The original project was to get first-hand accounts of the legacy of Te Kooti and Rua Kenana from the perspective of eight women who were descended from, or in some way close to them and to the Ringatu faith. That changed when the authors became aware that more personal storiesand reflections were of equal interest and value to anything they might have been able to find by reaching back into the politics and events of a more distant past.
Through the authors, these women have left a brilliant treasure. Because of their strength and endurance, and because of their canny articulation, they recalled, recounted and recorded the kinds of stories so often neglected by more conventional histories.
After an introduction backgrounding the settings of their heritage, each participant is introduced then left to tell their own stories. They are full of struggle, pain, tragedy and humour and give us a first-hand bridge to a past that has completely gone. With "integrity, positive energy and totality as human beings", they deal with the ambiguities inherent in all our histories with aplomb and with an uncanny hindsight - and foresight - and their observations are often reminiscent of the so recently lost spirit-world of the Irish.
Heni Sunderland, for example, makes links from the past to contemporary issues with an almost frightening clarity. She was a stalwart of the Kohanga Reo movement and her quiet, gentle and humble ahua are already legendary. She was positive and tolerant to one and all, but she left one in no doubt that beneath the soft exterior there was something intense and powerful that only a fool would mess with. Sadly, all of these ladies have passed away since the book's initial publication, so it is fitting that this new edition (along with its precursor Mihaia about Rua himself) makes this superb narrative available for new generations. Impossible to recommend more highly.
