Ariā and the Kūmara God, the sequel to The Astromancer by renowned storyteller Witi Ihimaera, is another action-packed adventure story.
Although Ariā and the other 3 apprentices have fought battle after battle to try to rescue Te Kōkōrangi (the astromancer) she is still locked up in the fortress of Ruatapu the Ravenous. And now the kūmara crops are dying. This is disastrous as kūmara are an important food source for Māori.
When kūmara no longer exist on earth new tubers can only be obtained from the great kūmara god Whāinui who lives on his star in heaven.
Ruatapu insists that The Astromancer and her three priests must go there. Ariā and the boys and her faithful dog bravely agree to accompany Te Kōkōrangi but there could well be a high price to pay. If the Astromancer and the three priests do not return the apprentices must take her place as his slaves.
They start off together, but before long, it becomes evident that the Astromancer and her three priests are too old and frail to survive such a hazardous journey.The apprentices will have to go it alone. Ariā’s faithful dog Kurī will come too. They will have to be quick-witted and self-reliant and create their own karakia to ask for help from the atua.
To get to the heavens they must climb Toi Huarewa, a vine of gigantic girth which since the beginning of time and space has taken root in the earth and grown up into the heavens like a tower.Twisting around it is a spiral staircase. This was how Te Kōkōrangi had planned to reach Whānui.
Climbing proves to be a much more perilous and terrifying journey than they could ever have imagined and they don’t have much time. Although Matariki and Whānui belong to different constellations their stories are intertwined. When Matariki (Pleiades) reappears Whānui (Vega) will starts its flight. And Matariki is drawing close so Whanui will soon be passing by.
And even if any of them should succeed in this death defying climb will they be able to persuade the great kūmara god to gift them some kūmara tubers to take back to earth?
This spell-binding tale was inspired by pūrākau, legendary tales from ancient times, but Ariā, her three friends Tahi, Mākura, Iwihōia and her faithful dog Kurī have come out of Witi Ihimaera’s creative imagination.
They could be any young New Zealanders living today. And there is a valuable life lesson to be learnt from his story.
The world is full of change and it is not always easy to strategise about how to overcome all the challenges and push past them. Sometimes new skills are needed for new tasks, you have to keep on learning. Whāia te mātauranga hei oranga mō koutou!
Ariā and the Kūmara God was illustrated by Isobel Joy Te Aho-White. She has used a mixture of dramatic black and white and coloured illustrations which capture the spooky, mysterious atmosphere, and how challenging their climb was, to great effect.
This chapter book for young readers would also be a great book for whanau to read together as Matariki comes near. A te reo version, A Ariā me te Atu o te Kūmara is also available.
Reviewer: Lyn Potter
Puffin