2025 Winner Wright Family Foundation Te Kura Pounamu Award for a book originally written in Te Reo Māori.
Judges Comment "He mea tiki atu ngā kupu kei te kōrero o Hineraukatauri me Te Ara Pūoro i tētahi oriori. Mā te mārire o te manawataki o ngā kupu e kite ai te kaipānui i hā, te rangi me te reo o te kōrero, i a Hineraukatauri e kimi atu ana i tōna hā, tōna rangi me tōna reo. Ko te tikanga, me pānui ā-waha tēnei pukapuka ki te reo Māori. He mea tito tēnei nā Elizabeth Gray, ā, kei te reo tonu te toikupu, mā konā e totohu ai te kaipānui ki roto ki te kaupapa. Kāore e kore, ka warea anō te kaipānui i te whakapākehātanga, engari ko tōna ātaahuatanga ka ngaro. E tika rawa atu ana kia riro tēnei tohu i tēnei pukapuka.
In Hineraukatauri me Te Ara Pūoro, the kupu take the form of an oriori, a chant, a lullaby. The words' gentle rhythm invites readers to find their own intonation, melody, and voice, as Hineraukatauri finds hers. This is a book meant to be read aloud in te reo Māori – it is the poetry intrinsic to the language itself, so skilfully composed by kaitito Elizabeth Gray, that allows us to fully inhabit the kaupapa. While a translation would no doubt enchant readers in English as well, something beautiful would necessarily be lost. There could not be a more deserving first recipient for this award.
2025 Winner Russell Clark Award for Illustration
Judges Comment "Hineraukatauri me Te Ara Pūoro tells the pūrākau of the becoming of Hineraukatauri, from chrysalis to atua of taonga pūoro – and Rehua Wilson's illustrations embody the kaupapa with a breath-taking synaesthetic skill that seems quite magical. There is an innate musical quality in the light and shade, the stabs and washes of bright colour, the delicate linework tracing a visual melody. Familiar atua are encountered in perhaps unfamiliar forms, the line between the literal and the figurative is always permeable, and the relationship between te Ao Wairua and te Ao Kikokiko is reflected in a way that feels right, feels tika."
"Gray, a taonga pūoro practitioner, has created a real taonga with this story, as she generously shares her knowledge with readers. Written solely in te reo Māori, it is poetic and a much-needed resource...
Hineraukatauri me te Ara Pūoro is a powerful picture book for learning, language, identity and mātauranga. Whakanuitia te pukapuka." - Rebekah Lyell, NZ Book Lovers
Turuturua Te Taki o Tangaroa e Paki
Rūaumoko ka rū ki Tarawai a nuku
Nā Tane Te Peka Mataī Tokitoki
Whakaniko Whakairohia ngā Hau Kōtengitengi
Tumutumu Pīwari Taketake mataī
Werowero wenewene Tōiriiri ki Te Nguru
Korokoro Te Kiri Pāorooro oreore Pūtōrino
Waiwaiā Atua Tō Ki Te Tangata
Elizabeth Gray (Ngāti Rēhia, Ngāti Uepōhatu, Tama Ūpoko ki te awa o Wanganui, Ngāti Tūwharetoa) is a taonga puoro practitioner researching the ways that puoro can be used as rongoā. She is a member of the Haumanu Collective and Hineraukatauri me te Ara Pūoro is her debut book.
This story charts the journey of Hineraukatauri – a cocoon/chrysalis who has entered a new realm, the human world, without their voice. It’s dark and wet, Ranginui and Papatūānuku have not yet separated or are in the process of having their offspring create space between the two.
In visiting each of the offspring, they gift Hineraukaturi a different component or aspect of music, ultimately her voice, represented in the shape of the Pūtōrino. Renowned musician and composer, Hirini Melbourne happens across the shape, and his breath, in playing it, gives life to all the gifts as he makes beautiful music through this instrument.
Paperback / softback 28pp h270mm x w210mm