A simple search for a kupu leads Migoto to a 1915 Williams Māori dictionary with a surprising whakapapa of its own. In this episode, She traces the legacy of the Williams whānau, generations of Māori language scholars, and uncover how this particular copy once sat on Elsdon Best’s desk - complete with his clippings, markers, and quiet traces of use. A reminder that even the most unassuming taonga can hold deep stories.

Links:

Te Aka Māori Dictionary

William Williams Dictionary 1844

Williams Family Papers

Elsdon Best

Ratana Faith

"Please don't bit the books" blog

Glossary

Māngere - lazy

Ngā Manu Korero - yearly secondary schools speech competition

Koroua - grandfather

Whānau - family

Kōrero - discussion; speech

Hononga - connection

Matua, tama, wairua tapu - Father, son, holy spirit

Anahera pono - Faithful angels

Hīmene - hymn

Tohu - sign

Rangatahi - youth, young people

Tangi/Tangihanga - funeral

Step into the archives with us as a seemingly ordinary A&P Show catalogue cracks open a hidden world of taonga Māori competitions — carvings, korowai, piupiu, mats, kits, weapons, all filed under the enigmatic category “Native Industries.”

Amber and Migoto follow the clues through 30 years of entries, familiar names, unexpected judges, and the mystery of the elusive piupiu tatangi. No photos. No surviving descriptions. Just the paper trail — and the stories waiting beneath it.

If you love archival detective work, whakapapa threads, and taonga that refuse to stay quiet, this episode is for you.

Links

The Knowledge Bank

Hand Woven Raffia Shoes

Glossary

Hue - Gourd used as a vessel.

Kairaranga - Weavers; practitioners of raranga.

Kaupapa - Purpose, guiding principle, topic.

Kiekie - Freycinetia banksii - a thick native vine which has long leaves with fine teeth crowded at the end of branches.

Korowai - Cloak with decorative tassels (hukahuka).

Kumete - Wooden bowl or vessel.

Mahi - Work, practice, effort.

Mātauranga - Knowledge; Māori knowledge systems.

Piupiu - Flax skirt worn in kapa haka and ceremonial contexts.

Pounamu - Greenstone; highly valued stone.

Raranga - Weaving.

Taiaha - Long-handled weapon used in martial arts and ceremony.

Tokotoko - Carved walking stick used in oratory.

Toki - Adze; tool or weapon.

Whakairo - Carving; carved objects or the practice of carving.

Whakapapa - Genealogy, lineage, relational identity.

Whānau - Family, extended family, community.

This is not your typical taonga Māori. Its also not just an old ledger but if you take a closer look it can reveal more. We’ll take you into the room with this taonga what it was like and what you might find. Not dissimilar to an address book from 1878 we’ll share with you its purpose, importance and its taonga-like characteristics. We talk about the Te Wananga newspaper and its subscribers who were recorded in this ledger. Te reo Māori is central to the mode of communication at the time in sharing critical news uniting iwi Māori over land matters but most of all, a defence to overturn fraudulent sales of Māori land.

A snapshot in time, a window to the lives of our tipuna, a source of empowerment and identity. Listen in on this episode to find out more about the Te Wananga ledger.

Links

Book: Lives of Colonial Objects 2015

Definition from of taonga from He Pātaka Kupu dictionary

Te Wānanga Ledger at MTG

Repudiation Movement

Kotahitanga Movement

Glossary

Tipuna Māori - Māori ancestors

Motu - country, island

Reo - language

Tairāwhiti rohe - East Coast region

Iwi, hapū - tribe, subtribe

Mana - control, power, authority

Rangatira - chief, leader

Uri whakatipu - descendants

Whenua ūkaipō - land of origin, home land

Whenua - land, placenta

Mana whenua - authority over land

Kōrero - discussion

Mere - hand held short club weapon often greenstone

Taiaha - long wooden weapon

Kākahu - cloak, clothing