Musician-poet exploring te reo Māori renaissance at Canterbury University

Taonga pūoro specialist Ariana Tikao. Photo / Whakaata Māori

Ngāi Tahu songwriter, composer and taonga pūoro specialist Ariana Tikao is bringing her creativity to the University of Canterbury this year, as one of the university’s Ursula Bethell writers-in-residence.

Tikao says during her residency she will work on a bilingual poetry collection inspired by te reo Māori, which she says she has a complicated relationship with as a second-language learner.

“Aspects I would like to explore include the beauty and complexity of its vocabulary and grammar, and stories behind local Māori place names from the Canterbury area. I am also interested in reflecting on the fervour for te reo Māori currently being displayed by so many New Zealanders.”

Tikao was named an arts laureate by the New Zealand Arts Foundation in 2020. She has recently shifted her focus back towards creative non-fiction and poetry.

She says much of her work is inspired by tūpuna stories and her identity as a Kāi Tahu wāhine.

Mokorua: Ngā kōrero mō tōku moko kauae - My story of moko kauae.

She has recently published a new book, Mokorua: Ngā kōrero mō tōku moko kauae - My story of moko kauae (published by Auckland University Press) with photography by Matt Calman and a te reo Māori translation by her husband, Ross Calman.

The book is a revealing and emotional account of receiving her moko kauae and is interwoven with the revival of language, tikanga and identity among Kāi Tahu whānau over the past thirty years.

Tikao also recently completed a hybrid of creative non-fiction and poetry, entitled Ancestor in my Throat, for the International Institute of Modern Letters Masters Project.

The Ursula Bethell Residency in Creative Writing, jointly funded by the University of Canterbury Faculty of Arts and Creative New Zealand, was established by the University of Canterbury in 1979 to provide support for New Zealand writers and foster their work. Dr Octavia Cade is the other writer-in-residence.