Maori cosmology places manu, birds, as our tuakana, our elders, and therefore we are obligated to manaaki them, show aroha towards them and to learn from them. In the historical past of Aotearoa/NZ birds were much more intimately involved in the lives of Maori in their everyday deeds, actions, thoughts and prophecies.
Maori played with birds within the realm of nga taonga takaro (ancestral games) and included them in their most sacred of rites. Their tohunga hohou-rongo, the games peace-makers and ira takaro experts, trained tui to talk in designated schools called ‘Te Ako o Te Tui’, besides magnificent waterfalls, on how to perform games rituals and in prestigious marae welcoming protocols. This is still recognised today with a brilliant karanga being termed ‘having the throat of a tui’.
In this revealing book we unveil some of the secrets of the once revered Toko-tuia (talking tui) ritual, we include some of the tikanga around the spiritual harvesting of harakeke, pictorially we show readers how to weave flax manu to use in such greetings in schools and on marae today, or to make as wonderful gifts & decorations, and additionally include an interesting section on information about a few of the other birds that our Maori ancestors treasured and shared their lives with - the moa, pouakai (giant eagle), piwakawaka (fantail), huia, kuaka (godwit) and the korimako (bellbird).
