Indigenous Spirituality

Ancient wisdom of the Māori goddesses to help you navigate the modern world Atua Wahine are the Māori goddesses who make up the world around us: earth, fire, water, the moon, and more. From the earth mother, Papatuanuku, who sustains and nurtures us, to the goddess of peace, Hineputehue, who transformed pain into beauty, and the misunderstood goddess of the...

Aroha by Dr Hinemoa Elder is an enlightening exploration of timeless Maori wisdom, intricately woven into a contemporary context. This top-selling non-fiction title from New Zealand in 2021 introduces readers to 52 traditional Maori proverbs, known as whakataukī, each offering a profound lesson for every week of the year. Dr Elder, a respected Maori psychiatrist, delves into these powerful sayings...

From the best-selling author of Aroha, Wawata, Waitohu, and E Moko Dear Moko, comes a unique exploration of how to think about thinking, rooted in the wisdom of Māori culture. Dr Hinemoa Elder introduces us to a profound journey guided by Hinengaro, the Māori goddess of the mind, leading us through 23 specific rua, caves, into the unfamiliar depths of...

Māori child and adolescent psychiatrist Dr Hinemoa Elder has shaped her beloved book Aroha into this special collection of whakataukī and whakatauakī for mokopuna of all ages. Bestselling author of Aroha and respected Māori psychiatrist Dr Hinemoa Elder has written a special collection of whakataukī for tamariki mokopuna. Puanga kai rau. Puanga, the star signalling a time of the year...

Wawata - Moon Dreaming by Dr Hinemoa Elder invites readers on a transformative journey through the ancient wisdom of the Māori lunar calendar. This deeply insightful book introduces you to Hina, the Māori moon goddess, who reveals a different face each night of the month, bringing with her unique energies and lessons. Dr Elder, known for her bestselling work Aroha,...

From the best-selling author of Aroha and Wawata comes a new and inspiring journal to help you make deeper connections using the energies of Hina, the Māori moon goddess, and the power of aroha. Kia ora! Welcome to Waitohu – a journal where the Māori lunar calendar invites us to write about our lives in a new way. This writing...

From sleeping giants to battling mountains, fiery sisters to adventurous trees, dig into Whenua and discover eleven tales of how Aotearoa was formed beneath our feet. Whenua takes readers back in time with each purakau, exploring the ways in which Aotearoa's land was formed and introducing children to legendary Maori figures and atua. A beautifully illustrated collection that will delight...

Maui and Other Maori Legends by Peter Gossage is a treasured collection that brings together some of the most beloved tales from Maori mythology. With vibrant illustrations and enthralling storytelling, this volume captures the essence of New Zealand's rich cultural heritage. Each story within this collection is an adventure into a world where the extraordinary becomes possible, where heroes rise,...

Atua by Gavin Bishop is a visually stunning and meticulously researched compendium that introduces readers to the rich mythological tapestry of the Māori people of Aotearoa (New Zealand). This breathtaking, large-scale illustrated book is a treasure trove for children and adults alike, immersing them in the enthralling world of Māori gods, demigods, and heroes. Beginning with the void of Te...

Mahi a Atua is a Maori wellbeing framework based around storytelling. Grounded in a Maori worldview, this approach is designed to foster transformation and systemic change and indigenise practices, institutions, and personal and professional spaces. The knowledge, messages, and principles within purakau (Maori creation stories) spark conversations aimed at promoting wellbeing, consciousness raising, and healing. By drawing on the customs...

Ranginui, Papatuanuku, Maui, Tawhaki . . . our enduring stories retold. A lively, stimulating and engaging retelling of purakau – Maori myths – by contemporary Maori writers. Ka mua, ka muri . . . Ancient Maori creation myths, portrayals of larger-than-life heroes, and tales of engrossing magical beings have endured through the ages. Some hail back to Hawaiki, while others...

Dr Hinemoa Elder's bestselling Aroha, translated into te reo Māori. Published in collaboration with Kotahi Rau Pukapuka. Kia ora. Nau mai ki Aroha. He mātāpono tenei mea, te aroha, no te ao Māori, no mai ano. He taonga te aroha no te whatumanawa, e rongo ai te tangata i te hononga ki te ao wairua, ki te ao kikokiko, ki...

