A hundred years after its first publication, one of New Zealand’s most significant tribal histories has returned to print.

Tuhoe: The Children of the Mist, Elsdon Best’s monumental two-volume study of Ngāi Tūhoe and the people of Te Urewera, has been reissued this week in a beautifully produced hardback edition guided by Tūhoe scholar Dr Rāpata Wiri (Ngāi Tūhoe, Ngāti Ruapani).

First published in the 1920s, Best’s ethnographic masterpiece remains one of the most comprehensive records of Māori tribal history ever compiled, documenting centuries of tradition, belief, and whakapapa.

The new edition, published by Oratia Books, reproduces both volumes in their original large-format design and includes the original maps of Te Urewera and detailed genealogical charts.

Dr Wiri, whose doctoral thesis re-evaluated Best’s work, has written a new preface that both honours and critically reassesses the classic text.

“As a tribal historian and a Tūhoe descendant, I believe we are fortunate that this book was published; otherwise our tribal histories and whakapapa may have been lost forever,” he notes.

He said the reprint served both cultural preservation and historical balance.

“Alongside the wish to preserve our traditional history and whakapapa of Tūhoe, a personal motivation for me was to rebalance the historical narrative that Te Urewera solely belongs to Tūhoe,” he said.

“There are other iwi, such as Ngāti Ruapani at Waikaremoana and Te Papuni (Wairoa region), and Ngāti Whare at Te Whāiti, which have been misinterpreted by Best as hapū of Tūhoe.”

Ethnologist Elsdon Best (1856-1931) lived among Ngāi Tūhoe from 1895 to 1910, recording their traditions at a time when European presence in Te Urewera was minimal.

His extensive field notes became the foundation of Tūhoe: The Children of the Mist, published by the Dominion Museum in two volumes – the first detailing history, mythology, and beliefs, and the second containing extensive whakapapa and maps.

Best later became an officer of the Dominion Museum, a founding member of the Polynesian Society, and was awarded the Hector Medal for ethnological research in 1914.

Dr Wiri said the new edition was vital for preserving and revitalising Tūhoe whakapapa and identity.

As with all works of its time, The Children of the Mist must be read critically.

“It needs to be considered as a product of its time,” he said.

“The Tūhoe-centric bias of the book needs to be considered in terms of current Treaty of Waitangi settlements like Ngāti Ruapani, so that we are not thought of as a hapū of Tūhoe.”

Best meticulously recorded the kōrero of tohunga, the last of the oral historians, but he also became entangled in tribal disputes that influenced how histories were told, said Dr Wiri.

Dr Wiri’s research challenges some of Best’s conclusions using oral histories and findings from the Waitangi Tribunal.

“While Best’s work was a product of its time, there’s no doubting his expertise. Today, we need to wānanga his writings from a decolonising perspective to ensure the history is accurate and not biased,” he said.

“The descendants need to thoroughly wānanga the sections of the book that pertain to their hapū and iwi to ensure that we have an accurate knowledge of our history, whakapapa and traditions. This is very important for current and future generations of Tūhoe.”

Dr Wiri said the fifth edition held immense value for both Tūhoe descendants and Māori scholarship.

“The knowledge in this book covers many aspects of our history, culture, traditions, tikanga, and whakapapa that may otherwise have been lost,” he said.

For Dr Wiri, the republication is also personal.

“As a Tūhoe descendant this project is of great benefit to my whānau, hapū and iwi and to future generations and will enable us to reinterpret our history from a pono perspective.”

The new edition of Tūhoe: The Children of the Mist is available in bookstores.