"I was going places": Investigating the Complexities of Travelling Indigenous Characters in Contemporary Māori Short Fiction

Abstract

Focussing on the aspect of travelling cultures, this article deals with Indigenous characters from Aotearoa/New Zealand who are internationally mobile. The discussion of Anahera Gildea's "Te Ahi Kā" (2011), Kelly Joseph's "Transient" (2003), Lauren Keenan's "In the Shadow of Monte Cassino" (2017) and Arihia Latham-Coates' "Fly Away Home" (2007) draws on current scholarly work surrounding mobility as well Indigeneity, and particularly the specific Māori concepts of tūrangawaewae and ahi kā. Rather than staying put, the main characters in each story roam the world, going to different countries yet all longing to determine what it means to be an Indigenous person and where home can be found. Each of the narratives adds another twist to the subject, thus demonstrating that, while displaying numerous commonalities, these stories simultaneously feature diverse motives, perspectives on and attitudes towards global Indigenous mobility. What is more, they testify that it is not only places which are of importance to narrations, but often also character-related aspects – including where the respective characters are before or in between their journeys, why they leave or return, and the amount of time they spend somewhere.