Author(s): Tamihana Te Rauparaha; Peter Scott Butler

Te Ao Māori

Secondhand.

 "This is an account of the great Te Rauparaha from his infancy to his old age written by his son in case the facts be forgotten" [front cover]. -- Te Rauparaha was the greatest Maori leader. He was the major Maori fighting chief in the period from 1770 to 1849, the period when the pakeha forced their entry into New Zealand. Te Rauparaha established his influence throughout the land, fighting and killing his way from North to South: the pakeha saw him as a threat to their rule and endeavoured to silence him by prison. This is the story of Te Rauparaha as told by his son Tamihana Te Rauparaha, in 1869. It was written in Maori and later translated. The story has never been published before, and it is a unique story of bloodshed, warfare and cannibalism. The original manuscript was discovered by Peter Butler in the Hocken Library, Dunedin. He has arranged the translation, and edited the voluminous text. 84 pages, illustrated.