THE STORY OF TIAHUIA
Merenia Gray
Tiahuia: A Karanga to My Mother is artistic director and choreographer Merenia Gray’s tribute to her mother Tiahuia Te Puea Hērangi, the whāngai daughter of Princess Te Puea. The show will open with Mary-Lyn Chambers’ short film, Karanga, which beautifully captures the dance Gray also choregraphed in her mother’s memory and will be followed by a deep and insightful kōrero about Tiahuia’s life, facilitated by Donna McLeod.
As the the whāngai daughter of Te Puea Hērangi CBE (known as Princess Te Puea), Tiahuia Te Puea Hērangi witnessed and took part in some of the major events that changed Aotearoa New Zealand in the mid-to-late 20th Century.
Princess Te Puea was an inspiring Māori leader from New Zealand’s Waikato region. In Tiahuia: A Karanga to My Mother, Tiahuia Merenia Gray (Ngāi Tahu, Rangitāne, Tainui), Tiahuia’s daughter, shares the story of her mother’s unique upbringing in the Kingitanga family (after she was adopted by Princess Te Puea) and her migration to Nelson.
All books will be on sale through our festival bookstore partner, Paper Plus Nelson, both in store at 237 Trafalgar Street Nelson, online, and at our Pukapuka Talks venues – get your copies signed by the authors after their session! If you’re buying online, please select the Nelson store to collect in person.
Pukapuka Talks are presented by:
Thank you to:
