Title: Āwhina's people
Description: Āwhina's People is the moving story of a strong Māori woman living in pre-European New Zealand. Āwhina does her best to protect and nurture her family in a world where the ferocity of the warrior is highly valued. Lives are governed by the seasons; there is a time for harvesting, hunting, storytelling and celebration, and there is a time for war. Only the voice of a blind old woman is raised in protest as Āwhina's people are swept up in a deadly cycle of insult and revenge: "After tomorrow you will walk in fear on your own land. You will always be watchful and alert for attack. You will wake in the morning with fast-beating heart, and if you hear a strange sound or the alarmed cry of a kākā in the night, you will know the terror of the hunted." Tight bonds of kinship and the power of the ancestors are called on, as all stand together to defend their hilltop fortress. But will courage and stockade walls be enough against an enemy wise in the arts of warfare and well versed in treachery ...?
Subjects: Maori (New Zealand people), History, Fiction, Pakiwaitara