Nga kōrero a Reweti Kohere mā (new edition)

First published in 1994, Nga kōrero a Reweti Kohere mā is the collected writings in te reo Māori of Reweti Kohere (1871–1954) and his associates.

Reweti Kohere was a prolific writer who contributed articles to publications such as Te Kopara, Te Toa Takitini, the Poverty Bay Herald and Te Ao Hou in both te reo Māori and English. He was also an active correspondent with the Gisborne Herald.

This book brings together his best writings, some reprinted from Te Pipiwharauroa and Te Toa Takitini, and some as told by Mohi Turei, Apirana Ngata, Tutere Wi Repa, Te Angiangi Hau, Ira Tahu, Manihera Waititi, Tahupotiki and Nikora Tautau.

This new edition of Nga kōrero a Reweti Kohere mā is one of four new editions of essential reo Māori texts released in 2024 by Te Herenga Waka University Press, in collaboration with Te Takarangi, a national programme celebrating mātauranga Māori through Māori-authored works of non-fiction. The other three titles are:

Mohi Turei: Āna tuhinga i roto i te reo Maori

Ngaa mahi whakaari a Tiitokowaru

Apirana Turupa Ngata: Āna tuhinga i te reo Maori

Wiremu Kaa was a kaumātua of Ngāti Porou, Tūwhakairiora, Te Whānau a Kahu, Hunaara, Ngāti Hoko, Hinepare, Ngāi Tāne, and Takimoana. He worked as a teacher, civil servant in the Education Department, Māori Education Lecturer at Victoria University, publisher and editor. Wiremu was active in the Anglican Church, and a broadcaster in te reo Māori for Te Upoko o Te Ika Radio.

Jossie Mateohorere (Te Ohorere) Kaa was a Ngāti Porou teacher, editor, writer, and Māori language expert. Over a long career she worked on numerous Māori publications and was also the coordinator for the Ngata Dictionary. She has authored short stories for children under the pen name Oho Kaa and has written levelled readers in Māori as part of the Ngā Kete Kōrero series produced by Huia Publishers.

Together, Jossie and Wiremu worked on the first all-Māori language dictionary, Tirohia Kimihia, with a team from Huia Publishers; this dictionary was a finalist in the 2007 Montana New Zealand Book Awards reference category. They edited three collections in te reo Māori with Te Herenga Waka University Press, new editions of which are published in 2024.

Cover design: Tane Morris