Abstract
Books of Mana celebrates the rich tradition of Māori authorship in Aotearoa New Zealand. It reveals the central place of over 200 years of print literacy within te ao Māori and vividly conveys how books are understood as taonga tuku iho – treasured items handed down through generations. In this beautifully illustrated collection of essays, some of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most renowned Māori thinkers join the editors in a wide-ranging kōrero about the influence and empowerment of Māori writing. Books of Mana builds on the work of editors Jacinta Ruru, Angela Wanhalla and Jeanette Wikaira, who curated Te Takarangi, a selected list of Māori-authored non-fiction books published since 1815. Launched in 2018, in partnership with the Royal Society Te Apārangi, the Te Takarangi list now comprises 180 titles, each representing an important touchstone in an extensive landscape of Māori literature. Books of Mana explores the ways these books have enriched lives and helped to foster understanding of Māori experience, both at home in Aotearoa and internationally. What emerges from the essays collected within these covers is a clear vision of the importance of writing as activism and a profound sense that these Māori-authored non-fiction books, and the knowledge they contain, are taonga.