Nga Pepeha a Nga Tipuna: The Sayings of the Ancestors

This unique collection of more than 2500 pepeha, “sayings of the ancestors,” were gathered and compiled from all over New Zealand over a 20-year period. More than just proverbs, pepeha include charms, witticisms, figures of speech, and boasts, and they are featured in the formal speeches heard every day on the marae and in the oral literature handed down from past generations. The pepeha also provide a rich source of language, using metaphor and an economy of words to show language that enriches the textbook Maori of today.

Hirini Moko Mead (Ngati Awa) is a prominent writer and commentator who was instrumental in establishing the Maori tertiary institution, Te Whare Wanaga o Awanui-a-rangi in Whakatane. He also served as foundation professor of Maori studies at Victoria University of Wellington. He lives in Wellington, New Zealand. Neil Grove retired in 1972 from a distinguished career in the United States Army. He also served as secretary to the Anglican Diocese in Wellington, New Zealand, and his research in Maori proverbs continued until his death in October 1999.