A Ma¯ori Harry Potter story

For those wishing to extend their knowledge of Ma¯ori beyond daily conversation, may I suggest the epic poem Pinepine Te Kura, which tells a story similar to that of Harry Potter.

People living on the Takapau Plains had become weak and impotent, and blamed their troubles on witchcraft emanating over the hills from vengeful northerners. In the early 18th century, Umurangi is born with healing powers that he received in infancy from a flash of lightning from Ranginui. At the wananga school for tohunga, he is shown how to remove the makutu’s evil effects with his kaunati stick, how to prepare healing kaimoana potions, and finally how to perform the mind-healing therapy sessions that make the wellfed villagers feel reborn and confident again.

Harry Potter aside, Pinepine Te Kura shows how tohunga were trained from birth to protect their kinfolk with a combination of horticultural and agricultural advice, nutritional foods, morale-boosting myths and rituals, and group therapy. You might also like to try the kaunatikaunoti method of firemaking taught to Umurangi.

The story is told the same way as old English story ballads that were also recited from memory, with a strong regular rhythm, and the action leaping from one dramatic event to the next. I have made a webpage for those interested, with some background information about each of its “leaps”; folksong.org.nz/ pinepine-te-kura.

JOHN ARCHER

Ohakune