Ko tētahi o ngā tino kōrero mā ngā tamariki ā mohoa nei, ko tā J.K. Rowling Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, kua whakawhitia ki te reo Māori.

Nō te huringa o te kōpaki, i tana ringa e wiri ana, ka kite iho a Hare i tētahi hiri-wākihi waiporoporo e whakaatu ana i tētahi tohu kāwai; he raiona, he īkara, he patiha me tētahi nākahi e karapoti ana i tētahi pū ‘H’ e rahi ana.

Kāore anō a Hare Pota i paku rongo kōrero e pā ana ki Hōwata i te taenga haeretanga o ngā reta ki a Mita H. Pota, i Te Kāpata i raro i te Arapiki, i te 4 o te Ara o Piriweti. He mea tuhi ki te wai kānapanapa i runga i te kirihipi āhua kōwhai nei, i tere rā te kōhakina e ngā mātua kēkē wetiweti o Hare, e ngā Tūhiri. Heoi, i te huringa tau tekau mā tahi o Hare, ka papā mai tētahi tangata hītawe ake nei, a Rūpehu Hākiri, me ētahi kōrero whakamīharo: he kirimatarau a Hare Pota, ā, kua whai tūranga ia ki Te Kura Matarau o Hōwata.

I te pukapuka tuatahi o ngā tino kōrero mā ngā tamariki ā mohoa nei, ka whakamōhio a Rāna rātou ko Heremaiani, ko Tāmaratoa, ko Ahorangi Makōnara i a Hare me te kaipānui ki te Kuitiki me Tērā-e-Mōhiotia-rā, ki te whāinga o te matarau me te oha mai i mua. I te whakaawenga o te whakawhitia ki te reo Māori e Leon Heketū Blake, ka tīmata te kōrero i konei.

One of the greatest children’s stories of all time, J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, translated into te reo Māori.

Turning the envelope over, his hand trembling, Harry saw a purple wax seal bearing a coat of arms; a lion, an eagle, a badger and a snake surrounding a large letter ‘H’.

Harry Potter has never even heard of Hogwarts when letters start arriving for Mr H. Potter, The Cupboard under the Stairs, 4 Privet Drive. In emerald-green ink on yellowish parchment, they are swiftly confiscated by Harry’s grisly aunt and uncle, the Dursleys. Then, on Harry’s eleventh birthday, a great giant of a man called Rubeus Hagrid bursts in with some astonishing news: Harry Potter is a wizard, and he has a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

In the first volume of one of the greatest children’s stories of all time, Ron and Hermione, Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall introduce Harry and the reader to Quidditch and You-Know-Who, to the promise of magic and the inheritance of the past. Now inspirationally translated into te reo Māori by Leon Heketū Blake, the story starts here.

Te Kaituhi / Author

E mōhio nuitia ana a J.K. Rowling hei kaituhi mō ngā pukapuka e whitu o Hare Pota, i whakaputaina rā i te tau 1997 ki te tau 2007. Kua neke atu i te 500 miriona ngā tānga o ngā haerenga mātātoa o Hare rātou ko Rāna, ko Heremaiani, e matatū nei te rongonuitanga, kua neke atu i te waru tekau ngā reo i whakawhitingia ai ngā kōrero, ā, e waru ngā hurihanga hei kiriata inā kē te nui o te mātakihia. I te taha o te terenga o ngā pukapuka o Hare Pota, i tuhi hoki ia i ētahi pukapuka poto e toru hei tāpirihanga ki ērā atu: Te Kuitiki i Roto i ngā Tau me Ngā Kātuarehe me ngā Wāhi e Kitea ai, hei tautoko i a Comic Relief me Lumos, tae atu ki Ngā Paki mō Pītara te Kaitito hei tautoko i a Lumos. I mahi tahi a J.K. Rowling rātou ko te kaihanga whakaari, ko Jack Thorne, ko te ringatohu, ko John Tiffany, kia haere tonu ngā kōrero mō Hare mā roto i te whakaari i runga atamira, ko Hare Pota me te Tamaiti kua Kangaia, i tīmata i Rānana i te tau 2016, ā, ināianei kei te ao whānui e whakaaturia ana. I taua tau anō, kātahi ia ka tīmata hei kaituhi kiriata i a Ngā Kātuarehe me ngā Wāhi e Kitea ai, koia nei te tuatahi o tētahi terenga e kitea ai te kaimātai kararehe-tūmatarau, a Nui Karamena, i puta ai nā te pukapuka tāpiri tuatahi. Kua tuhi hoki a J.K. Rowling i tētahi pakimaero takitahi, i a The Casual Vacancy, ā, ko ia te kaituhi o te terenga puka-taihara, o Strike, i raro i tōna ingoa huna, i a Robert Galbraith. Kua hurihia aua pukapuka e rua hei hōtaka pouaka whakaata. E hia nei ngā tohu me ngā whakahōnoretanga kua whiwhi ia, tae atu ki tētahi OBE me tētahi Companion of Honour mō ana mahi ki te ao tuhituhi me te ohaoha. Kei Koterangi rātou ko tana whānau e noho ana. 

