Matriarch

Ihimaera wurde nahe Gisborne, einer Stadt im Osten der Nordinsel Neuseelands geboren. Seine Mutter war eine Mâori aus dem Iwi Te Aitanga-a-Mahaki, sein Vater Tom angelsächsischer Herkunft. Er begann sein Berufsleben 1973 als Diplomat beim neuseeländischen Außenministerium und bekleidete verschiedene diplomatische Posten in Canberra, New York und Washington. Er blieb bis 1989 mit Unterbrechungen durch Fellowships an der University of Otago (1975) und der Victoria University of Wellington im Jahre 1982 in diesem Ministerium. An der Victoria University of Wellington graduierte er zum Bachelor of Arts. 1990 übernahm er eine Stellung als Professor und Distinguished Creative Fellow in Mâori-Literatur an der University of Auckland.
Der Großteil von Ihimaeras Werk besteht aus Kurzgeschichten und Romanen. In seinen Geschichten beschäftigt sich Ihimaera mit der Kultur der Mâori im modernen Neuseeland und den Problemen in der zeitgenössischen Gesellschaft der Mâori.
Sein Neffe Gary Christie Lewis heiratete 2004 Davina Windsor und wurde damit der erste Mâori, der in die britische Königsfamilie einheiratete.

In keeping with his commitment to revisit his first five pieces of fiction, Witi Ihimaera has reworked the original text of this much-loved classic. The matriarch is a woman of intelligence, wit, beauty and ruthlessness, and has become a mythical figure through her fight to repossess the land and sustain her people against the ravages wrought by the Pakeha. Priestess of the Ringatu faith, she has been virtually a law unto herself. In his search for the truth behind the legends surrounding the matriarch, his grandmother, Tama Mahana delves deeper and deeper into Maori history and lore to understand the mysterious sources of her power and ambition. Witi Ihimaera's prose is at turns lyrical and spare, sensuous and savage. Weaving fact with fiction, this remarkable odyssey into New Zealand history is a novel of stunning imaginative power. Also available as an eBook Winner of the Wattie Book of the Year, 1986Runner-up for the Commonwealth Writers' Prize, 1987'Witi Ihimaera's uncompromising masterwork . . . A profound and spellbinding character study' - New Zealand Herald

In keeping with his commitment to revisit his first five pieces of fiction, Witi Ihimaera has reworked the original text of this much-loved classic. The matriarch is a woman of intelligence, wit, beauty and ruthlessness, and has become a mythical figure through her fight to repossess the land and sustain her people against the ravages wrought by the Pakeha. Priestess of the Ringatu faith, she has been virtually a law unto herself. In his search for the truth behind the legends surrounding the matriarch, his grandmother, Tama Mahana delves deeper and deeper into Maori history and lore to understand the mysterious sources of her power and ambition. Witi Ihimaera's prose is at turns lyrical and spare, sensuous and savage. Weaving fact with fiction, this remarkable odyssey into New Zealand history is a novel of stunning imaginative power. Also available as an eBook Winner of the Wattie Book of the Year, 1986Runner-up for the Commonwealth Writers' Prize, 1987'Witi Ihimaera's uncompromising masterwork . . . A profound and spellbinding character study' - New Zealand Herald