Author

Ariana Tikao is a singer, taonga puoro musician and writer of Kāi Tahu descent, and recipient of a 2020 Arts Foundation Laureate award. She writes waiata, poetry and creative non-fiction exploring themes relating to her Kāi Tahu identity and mana wahine, often drawing on historical kōrero from her ancestors. She is among the current generation of artists and leaders rejuvenating taonga puoro, following in the footsteps of Hirini Melbourne and of her mentors Richard Nunns and Brian Flintoff.

Photographer

Matt Calman is of Ngāti Toa, Ngāti Raukawa-ki-te-tonga, and Kāi Tahu descent. He is a trained artist, with a Diploma of Arts (with Hons) from the Design and Arts College of New Zealand, majoring in photography, and went on to study journalism, graduating with a Diploma in Journalism from Massey University. Matt worked at the Dominion Post from 2007 to 2010, and is the author of The Longest Day (Allen and Unwin, 2020). Matt received his own tā moko from Porirua artist Wiremu Barriball in 2016. He lives in Ōtautahi with his wife, Ranui Calman, and their daughters.

Creator of te reo Māori Text

Ross Calman (Ngāti Toa, Ngāti Raukawa-ki-te-tonga, Kāi Tahu) is a freelance writer, editor and licensed translator. He is the author of a number of works on aspects of Māori history and culture, including most recently He Atua, He Tangata: The World of Māori Mythology (with A.W. Reed; Oratia, 2022), He Pukapuka Tātaku i Ngā Mahi a Te Rauparaha Nui/A Record of the Life of the Great Te Rauparaha (AUP, 2020), and Te Tiriti o Waitangi (with Toby Morris, Mark Derby and Piripi Walker; Lift, 2019). He is Ariana’s husband and Matt’s cousin.

Moko artist

Christine Harvey (Ngāti Mutunga o Wharekauri, Moriori, Te Ātiawa ki Te Tauihu, Ngāti Toa Rangatira, Kāti Māmoe) was the first wahine to commit to the revival of tāmoko in the mid-1990s. After training as a painter initially, she was drawn into toi Māori and was mentored by artists and tohunga tā moko such as Riki Manuel. Christine also works with other media, including stone, metal, bone, wood and resins. Recently she has been experimenting with muka fibres and 3D design based on Māori and Moriori traditional art forms.

Endorsements

‘He matapihi ki te ao o te wahine Māori, ngā taukaea aroha o te whānau, me te kōingotanga o te ngākau ki te whakarauora mai i ngā āhuatanga o ngā tūpuna. Rerehua!’
‘A window into the world of a Māori woman, deep family bonds and the fervent pull to revitalise the ways of our old people. Stunning!’
— Stacey Morrison

‘He whakaaro matawhaiaro, he momo noho puku tēnei pukapuka, hei whakatuwhera i te wheako moko kauae o tēnei wahine ki te ao whānui. E haere tonu ana a Ariana i tēnei tūāoma ki tōna ake tuakiri Kāi Tahu. E kī ana te kōrero, “tāia ō moko, hei hoa matenga mōu”, waihoki, mārama tīahoaho ana te putanga mai o te tokorua piripono nei.’
‘A personal reflection, this book is akin to a meditation, which opens up the moko kauae experience of this woman to the wider world. Ariana traverses this stage of her identity journey as Kāi Tahu. It is said, “take your moko as a friend for life”, likewise, we witness the emergence of this pair of lifelong companions.’
— Hinemoa Elder