Ngā Kōrero a Mohi Ruatapu

This book comprises two manuscripts written in the 1870s by one of the greatest tohunga of Ngāti Porou. Mohi Ruatapu, of Tokomaru Bay, was one of the teachers at the last Whare Wānanga on the East Coast, north of Tūranga. Much later, as an old man, he recorded the myths, legends and songs of his people.

Mohi Ruatapu’s writings are regarded as the most important single body of writing on myth produced by any nineteenth-century Māori writer. Prior to the publication of this book in 1993 only a few short extracts had been published. The work includes the Māori text in full with an introduction, English translation and annotations by Anaru Reedy.