News: Robert Pouwhare completes PhD Ngā Pūrākau mō Māui

Our warmest congratulates to Vā Moana / Pacific Spaces affiliate researcher Robert Marunui Iki Pouwhare on completing his PhD titled Ngā Pūrākau mō Māui: mai te patuero, te pakokitanga me te whakapēpē ki te kōrero pono, ki te whaihua whaitake, mē ngā honotanga. The Māui Narratives: From Bowdlerisation, Dislocation and Infantilisation to Veracity, Relevance and Connection. Which is “an artistic re-consideration of pūrākau (traditional stories) such that previously fractured or erased stories relating to Māui-tikitiki-a-Taranga”.

The abstract reads: “In the design of 14 episodes of the Māui narrative, connections were made between imagery, sound and the resonance of traditional, oral storytelling. The resulting Māui pūrākau, function not only to revive the beauty of te reo Māori, but also to resurface traditional values that lie embedded within these ancient stories. The exegetical writing accompanying the work critiqued the impact of bowdlerisation, infantilisation and fragmentation on the complexity of Maori pūrākau.”

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