Nga Pepeha a nga Tipuna is a collection of more than 2500 'sayings of the ancestors'. Neil Grove and Hirini M Mead spent more than twenty years collecting and compiling these pepeha from all over New Zealand - inviting comment and contributions from all who read and used their early volumes.Pepeha are not just proverbs; the term includes charms, witticisms, figures of speech and boasts. Neither are they historical relics; they feature 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. Their use of metaphor and their economy of words show language that enriches the textbook Maori of today.

Nga Pepeha a Nga Tipuna: The Sayings of the Ancestors

Politics & Social Sciences

Mead, Hirini Moko

Grove, Neil

Social Sciences

Victoria University Press

This collection contains more than 2,500 pepeha, or “sayings of the ancestors,” that 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. These expressions provide a rich source of vocabulary, using metaphor and an economy of words to show language that enriches the Maori of today.

Literature & Fiction

History & Criticism

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