The many interests of the meeting between Mäori oral society and
literacy are reflected in the range of those who write about it:
literary historians, linguists, historians, enthusiasts of print and
Mäori culture. But theirs have been small studies which amount
to a partial knowledge of this encounter, generating a sense of
potential. Three issues are pertinent to a review of this literature and
contemplation of future study.
First, the fact that
Mäori acquired literacy at a time of colonisation by the
British is a critical determinant, but one balanced by the autonomy of
Mäori tribal society. Secondly, and a direct result of
colonisation, is the fact that Mäori use of writing and print
is complicated by two languages. English displaced Mäori as a
first language, and Mäori literature is in large part of both
languages, in small part in Mäori. The third issue arises from
this dual language heritage, for at the time of their first encounter
Mäori and English were respectively of oral and literate
traditions. Mäori therefore came to experience those two
traditions across both languages.
The assumption of
literacy by Mäori is not a straightforward, predictable
history, although it compares with other oral peoples' response to
literacy. What remains to be known is the situational detail of
Mäori literacy, which in turn could assist language survival,
would acknowledge the singularity of Mäori literature, and
contribute to international scholarship on orality and literacy.
