He Kupu Tuku Iho, written by renowned linguists, Sir Tīmoti Kāretu and the late Dr Te Wharehuia Milroy, has been awarded the Te Mūrau o te Tuhi award. Last night the book and the life of Dr Milroy was celebrated in Auckland.
Judge of the award, Dr Ruakere Hond says, “There is no better modern exemplar of a written piece of text in te reo Māori.”
Milroy passed away less than a fortnight ago after a long illness. He was a professor of Māori at the University of Waikato from 1993 to 2000, having taught there since 1978.
An exponent of the Māori language and an expert in Māori customary practices, Milroy was a leading academic consultant and examiner of numerous master and PhD theses in English and Māori.
He Kupu Tuku Iho focuses on key aspects of Māori language and culture. The authors discuss key cultural concepts, mana, tapu, wairua, whakapapa, rituals, farewell speeches and Māori humour, in addition to language and cultural issues of the modern world.
The Auckland Writers' Festival is on throughout this week, with Kāretu making a public appearance at the He Kupu Tuku Iho event on Saturday afternoon.
In a festival-first, Kāretu's discussion will be primarily in te reo Māori.