Rāhui

This picture book is about cousins’ holidays in a rural Māori community – playing in the bush, riding horses, fishing, eeling and swimming at the beach.

During the holiday, a death leads to a rāhui (temporary ritual ban) being placed on the beach. After a year, the rāhui is lifted, and people return to the beach full of life and with their cousin in their hearts. The feeling of the book is joyous and wistful, and the illustrations richly evoke the atmosphere of the setting and people.