Reframing Women

“It came from me” – Māori representation in Ramai Te Miha Hayward’s authorship

“…47 As O'Malley also points out, Te Paerata's claim for the kindness of one individual also points to the absolute cruelty and brutality of the British soldiers. 48 Ariana's capture/rescue by Mair aligns with Cowan's source in his subsection of The Old Frontier entitled, "The Romance of Ariana". Published in 1922, Cowan wrote The Old Frontier as a "sketch of the history of the Waipa district" to capture the interest of "the younger generation of colonists".…”

“…At Rangiriri in November 1863, Kīngitanga forces raised a white flag to negotiate a truce, and when the British soldiers entered and told them to put down their weapons, they took possession of Rangiriri and over 180 people as prisoners. 43 In the film, the British soldiers raise the flag in much the same way, although the aftermath does not feature. Furthermore, the massacre at Rangiaowhia and Hairini prior to Ōrākau likely influenced the decision to stay together, where Rangiaowhia existed as a sanctuary for women, children and the elderly.…”

“…reflects what Chadwick Allen describes as Fourth World writers and activists, "asserting indigenous difference" as a means of expression, creating "powerful tropes and emblematic figures for contemporary indigenous identity, including "blood memory," the ancient child, and the rebuilding of the ancestral house (whare tipuna)." 43 Te Miha Hayward expressed herself in this way, articulating Māori cultural tenets through the continuity of blood narrative, perhaps as a way of redefining the meaning of the film in collective cultural memory.…”

“…… The battle scenes were close to where the battle took place at Kihikihi, about two miles south of 42 Hayward, Recorded Interview with Ramai Hayward, interview by Owen, Side 2. 43 Allen, "Blood as Narrative/Narrative as Blood," 7-8. 44 As Angela Moewaka Barnes theorized in her analytical framework, Kia Manawanui, transformation describes a key tenet of kaupapa Māori filmmaking.…”

“…After leaving the fight scene with Tama, and calling longingly to "Ropata", Ariana goes with Tama into the wharenui at their marae to see her grandfather. 90 Seated together in the whare, alone, Ariana and Te Whatanui's conversation follows, 88 Martin Blythe, Naming the Other: Images of the Māori in New Zealand Film and Television (Metuchen, N.J: Scarecrow Press, 1994), 48. 89 Although Te Whatanui was a Ngāti Raukawa rangatira living in the nineteenth century, this character appears as a fictional.…”