A seminal work of theology and spirituality by Northland church and community leader, the late Pā Henare Tate, is now
updated and available again after several years out of print.
A decade on from when it was first published, He Puna Iti i te Ao Mārama / A Little Spring in the World of Light retains a central place in the delivery of social programmes and workshops across Aotearoa.
In writing the book, Pā set out to reconcile the deeply held Christian beliefs of Māori with the indigenous world view
that they have inherited and are increasingly rediscovering.
He argues that the traditional Christian message has fallen short of speaking intimately and powerfully to the Māori
experience.
He Puna Iti i te Ao Mārama offers one response and contribution to this call by attempting to develop the foundations of an indigenous Māori
theology.
It addresses both the kaupapa (principles) and the tikanga (process or method) whereby such a theology can develop, and
then sets out some foundations for it through concepts rooted in Māori culture and history.
He Puna Iti i te Ao Mārama won the non-fiction category in the Ngā Kupu Ora Aotearoa Māori Book Awards in 2013.
Out of print since 2017, the book has been republished by Oratia with updates by Ted Ratana and Albert Robertson of DoW
Holdings, which administers the Dynamics of Whanaungatanga programme that Pā Tate launched in 1992.The author
Pā Henare Tate (Ngāti Manawa, Te Rarawa) was a renowned leader of the Catholic Church and his community in the northern Hokianga,
Northland. Formerly a lecturer at the Auckland Catholic Institute of Theology and the University of Auckland, he
obtained a doctorate from The Melbourne College of Divinity, and was a specialist in Māori spirituality. Pā passed away
on his ancestral lands at Motutī in 2017.
He Puna Iti i te Ao Mārama / A Little Spring in the World of LightBy Pā Henare Tate, published by Oratia BooksISBN: 978-1-99-004203-4 / $80 / PB