Will Have Wide Appeal

Te Ao Hou, September 1964, Page 50

Will Have Wide Appeal Aileen E. Brougham and A. W. Reed, in drawing from all these published sources, have cast their net widely and produced a useful, compact, pocket-size book of 135 pages, which will have a wide appeal to students, teachers and lovers of our beautiful Maori language. There should be a place for it in every home, for any publication which gives the non-Maori speaking person, whether Maori or Pakeha, access to this part of New Zealand's cultural heritage is to be welcomed. Its price of 12s 6d is not excessive. There are many proverbs that praise foresight, preparedness, provision for the future, thrift, alertness, watchfulness, bravery, leadership, agility, diligence, perseverance, industry, neatness, tidiness, beauty, poise, self-reliance, responsibility, generosity, stability — proverbs that scorn laziness, idleness, clumsiness, carelessness, thoughtlessness, wastefulness — that frown upon lack of planning, trusting to promises, inhospitality, gluttony—that ridicule aimlessness, indecision, procrastination, neglect—that rebuke inattention, grumbling, greed, boasting, cowardice — that caution against hidden thoughts, undeclared intentions and false externals. Many proverbs which have fallen out of current use because some of their allusions have become obscured, have been resurrected in this compilation; on the other hand, it is a pity that some which are still widely used have not been included. They all have their origins in a bygone age it is true, but many of them have peculiar aptness in our time and are still quoted to add colour and drama to the thrust and parry of verbal encounters on many a marae. The authors of this book first quote each proverb in Maori, then give either a literal or a free translation in English, then follow this up with an interpretation. Wherever possible, they add to this a description of the circumstances which gave rise to the original utterance. This method is exceedingly helpful, to students in particular.