Rowley Habib facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Rowley Habib
|
|
|---|---|
Habib in 1969
|
|
| Native name |
Rore Hapipi
|
| Born | 24 April 1933 |
| Died | 3 April 2016 (aged 82) |
Rowley Habib (born April 24, 1933 – died April 3, 2016) was a talented writer from New Zealand. He was also known by his Māori name, Rore Hapipi. He wrote many different things, including poems, plays for the stage, and scripts for television shows and short stories.
Contents
About Rowley Habib
Rowley Habib had family roots from both Lebanon and the Māori people of New Zealand. He belonged to the Ngāti Tūwharetoa iwi, which is a large Māori tribe. He went to Te Aute College. After that, he studied to become a teacher for a while. He then worked in many different jobs, like in a bookshop, at timber mills, and on big hydroelectric dam building sites.
His Work in Television
Rowley Habib was the first Māori person to write an original TV drama. His 1979 show, The Gathering, explored feelings and traditions around an elderly woman's tangihanga, which is a traditional Māori funeral ceremony.
He also wrote a play called Death of the Land in 1976. This play was a courtroom drama. It showed different ideas about selling a piece of Māori ancestral land. This play was very important. It helped start modern Māori theatre. A group called Te Ika a Maui Players was formed to perform it. They took the play all around the country, performing in community halls and marae.
In 1978, Death of the Land was made into a TV show. It included real video from the 1975 Māori Land March. This was the first TV drama written by a Māori person. Habib's TV drama The Protesters won an award for best script in 1983. This was at the New Zealand Feltex Awards. Famous actors like Merata Mita, Jim Moriarty, Billy T. James, and Don Selwyn were in The Protesters.
His Short Stories and Awards
From 1956 to 1971, Rowley Habib often wrote short stories for Te Ao Hou / The New World. This was a magazine for Māori people.
In 1984, Habib received the Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellowship. This is a special award for writers. In 2013, Creative New Zealand gave him a Ngā Tohu a Tā Kingi Ihaka Te Waka Toi Award. This award recognized his many years of work in Māori arts. They said his play Death of the Land was a "landmark" in Māori theatre.
Rowley Habib passed away on April 3, 2016.
Selected Works
Television Scripts
- 1976 – Death of the Land (aired in 1978)
- 1979 – The Gathering
- 1983 – The Protesters
Poetry
- 2006 – The Raw Men (a collection of his poems)
Plays
- 1976 – The death of the land
See also
In Spanish: Rowley Habib para niños
