Tides of Kawhia and Pathways of Taranaki are novels by New Zealand author Tom O'Conner. According to the author's profile, these two books form part of a trilogy. Although nominally about "the life and times of Te Rauparaha", this historical Ngati Toa leader is not the focus. The third-person narrative is more concerned with the fictional contemporary character of Te Rou Rou, the slave who becomes a warrior (the antithesis of Maximus in Ridley's Gladiator).
The first book, Tides of Kawhia (Reed 2004, ISBN 0-7900-0978-1, 356 pages), starts before Te Rou Rou (or just "Rou") is born as the result of a fleeting encounter between his slave mother and a visiting warrior (who is subsequently slain). Tribal agreement ensures that Rou is trained in the art of war to avenge his father given a background of constant inter-tribal bickering. It is well into the book before Rou begins to play a role, by which time the reader has been presented with a grim picture of life in pre-European Maori society. Rou is born into a world where, if you buy into the story, life is a cocktail of violence; class struggle; hardship from being tapu; cannibalism; rape; hunger; and petty vengeance.
I found the writing too repetitive at times, getting the impression that when there was nothing else to write about another fight was called for. But it did leave me with the kind of insight you don't get from reading history books. For example, how would it feel to live with the constant threat of invasion, or the ever-present fear of being consigned to the ovens for a minor offense? I believe the author did his research. O'Conner convincingly describes the ordinary rituals of life that are likewise omitted from factual accounts, with enough detail for the reader to imagine being out in the bush with a birding party, the sweaty work of drying fish, or the backache that comes with digging up a field of kumara.
I wasn't so sure that cannibalism was as readily practiced as described in the book. I seem to recall learning via an anthropology paper at university that it was more of a necessity in South Island where food was scarce and need was dire. In Rou's world it is practiced to feed visitors, to punish insults, or to celebrate victories. Although it seems established that warfare was important and that cannibalism was a "feature", I guess we'll never know the true extent (or the rationale behind) the practice.
Tides of Kawhia is also a story about loss. By the end Rou has lost his mother, his tutor, his women, his children, and his eye.
I think I probably enjoyed Pathways of Taranaki (Reed 2006, ISBN 0-7900-1084-4, 360 pages) better than the first book. Maybe this was because it was less repetitive (allowing for some recapping that invariably accompanies a sequel), less often violent, or maybe it was because it was easy to identify with the dilemma faced by a people attached to their rich homeland but given little choice to migrate to the unknown. After much uncertainty and a decisive defeat by Waikato tribes, in this book the Ngati Toa leave their prosperous harbour at Kawhia for southern lands.
I have to give any author credit for bothering to mention the mundane aspects of bodily functions. In most novels (and films) characters are not generally plagued by the likes of sphincter pressure or parasites. O'Conner doesn't neglect the need for over-the-side "evacuations" during canoe voyages, and describes the irritation of head lice resulting from communal sleeping arrangements (including the treatment—a bone comb and hair abrasion with gritty mud). Also inferred (but not explicitly stated) is the sickness and suffering presumably a result of exposure to diseases such as measles and smallpox.
The important historical backdrop to this part of the story is the so-called "Musket Wars", which inadvertently contributed to colonisation by Europeans. In the first book we learned that Ngati Toa allies, the Nga Puhi, have acquired muskets for use against their enemies (c. 1807) by trading with recently arrived Europeans. In this book so too have their Waikato enemies. The scene is set for inter-tribal warfare on an expanded scale; it is believed that at least 20,000 Maori killed one another in the 1820s as various tribes invaded the lands of their neighbours armed with this new weapon. Many more were displaced or enslaved.
Whenever fiction is "based on" real people or real events, it is of course impossible for the reader to tease out the actual from the imaginary (especially given the soft edge of oral traditions and politically-biased historical accounts). That said these books leave you with one impression of what life may have been like for the characters concerned, and that impression will either motivate you to learn what there is to learn or not. For those so motivated exploring the Ngati Toa Rangatira and Te Rauparaha section on the TKI (Ministry of Education) websites may be of interest.
I will read the third book—which will presumably tell of Te Rauparaha's arrival at Kapiti Island (in modern times a wildlife refuge) and his domination of that region. Too few New Zealanders know anything of these times, and fiction is a valid way to change that.
Footnote: Te Rauparaha is said to have composed the haka (war chant) made famous by the All Blacks.
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I have read both books. I think that the review is rather accurate but for the "If you buy into the story". I don't disagree but think that the story is as accurate as can be considering the time lapse. Amongst the works of fact and fiction there is an academic piece by an American called Vayda titled "Maori Warfare" which supports the general desription of life at the time from our point of view.
I spend time camping at Kawhia. That first book could use a few maps.
I reckon that the third book will be called "the winds of Wellington".
Hi Struan. You're right, maps would help folk not familiar with NZ to appreciate the geography (I admit to not having heard of Kawhia before reading the books). As for the title of the third book, I hope we won't have to wait too long to find that out. All we need then is Peter Jackson to turn the trilogy into a blockbuster...
Tom is half way through the third book. I know he has another book on completely different subject matter and unrelated to the triology brewing in his mind. I also believe both books so far HAVE been seen by Peter Jackson. (I wasnt sure if you were joking).
I enjoyed the first book more so than the second and I await the third. As for the apparent prevalence of cannibalism, it is my understanding that it wasnt something played up and over emphasised by the author exersizing artistic licence, but rather woven throughout as a reflection of actual practice as he gleaned from his many interviews and conversations with maori who have carried unwritten knowledge and accounts down through the generations. I am not sure university professors and historians are always accurate, and given that cannabalism is so distasteful to modern western societies there is a tendency to ignore and play down the practice.
Thanks for your comments Peta. As far as anthropolgists making inaccurate conclusions and verbal lore goes, the truth likely lies somewhere in between. You make a valid point that contemporary observers my be prone to fit their interpretation to prevalent societal and other norms. By the same token one could image early explorers in fact exaggerating the prevalence of cannibalism in order to strengthen their case for bringing civilisation to the savages, as it were. Verbal traditions are certainly prone to alteration with the passage of time (as I discussed here) so it would be unwise to consider them in isolation to be an acount of "actual" practice.