{"product_id":"first-edition-of-the-foundational-record-of-maori-poetry-ko-nga-moteatea-me-nga-hakiraiia-o-nga-maori-printed-in-wellington-1853-george-grey-te-rangikaheke","title":"First Edition of the foundational record of Maori poetry - Ko Nga Moteatea, Me Nga Hakirara, O Nga Maori - Printed in Wellington 1853 - George Grey \/ Te Rangikāheke","description":"\u003cp\u003eKo Nga Moteatea, Me Nga Hakirara O Nga Maori\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHe Mea Kohikohi Mai\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNa [by] Sir George Grey, K.C.B., Governer-In-Chief of the New Zealand Islands\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e-Printed in Wellington, New Zealand by Robert Stokes\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e-1853\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e-Complete: [4], xiv, [7]-432, cxii, 18, [2] p. ; 23 cm.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e-Bound in contemporary original red cloth with gilt Maori figure to front board and English title to spine. Bumps to upper and lower spine. Minor fading to spine. Black marks rubbed onto front and back boards. Missing front flyleaf.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e-Largely uncut (including title page) apart from the english 14 page introduction.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is a foundational work of Maori literature and the earliest printed repository of Maori poetry. Carefully compiled by Sir George Grey, the text preserves traditional Māori poetry including Moteatea (laments for the dead) and Hakirara (chants). The songs were drawn from oral histories that Grey had collected during his time in New Zealand. Te Rangikāheke was an important contributor to the work, alongside other Maori chiefs. Many of the surviving texts we retain are due to this work documenting them.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSir George Grey was twice governor of New Zealand and had a deep, albeit paternalistic, respect for Māori culture and oral histories. However, an imperialist to the core, he felt that the \"true\" Christian religion would wipe away Maori culture - much like it had done to paganism in Europe. Many of the poems were recorded as he felt that Maori culture could become extinct. On the contrary - Maori culture flourishes in New Zealand\/Aotearoa today.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUncommon commercially and in institutions: OCLC states 10 copies with one in the US only (Colgate University): Auckland (NZ), Hamilton (NZ), Canterbury (NZ), Colgate Uni (US) , BL(UK), Uni. of Cambridge (UK), Uni. Strathclyde (UK), Berlin, Munich, Royal Danish Library\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"De Bry Rare Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56785175675258,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0624\/2969\/2075\/files\/IMG_9177.heic?v=1778098068","url":"https:\/\/debryrarebooks.com\/products\/first-edition-of-the-foundational-record-of-maori-poetry-ko-nga-moteatea-me-nga-hakiraiia-o-nga-maori-printed-in-wellington-1853-george-grey-te-rangikaheke","provider":"De Bry Rare Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}