An east Auckland storyteller is using her latest book to teach young readers the importance of showing respect to people of all cultures and ethnicities.
Former Macleans College pupil Renisa Viraj Maki is celebrating the release of her new bilingual children’s book, entitled What’s in a name? He aha tō te Ingoa?.
It’s illustrated by Isobel Te Aho-White and centres on the fictional character Priyanka, who lives in New Zealand and is tasked by her primary school with handing out certificates to pupils at their graduation ceremony.
She tells a friend she’s worried about mispronouncing someone’s name and her friend’s grandmother responds that she’d be nervous also.
“There’s mana in a person’s name, so it is important to say it properly,” the grandmother says.
So Priyanka sets out to talk to the other pupils at her school to learn how to pronounce their names correctly.
Viraj Maki, who grew up in Howick, says she’s had the idea in the back of her mind for the book’s story for some time.
“I always wanted to do a book like that but with a more fun and approachable storyline.
“The idea was always there and it was just a way of finding a story that had heart and would make it fun to read with a beginning, middle, and an end.
“Priyanka is Indian and she has some empathy for people wanting to say her name correctly.”
The book features characters of a wide range of ethnicities including Sri Lankan, Pakeha, Māori, Chinese, and Samoan, among others.
It’s aimed at primary school children and is slightly more complex than a picture book that might be read to a three-year-old, Viraj Maki says.
“If there’s a kid out there who after this experience felt inspired to teach their friends how to say their name in their cultural way, that would be amazing.
“Or if there are people with friends who have different cultural names, maybe they’ll be inspired to ask, ‘have I been saying your name correctly all these years?’.
“If we can get those types of conversations going that would be absolutely magical.”
Viraj Maki says she believes it’s important for people to have their names pronounced correctly.
“When you’re from a background that’s perhaps not the mainstream for where you live, it’s a way of feeling included and welcomed in a really authentic way.
“Because your name is your identity, it’s part of who you are.
“The book is trying to show that a complex name can come from anywhere and it’s just a matter of taking the time and effort to respect that person in saying it correctly.”
Viraj Maki’s new book, What’s in a name? He aha tō te Ingoa?, is available in bookshops.
