Wendt as "refreshingly innovative and compelling, a new way of seeing ourselves in our islands, an important and influential addition to our [Pacific] literature."

#indigenous. #oceana. #polynesia. #micronesia. #melanesia. #writing. #resources. #<3

[pwpoetry]

Q&A with Tayi Tibble

M: Can you tell us a bit about the title of your collection?

T: Poukahangatus is a transliteration of Pocahontas, articulated in Te Reo Maori phonetics. It doesn’t have an actual or complete meaning in Maori, but broken down, ‘pou’ means a pillar, a column, a totem, and ‘kaha’ means strength or bravery, and I like those meanings being present in the title for the collection.

The title is also lifted from the opening essay, ‘Poukahangatus: An Essay about Indigenous Hair Do’s and Don’ts’ and just as the essay explores, I think as a title, Poukahangatus suggests themes of indigenous representation, appropriation, story sovereignty and reclamation, which are recurring and the undercurrent of the collection.

M: This was your debut--what was it like shaping it, and what have you worked on since?

T: I wrote Poukahangatus while I was studying towards my MFA at the International Institute of Modern Letters, so it was shaped through workshops, supervision and a year of concentrated study which was all super helpful to both the book's development, and my own development as a writer. It was an intense but very rewarding experience — it was the first time I had ever explored my culture, my family, the history and impact of colonization in my writing and in New Zealand at the time, there was a bit of a gap in our literature that held both Te Ao Maori (the maori world) and the modern, globalized world of pop culture and the internet, so writing into that space was very fertile, but in part, sort of vulnerable too.

Since then, I wrote a second collection Rangikura, which will also be published by Knopf at a later date. It’s similar to Poukahangatus with its themes of family and colonization, but its parameters are a little tighter, and the intensity turned up — it has an undercurrent of climate change urgency; exploring the relationship between the desecration of the earth and desecration of indigenous women. I’m currently also starting a third collection, but it’s taking its time to reveal itself.

M: There's a range of forms in your first collection. Can you talk a bit about the prose poems that anchor the opening and appear throughout?

T: I’m interested in prose poems because I am interested in storytelling. I write poetry of course, but I also consider my poems to be, and want my poems to serve as, a form of indigenous storytelling; a way to capture and articulate our indigenous knowledge and experiences, and pass them along through generations.

I guess I like how prose poems invite density, generosity, and exploration while also offering the visual cue or expectation that there might be a narrative drive or a story. Many of the prose poems in Poukahangatus have a narrative drive or tell stories. For example, ‘Tangi in The King Country’ is a series of prose poems that tell the story of two small children returning to their marae or ancestral lands for the first time. In another poem titled ‘Pania’ a relationship between an exotic dancer and her client is told over three blocks of prose, which also draws on the traditional myth of Pania of The Reef, a sea maiden from the Ngati Kahungungu tribe of Aotearoa. It’s important to me as a writer to share the stories of my people, and prose poems are a functional way to do this. I like playing with dense blocks of text, but still working the language enough to make it feel light and sing like poetry.

M: Are there any other books or works of art with which you feel your work is in conversation?

T: I’m not sure if they're in conversation with, but the books that spoke to me as I was writing Poukahangatus, and in turn helped me to find my voice and speak with courage and confidence were Citizen by Claudia Rankine, Teaching my Mother How to Give Birth by Warsan Shire and Fale Aitu by Tusiata Avia. They sort of formed the atmosphere I wanted to write into, these passionate wahine writing about power and ancestry with truth and reclamation

#poetry #Q&A #tayi tibble #maya c. popa

[justwatchmyeyes]

Turn your face toward the sun and the shadows will fall behind you.

Maori proverb

#Maori proverb #quotes #life #love #important #tumblr #instagood #aesthetic #girl #literature #sad quotes #sad poem #zitate

[katescomsformakers]

Week Six: "Removing the Shackles of Colonisation" Notes

Northland (Ngapuhi) did not cece sovereignty to the Crown, however it was said that they had. Te Tiriti and The treaty of Waitangi had severe differences, many chiefs didn't realise that what they were signing had a botched English translation that overruled it.

What really happened throughout the early 1800s has been passed down through generations orally through kaumātua - this is "History as Maori know it". Most written literature and documents recording this time have little resemblance to the knowledge of the elders.

The attitudes of the British in the early 1800s lead them to believe they could do whatever they wanted, they had wrongly assumed that out country was theirs for the taking. They felt it was okay to do this as they thought of the Maori and other indigenous peoples as "inferior".

This colonisation was driven by racism, British seeing Maori as "Un-Christian, uncivilised and un-White". There was no interest in developing relations with the people of the land and work towards a synchronised and civil society, only to take.

Types of Racism. Institutionalised - where the system is set up to disadvantage a minority, making healthcare, education, housing etc less accessible. Interpersonal - physical or verbal abuse towards someone because of their ethnicity. Internalised - in where the oppressed internalises the racism of their oppressor. In doing so, they begin to develop the belief that they are inferior.

How as Pakeha, although we cannot undo the actions of the past, we can learn to let go of the power we hold still to this day in our society and consciously make an effort to not exercise it.

The office of Treaty settlements claiming the following: Maori have to pay for their own settlements, the Crown acting illegally will not be admitted, historical claims will be ruled as inaccurate etc. An unfair system that leaves Maori at the disadvantage when attempting to regain their rightful land and taonga.

The brand of racism that lashes out and repels Maori success. For example, when Ngai Tahu were to oversee the success of Whale Watching Kaikoura, and Pakeha on the board decided to deliberately employ a well known racist as a way of sabotaging the project. This shows such deep rooted insecurity that some Pakeha hold that they may be outdone by the indigenous people of the land. They find it unfathomable Maori are able to do a job just as well if not better than they could, displaying a high degree of interpersonal racism.

How the New Zealand school system has been set up to purposefully leave of gaps of our history. Te Tiriti often being played off as a peaceful and successful endeavour, when this couldn't be further from the truth. These systems were set up by Pakeha leaders of this country wanting to save their images rather than admitting the mistakes and crimes of their ancestors.

[creativekidsartlessons]

Elevating Education: Professional Art Lesson Plans for Teachers in New Zealand

In the vibrant educational landscape of New Zealand, nurturing creativity and artistic expression is a cornerstone of holistic learning. Professional art lesson plans tailored for teachers in New Zealand serve as indispensable resources in cultivating the artistic talents of students. These meticulously crafted plans offer educators structured frameworks and innovative techniques to inspire and engage learners across diverse settings.

Developed by seasoned art educators and experts, these lesson plans encompass a rich tapestry of artistic mediums, from traditional painting and drawing to contemporary digital art and multimedia installations. They are designed to align with the unique cultural heritage and artistic traditions of New Zealand, incorporating indigenous art forms and Maori perspectives to enrich the learning experience.

Furthermore, professional art lesson plans empower teachers to foster interdisciplinary connections, seamlessly integrating art with subjects such as history, science, and literature. By encouraging experimentation, collaboration, and critical thinking, these plans enable students to develop essential skills for success.

By embracing professional educators in Art Lesson Plans For Teachers in New Zealand can unlock the full potential of their students, nurturing a generation of innovative thinkers and creative problem-solvers. Through art, teachers can inspire curiosity, foster cultural appreciation, and empower students to make meaningful contributions to society.

#Art Lesson Plans For Teachers in New Zealand