Collaborative and Indigenous Mental Health Therapy delves deeply into the unique and innovative partnership between traditional Māori healing and modern clinical psychiatry. Through a profound exploration of real-life case studies, this enlightening book highlights how bicultural cooperation can enhance mental health treatment by harmonising indigenous knowledge and contemporary psychiatric practices. The narrative is enriched with transcribed interviews and thoughtful reflections...

An immersive look at Japan's indigenous religion and how it can impact our daily lives. In The Spirit of Shinto, longtime Japan resident and bestselling author Hector Garcia (Ikigai: the Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life and The Book of Ichigo Ichie) offers an engaging introduction to the history, principles, and continuing influence of Shintoism in Japan. Garcia...

An exploration of New Zealand’s Maori cosmology and how it relates to classic ancient symbolic traditions around the world. Decoding Maori Cosmology shows how Maori myths, symbols, cosmological concepts, and words reflect symbolic elements found at Göbekli Tepe in Turkey. It demonstrates parallels between the Maori cosmological tradition and those of ancient Egypt, China, India, Scotland, and the Dogon of...

Maori Philosophy by Dr. Georgina Stewart offers readers a profound exploration into the rich and intricate philosophical traditions of the Indigenous peoples of Aotearoa, New Zealand. This captivating book delves into the symbolic systems, worldviews, and core philosophical issues pivotal to Maori thought, such as the notions of the self, the world, and epistemology. In doing so, it seeks to...

Come on a journey to enrich your relationships with the land on which you live and with your ancestors. Learn to walk in two worlds: the Western world and your inner Indigenous cosmos. Through a 52-week journey of reflections, practical exercises, Indigenous storytelling, and knowledge-sharing, this guide will support you to respectfully connect with your own ancestors as well as...

Māori elder Maata Wharehoka’s teachings on birth, death, climate, and healing Reveals how Maata integrated her own experiences of trauma and colonialism with traditional Māori wisdom to develop modern teachings. Shares Māori practices around birth, death, and healing, and Maata’s ritual of Kahu Whakatere to embrace bereavement, transition, and loss. Tells the story of Parihaka, the birthplace of nonviolent protest,...

There is a bright new star in the winter sky—Puanga, cousin to the Matariki sisters. Each year, she appears to the people of Aotearoa, a special sign for those unable to see Matariki, that winter and the Māori new year are coming. A new addition to Scholastic's popular Matariki range, Te Kī Taurangi a Puanga: He pūrākau Matariki introduces readers...

One of Australia's most eminent anthropologists details the secret and sacred practices of Australian Aboriginal shamans, documenting a rapidly vanishing indigenous culture. Aboriginal Men of High Degree provides a profound insight into the spiritual and cultural practices of the Aboriginal people, revealing the mystical roles of their shamans and the significance of their beliefs.

"Comprehensive and visionary, Reading the Bible on Turtle Island reimagines Christian faith in view of Indigenous experiences and identity."—Foreword Reviews, November/December 2025 Join the dance of North American Indigenous interpretations of Christian Scripture In Reading the Bible on Turtle Island, Indigenous scholars Chris Hoklotubbe and Danny Zacharias explore what it means to read the Bible from the lens of Indigenous...

Indigenous activism against telescope construction on Maunakea involves the deity of volcanoes and fire. In India, a village goddess is visited at her place of residence. Across Asia, ancestors are venerated at family shrines. In many places around the world, spiritual matters and practices are local and contextual. Yet philosophy of religion often takes universalising monotheism as the norm and...

Areruya and Indigenous Prophetism in Northern Amazonia, based on four years of ethnographic research, discusses the presence of Christianity on Areruya, an indigenous religious movement practised by the Ingarikó in Northern Amazonia. Tracing the role of 19th-century missionaries in the region, the book shows how shamans started to announce the coming of a cataclysm, associated with the promise of indigenous...