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J.K. Rowling is best known as the author of the seven Harry Potter books, which were published between 1997 and 2007. The enduringly popular adventures of Harry, Ron and Hermione have gone on to sell over 500 million copies, be translated into over eighty languages and made into eight blockbuster films. Alongside the Harry Potter series, she also wrote three short companion volumes for charity: Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, in aid of Comic Relief and Lumos, and The Tales of Beedle the Bard, in aid of Lumos. J.K. Rowling collaborated with playwright Jack Thorne and director John Tiffany to continue Harry’s story in a stage play, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which opened in London in 2016 and is now playing worldwide. In the same year, she made her debut as a screenwriter with the film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the first in a series featuring Magizoologist Newt Scamander, which was inspired by the original companion volume. J.K. Rowling has also written a standalone novel, The Casual Vacancy, and is the author of the Strike crime series under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. Both have been adapted for television. She has received many awards and honours, including an OBE and a Companion of Honour for services to literature and philanthropy. She lives in Scotland with her family.

Te Kaiwhakamāori / Translator

Nō ngā iwi o Tūhoe, o Tūhorangi, o Ngāti Wāhiao, o Ngāti Whāwhākia, o Ngāti Porou, o Taranaki, o Ngāti Kahungunu, o Te Whānau a Apanui a Leon Heketū Blake, ā, kua roa ia e whakaako ana i te reo Māori ki ngā tamariki, ki ngā mātua, ki ngā kaiako anō hoki o te motu. He ika-a-Whiro a Leon nō Te Panekiretanga o te Reo. He kaiako hoki ia i reira, ā, ko ia tētahi o te hunga nāna i waihanga te tohu paetahi o Te Paritūtanga o te Reo me te tohu paerua o Te Reo Kairangi i raro i te maru o Te Wānanga o Aotearoa. Ko Leon hoki tētahi o ngā mema o te ohu nāna i tiaki te kounga o te whakamāoritanga o te Ture mō te Reo, 2016. He mea whakawhiwhi ōna tohu mātauranga ki a ia e Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa, i Papaioea.

Kua whakawhiwhia ki a Leon ngā tohu o te whakawhiti reo ā-tuhi, ā-waha hoki e whaimana ana i raro i Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori. I te tekau tau kua hipa ake nei, mā tana pakihi o Kounga Ltd, kua tukuna e ia ngā ratonga e pā ana ki te reo Māori. Ko te tikanga o Kounga, ko te eke o te pai ki tōna taumata e tika ana – e whai ana a Leon kia tae atu āna mahi katoa e whai wāhi ai te reo Māori ki taua taumata rā. Tuku ratonga whakawhiti reo ai ia ki ngā pokapū o te kāwanatanga, ā, kua noho ia hei kaitohutohu reo Māori i ētahi hōtaka pouaka whakaata, tae atu ki a SpongeBob TarauPorowhā me Tōra te Mātātoa. I te tau 2017, ka whakamāoritia e ia te pukapuka a Ahorangi Rangi Matamua e kīia nei ko Matariki: Te Whetū Tapu o te Tau. He pārekareka ki a Leon te whakatangi piana, te noho tahi hoki me ana mokopuna.

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Leon Heketū Blake (Tūhoe, Tūhourangi, Ngāti Wāhiao, Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Whāwhākia, Taranaki, Ngāti Kahungunu) is a long-standing teacher of te reo Māori to young people, adults and teachers across the country. Leon is a graduate of Te Panekiretanga o Te Reo (The Institute of Excellence in the Māori Language) and went on to become one of its tutors. He has co-written a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in Māori Language Excellence for Te Wānanga o Aotearoa. Leon was on the Quality Assurance Group for Te Ture mō te Reo, 2016. He received his qualifications from Massey University in Palmerston North.

Leon is a certified translator and interpreter, registered with The Māori Language Commission in New Zealand. For the past decade, he has provided Māori language consultancy services through his company Kounga Ltd. Kounga means quality – and all of Leon’s endeavours work towards achieving this for the Māori language. He provides translation services to government agencies, and he has worked as a Māori language advisor on several television productions, including SpongeBob SquarePants and Dora the Explorer. In 2017, he translated Professor Rangi Matamua’s book entitled Matariki: The Star of the Year. Leon enjoys playing the piano and spending time with his granddaughters.

Errata

Since publication, we have been made aware of further corrections to the text. We are grateful for these corrections. Please see the latest errata sheet avaliable to download here.