A New Maori Migration by Joan Metge Athlone Press and Melbourne University Press, 45s

Te Ao Hou, November 1964, Page 58

A New Maori Migration by Joan Metge Athlone Press and Melbourne University Press, 45s reviewed by John Harréa This is much the most detailed description of contemporary Maori life that has yet been published—in fact the detail may be a bit over-powering for the casual reader, although such readers are greatly assisted by short clear conclusions at the end of most chapters. Dr Metge discusses life in both a rural village in Northland (called here Kotare) and urban Auckland, dealing in particular with domestic organization, kinship, leadership and community solidarity. Her aim is to describe and explain the process of urbanisation—probably one of the most significant features of Maori life in the post-war years. The author tells us that when she began to work on this project she made the usual assumption that Maori urban society was something rather different from Maori rural society. More than this she expected to find a clear division between the two. What she did find was that the urban Maori does not cut himself adrift from rural Maori life by moving to the town, but keeps in close contact through visits back (particularly for tangi) and through country relations who often visit him in the town. This means, of course, that Maori rural society is changing also. Along with the urban it is undergoing what anthropologists call ‘acculturation’, that is, a change in ways of life brought about by adapting to the forces of the larger society of which it is a part. This book is essential reading for everyone—Maori and Pakeha—who is not only interested in the present day situation, but is prepared to make an effort to understand the processes involved. It is not light reading, but fortunately the language of the social anthropologist is not too technical and Dr Metge takes considerable pains to make sure that the terms she uses are adequately explained.