From a majestic mermaid to a clay woman, the creator of glaciers to the mother of gardening, discover powerful wahine and how their stories shaped the world around us. Wahine introduces readers to twelve purakau of brave, bold, and inspiring women of Aotearoa. A beautifully illustrated collection that will delight the whole whanau, from award-winning illustrator Isobel Joy Te Aho-White....

Religious Ways of Experiencing Life: A Global and Narrative Approach surveys world religions, using the narratives and discourses of each tradition to describe it in its own terms. Carl Olson examines each tradition’s practices, teachings, material culture, roles of women, and path to salvation, as well as the experiences of its followers. The exploration of lived experience draws out and...

Connecting modern psychology to its Indigenous roots to enhance the healing process and psychology itself. Indigenous Healing Psychology shares the healing wisdom of Indigenous people the author has worked with, including the Ju/’hoansi of the Kalahari Desert, the Fijians of the South Pacific, Sicangu Lakota people, and Cree and Anishnabe First Nations people. It explains how Indigenous perspectives can help...

"The modern version of The Tao of Physics...We gain tantalizing glimpses of an elusive alternative to the thing we know as science...Above all, Peat's book is an eloquent plea for a fair go for the modes of enquiry of other cultures." --New Scientist One summer in the 1980s, theoretical physicist F. David Peat went to a Blackfoot Sun Dance ceremony....

Discover the rich tapestry of human emotion and divine wisdom with the First Nations Version Psalms and Proverbs. The latest volume from the critically acclaimed First Nations Version translation brings the ancient Sacred Songs and Wise Sayings of the Hebrew Scriptures to life through the vibrant, poetic imagery of Native American oral storytelling. Discover Psalms and Proverbs Reimagined Through the...

The apparent timelessness of the Dreaming of Aboriginal Australia has long mystified European observers, conjuring images of an ancient people in harmony with their surroundings. It may come as a surprise, therefore, that the Dreaming's historical antiquity had never been explored by archaeologists prior to this study. In this seminal text in rock-art research, now reissued with a new preface,...

Tripping the Trail of Ghosts by P. D. Newman delves into the exploration of psychedelic spiritual practices and afterlife beliefs among the Mississippi mound cultures. Examining the Path of Souls or Trail of Ghosts, a Native American model for the after-death journey, the book demonstrates how psychoactive plants were used to evoke the liminal state between life and death in...

A powerful story of spiritual awakening, reconnection with Nature, and rekindling of ancestral wisdom. Without Reservation details the author’s encounters with ancestral spirits and animal teachers, such as Coy-Wolf, and profound moments of direct connection with the natural world. It shows how ancestral connections and intimate communications with Nature are not unique or restricted to those with indigenous cultural roots....

Featuring 36 cards beautifully illustrated to represent the mental, emotional and raw spiritual aspects of our soul, the Aboriginal Spirit Oracle is a powerful tool to navigate you towards empowerment and self-healing. It helps clarify questions and issues that arise in life, allowing peace to encompass your heart again. This set includes 36 colour cards and a 90-page book.

Sharing her journey from bedridden patient to inspired healer, Robbie Holz recounts her recovery from hepatitis C, fibromyalgia, and treatment-induced brain damage, as well as the blossoming of her own healing powers, through her work with her husband, the late healer Gary Holz, and her experiences with a remote tribe in the Outback of Australia. Robbie describes many of the...

The Australian Aboriginal culture is the oldest living culture in the world. Mel Brown is a Ngunnawal woman who draws upon sacred spiritual knowledge from the Ancestors. Explore the traditional three-card reading of past, present and future within the holistic approach of Aboriginal healing. These 36 unique Indigenous healing cards are divided into three decks: Bush Medicine, Animal Totems and...

Aboriginal Dreamtime relates to the stories of creation, encompassing Aboriginal values, beliefs, and lore—essentially ancient wisdom passed down from the Ancestors. The creation stories depict the values and the ways to live our lives while being at one with Mother Earth and Father Sun. The ever-changing Dreaming allows our past to teach us how to live our lives in the...