Māori writer Witi Ihimaera says a great pōuri – sadness – has descended on Aotearoa, but the message for the future is clear.

In a short essay he reads for RNZ and the BBC, Ihimaera says the sense of tragedy caused by the terror attack in Christchurch has left many reeling in the dark, in the place Māori call 'Te Kore' – or The Void.

Listen ( duration 3 ′ : 03 ″ )

Listen Download: Ogg | MP3

Witi Ihimaera is one of the best-known names in New Zealand literature, an academic, a playwright, and the author of The Whale Rider,The Matriarch and many other works.