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Land of the Long White Cloud: Maori Myths, Tales and Legends
Te Kanawa, Kiri. Land of the Long White Cloud: Maori Myths, Tales and Legends. Auckland, New Zealand: Penguin Books, 1997. xii, 118p. Gloss. Illus. ISBN: 0670 87533 (pa). $31.95
Opera singer Kiri Te Kanawa’s collaboration with artist Michael Foreman has produced an entertaining and stunningly illustrated collection of Maori legends for grades five and up. Te Kanawa attempts to capture the essence of the stories told by her mother during her childhood. She does not present her stories as the definitive versions but rather admits that they “have probably changed in the telling” and “there are as many versions of the tales as there are tellers.” The author clearly identifies with her Maori heritage as she prefaces each story with brief notes about Maori culture and the associations each story evokes for her.
Te Kanawa’s parents, one of Maori and one of Irish descent, adopted her as in infant. After a brief period as a popular singing and recording artist in New Zealand, she became a student at the London Opera Center in 1966. The soprano shot to stardom in the 1970s with her success as the Countess in Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro in 1971. She sang at the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer in 1981, and reached a worldwide audience with her rendering of Handel’s Let the Bright Seraphim.” Though she now performs less often, the singer remains highly acclaimed.
Though we may not expect a book of myths and legends from an opera singer, Te Kanawa’s first foray into book writing entertains as it reveals aspects of Maori life, such as the importance of fishing. Her language is straightforward enough for children to enjoy yet the book appeals to all ages. It is not as overtly directed towards children as Gavin Bishop’s Taming the Sun and thus does not feature Bishop’s short, simple dialogue style. Te Kanawa’s perspective in the opening remarks for each story sometimes seems Europeanized, as in her comment that when she pictured Hinemoa swimming to her hero she always “imagined her as a kind of fairy princess.” She tells us that “although the story tellers spoke of both male and female fairies I always imagined them as female, and very beautiful too.” Her perspective may have influenced the artwork; Foreman’s depiction of the monster taniwha resembles Te Kanawa’s vision of it as a dragon more than the “fishy type of beast” storytellers often describe. The book, however, represents the author’s personal experience of the stories. The stories themselves contain few differences from version’s found in Bishop’s book or in that of Queenie Rikihana Hyland. Te Kanawa’s less extensive inclusion of details and chants than Hyland’s Illustrated Maori Myths and Legends again reflects her focus on childhood memories as her main source. Foreman’s artistry helps set the book apart.
The artist’s vibrantly colored and delicately rendered watercolors possess a surreal quality. The illustrations alone make Te Kanawa’s book worth purchasing. The author includes a variety of myths, from those explaining natural phenomenon and the discovery of New Zealand to romances and tales of heroic feats. She relates the 21 myths and legends with aplomb. The author includes a brief glossary as well. Children and adults can enjoy the embedded moral messages, taste of Maori life and the cleverness of characters such as the trickster Maui.
Opera singer Kiri Te Kanawa’s collaboration with artist Michael Foreman has produced an entertaining and stunningly illustrated collection of Maori legends for grades five and up. Te Kanawa attempts to capture the essence of the stories told by her mother during her childhood. She does not present her stories as the definitive versions but rather admits that they “have probably changed in the telling” and “there are as many versions of the tales as there are tellers.” The author clearly identifies with her Maori heritage as she prefaces each story with brief notes about Maori culture and the associations each story evokes for her.
Te Kanawa’s parents, one of Maori and one of Irish descent, adopted her as in infant. After a brief period as a popular singing and recording artist in New Zealand, she became a student at the London Opera Center in 1966. The soprano shot to stardom in the 1970s with her success as the Countess in Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro in 1971. She sang at the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer in 1981, and reached a worldwide audience with her rendering of Handel’s Let the Bright Seraphim.” Though she now performs less often, the singer remains highly acclaimed.
Though we may not expect a book of myths and legends from an opera singer, Te Kanawa’s first foray into book writing entertains as it reveals aspects of Maori life, such as the importance of fishing. Her language is straightforward enough for children to enjoy yet the book appeals to all ages. It is not as overtly directed towards children as Gavin Bishop’s Taming the Sun and thus does not feature Bishop’s short, simple dialogue style. Te Kanawa’s perspective in the opening remarks for each story sometimes seems Europeanized, as in her comment that when she pictured Hinemoa swimming to her hero she always “imagined her as a kind of fairy princess.” She tells us that “although the story tellers spoke of both male and female fairies I always imagined them as female, and very beautiful too.” Her perspective may have influenced the artwork; Foreman’s depiction of the monster taniwha resembles Te Kanawa’s vision of it as a dragon more than the “fishy type of beast” storytellers often describe. The book, however, represents the author’s personal experience of the stories. The stories themselves contain few differences from version’s found in Bishop’s book or in that of Queenie Rikihana Hyland. Te Kanawa’s less extensive inclusion of details and chants than Hyland’s Illustrated Maori Myths and Legends again reflects her focus on childhood memories as her main source. Foreman’s artistry helps set the book apart.
The artist’s vibrantly colored and delicately rendered watercolors possess a surreal quality. The illustrations alone make Te Kanawa’s book worth purchasing. The author includes a variety of myths, from those explaining natural phenomenon and the discovery of New Zealand to romances and tales of heroic feats. She relates the 21 myths and legends with aplomb. The author includes a brief glossary as well. Children and adults can enjoy the embedded moral messages, taste of Maori life and the cleverness of characters such as the trickster Maui.
Submitted in May 2008 by Simi Singh, LIS Student, University of Hawaii at Manoa
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