MAORI POETRY

Look at how to analyse and attack a poem.

Start glossary of Maori cultural terms.

Analyse “To a Maori figure cast in bronze outside the Chief Post Office, Auckland.” (Hone Tuwhare).

Class split into four groups. Each group will be given a poem with a series of questions.

Groups will work together (possibly in computer lab) to answer the questions and analyse the poem.

Each group will recite their poem and present their analysis in a seminar for the rest of the class.

Seminars will be recorded on microphone and put on knowledge net.

Students will annotate copies of the poem during seminars.

Attack the question.

Quote the best example.

Explain it clearly.

Unpack the information in more detail.

State specifically the language feature and quote it. Use correct terminology.

state what quotation means .State what the quotation suggests//

why the writer chose that technique// what is implies// connoted//hinted at// alluded to// why it is effect.

“They (poets) can amaze us like a thunderstorm.”

Analysis:

The phrase “like a thunderstorm” is a simile. It means that poets can invent phases that get our attention. It is effective because “thunderstorms” suggests something powerful and sometimes violent. It can refer to a bright flash, something sudden that grabs our attention. It implies that there is a “wow factor” in poetry.

Words you do not understandStriking featuresColloquial languageMaori wordsLanguage featuresAnything that sticks out to you

Answer the first two questions

Compare answers with person next to you.

Chose one of the last two questions and attempt to answer it.

Compare answers with someone else in class.

Share ideas in class discussion.

In line 25 Tuwhare uses the words “Mere” and “Taiaha” to emphasise the proud tone of the persona. By mentioning these traditional Maori weapons, Tuwhare reminds the reader of the figure’s warrior culture, which as a consequence of being “glaciated” has been deprived from him. While trapped on his “bloody pedestal” the Maori figure is unable to embrace his fearsome ancestry and longs to “show the long hairs how to knock out a tune on the souped-up guitar.” The persona is empowered by the thought of his ancestral weaponry, which he sees as a means to intimidate the “long hairs.” Moreover Tuwhare’s phrase “Taiaha held at the high port” connotes sexual dominance, the long weapon resembling a phallic symbol, which is significant as the figure expresses his desire to “fix the ripe kotiro too with their mini-piupiu-ed bums twinkling.” Additionally the persona’s pride and confidence has grown throughout the poem, from a self-degrading “Hori-in-george” to a dominant Maori figure.

Step oneAnnotate poem. Words you do not understand Striking features Colloquial language Maori words Language features Anything that sticks out to you

Step two

Answer attached questions.

Use these as ideas to develop for your seminar.

Use the internet to research any Maori or other words you do not understand (www.maori.com).

Step three Discuss in your group who will recite your poem

to the class on Tuesday. Organise which role each member of the group

will play in the seminar. E.g.1.Recites poem.2.Discusses the different language features used in

the poem and their effects. 3. Discusses the poets choice of language and

structure of the poem. 4. Outline the major themes explored in the poem.

Alternatively You could base your seminar around

discussion of the attached questions.

Note Poems will be displayed on the whiteboard

during seminars. Utilise this and annotate poem by underlining language features, key quotes or relevant aspects of structure during your seminars (could be a members role).

Annotate poem Attempt to answer questions Write down anything striking about the

poem that may not have been discussed in the seminar

Questions

Tihei Mauriora I calledKupe Paikea Te KootiRewi and Te RauparahaI saw themgrim death and wooden ghostscarved on the meeting house

wall

In the only Maori I knewI called Tihei Mauriora.Above me the tekoteko raged.He ripped his tongue from his

mouthand threw it at my feet.Then I spoke.

My name is Tu the freezing worker.

Ngati DB is my tribe.The pub is my marae.My fist is my taiaha.Jail is my home.

Tihei Mauriora I cried.They understoodthe tekoteko and the ghoststhough I said nothing butTihei Mauriorafor that is all I knew.

Eh man!They like us on the chainswe do a good killing joband we look so happyHei tama tu tamatama go away

They like us in the factoriescleaning floors and shifting loadshei tama tu tamathey like us driving trucks and

dozersand working on the roadshei tama tu tamaHey boy!

They like us in the pubswe drink up largeand we look so happyHei tama tu tamatama go awayE tama!

They like usthey like usdrinking shouting singingwhen it’s someone else’s party or swinging plastic poisin a piupiu from Woolworths and thumping hell outa an old

guitarBecause we look so happyHei tama tu tamatama go awayAue, tama go away.

They bear patches on their jacketshiding scars and woundsfinding their own direction, disciplineordersHow do we prosecutethose already punishedhow do we finethose lost in the streets of no direction

How do we healthose slashedin the fleshwhen they areslashed in spiritTo a fish in the seato a bird in the skyto a deer in the forestall men are dangerous,brutes, intrudersvagrants

Gone the steadyroar of the seathe echo of the hillsthe voice of the elderinvoking the ancestorsrebuking the youngthe tracks that cling to the hillsidewhere barefootedthey walked outand rode awayon bikes

Gone the tohungawho healed from withinwith his remedy of arohaGone Their bootstheir jacketsno longer hidetheir scars

My beloved grandchild,inheritor from my ancestors,let me speak in your earin hope you may be inspired.You were created by the unseen,yes, the unseen,therefore what you see and hear,what you say – let them well from the unseen,your inner being.

My child, base your manaon the mana handed down to you.Pay heed to the dignity of the

people,people made in His image,His excellent image.Care for them in body,care for them in spirit,so that body and spirit will be in

harmony.Wrap them in the warm cloak of

wisdom.

My child, you are only a momentbetween two eternities – past and

future,so hasten, and come to termswith the circumstancesof your time,Seek the knowledge of the Pakeha,consume itas an appetiser for your true coursewhich is the wisdom of your

ancestors.Let your deeds beas wide as the earthto justify a place in the sky.A gift of words indeed, grandmother

– I weep for you and for you all.

Apirana Taylor's, “Sad joke on a Marae” and Kerry Hulme’s, “Whakatu” both deal with the idea of displacement. Discuss how these poems explore this theme and comment on their effectiveness.