Kia orana tātou kātoatoa, welcome to Reo Māori Kūki’Āirani – Cook Islands Language Week 4-10 August, at Te Tumu Herenga – Libraries and Learning Services. This year’s theme is Taku rama, taau toi: ora te Reo – My Torch, Your Adze: The Language Lives.

You are invited to check out these events and selected resources, assembled by the Cultural Collections teams:

• Floor talk
  Join Art Collection curators Lara Thomas and Sam Melser as they discuss three artworks by artists Michel and Sheyne Tuffery. The works are being brought in especially for the occasion.
  Tuesday 6 August, 12:30pm-1pm, near the front desk, Level G, General Library.
• Live playlist
  Listen to rare recordings from Aitutaki, Rarotonga, Mangaia, Manihiki and Rakahanga, straight from the vaults of the Archive of Māori and Pacific Sound. The accompanying images were compiled by Peni Kamakorewa.
  Monday 5 August – Friday 9 August, Pacific Studies, Level 1 foyer, Building 273.
• Special Collections display
  The Cook Islands Maori Dictionary was nearly 40 years in the making. In this display, original documents such as wordlists and correspondence reveal the complex and painstaking work that went into its compilation by Jasper Buse, Raututi Taringa, Bruce Biggs and Rangi Moeka’a.
  Monday 5 August – Friday 16 August, Special Collections, Level G, General Library.
• Online
  A TV and Radio playlist pulls together several documentaries which provide windows onto Cook Islands culture and life, including a feature on language expert Tupou Manapori.

Curious to learn more?

Access Cook Islands-related material available in the Cultural Collections repositories and elsewhere in Te Tumu Herenga – Libraries and Learning Services by:

• Searching the Catalogue for books, archives, sound recordings, TV programmes, newspapers, photographs, microfilms, theses, and more.
• Browsing the Pacific Studies subject guide for key resources about Pacific histories, cultures, languages and research.

Among these rich and extensive holdings you will find:

• The Peter Bellwood Aitutaki collection in the Archive of Māori and Pacific Sound, which includes audio and transcriptions. There’s also a Rarotongan word list from 1960. (We recommend using Firefox to view media players.)
• Michel Tuffery’s woodcut print, `Tea’na Tamatitea’, Ani O’Neill’s crocheted artwork `Buddy System’, and Jim Vivieaere’s striking sculpture `Beacons’ on the forecourt of the Fale Pasifika.
• Cook Islands Native Land Court titles registers on microfilm, Te Ariki Tara ‘Are and Percy-Smith’s History and traditions of Rarotonga, 1899-1921, and E ture no Rarotonga nei…, a pamphlet printed at the Mission Press in Rarotonga in 1879.

Cultural Collections, Te Tumu Herenga – Libraries and Learning Services