Riki Erihi was born in Auckland and was educated at the Manakau Māori School. He has been a voluntary community worker at a hostel in Auckland. He drew his writing themes from his working environment and childhood memories.
Biographical sources
- Great Short Stories of Australia and New Zealand. Sydney, Austral.: Reader’s Digest Services, 1980. 531.
- Contemporary Māori Writing. Comp. and introd. Margaret Orbell. Wellington, N.Z.: Reed, 1970.
Fiction
- "Haka Night." Te Ao Hou 33 (1960): 53-54.
- During the prison haka practice, the narrator reflects on the other men at the practice wondering how many are fathers and imagining them in the settings of their own homes. He also ponders on whether his ancestors sang these songs and chants, and returning to his hut, he quells his loneliness by immersing himself in Peter Buck’s Vikings of the Sunrise.
- "A Trip Outside." Te Ao Hou 35 (1961): 48-50.
- Erihi presents a lively account of a prison Māori concert party performing before prison inmates and making a trip to Taumarunui to help raise funds for the Taumarunui Police Boys’ Club. Erihi’s writing provides a voice not often heard in the literary world - the voice of a prisoner. He also alludes to the impact of reasserting one’s Māoritanga to help raise morale.
- "A Different Kind of Man." Te Ao Hou 47 (1964): 6-11. Rpt. in Contemporary Māori Writing. Comp. and introd. Margaret Orbell. Wellington, N.Z.: Reed, 1970. 41-50.
- In this story the narrator recounts in a lively anecdotal style the impact of Seventh Day Adventist missionary, Pastor Elliot, on the small Māori community of Rangiheke. Elliot’s message of total abstinence from eating pork, shellfish, fish without scales and drinking tea and alcohol has a dramatic effect on the local community. Uncle Hemi becomes a believer, as does Bella, the attractive young widow, while the narrator likens himself to the sheep gone astray.
- "The Forbidden Tree." Te Ao Hou 51 (1965): 10-13, 53-55. Rpt. in Contemporary Māori Writing. Comp. and introd. by Margaret Orbell. Wellington, N.Z.: Reed, 1970. 31-40.
- A story surrounding tapu restrictions and their impact on the family of Ruihi and Rangi.
- "A Proper Little Devil." Riki Eriki.[sic] Te Ao Hou 64 (1968): 12-18. Rpt. as "The Proper Little Devil." In Contemporary Māori Writing. Comp. and introd. by Margaret Orbell. Wellington, N.Z.: Reed, 1970. 17-30.
- Rediscovering the old decaying house which belonged to his mother’s family, the writer remembers his first holiday there in 1935 and vividly recounts some of the old family stories of his childhood. He writes of Granny Matire, considered to be a little porangi by the family, who outwitted them all with her wisdom in a religious dispute. The author also describes his Grand-uncle Wiremu who taught him how to make a tapapa for the kumara plants and gave instruction on the traditional planting rituals.
- "The Tohunga." Short Stories by New Zealanders One. Comp. Phoebe Meikle. Auckland, N.Z.: Longman Paul, 1973. 70-75. Rpt. in Great Short Stories of Australia and New Zealand. Sydney, Austral.: Reader’s Digest Services Pty Ltd, 1980. 111-116.
- Forms part of "A Proper Little Devil."
Non-fiction
- "What’s Wrong With Our Māori Foods?/He aha te he o nga kai Māori?" Te Ao Hou 46 (1964): 5-7.
- While appreciating the Chinese and continental cooking styles that have been introduced into New Zealand, Erihi questions why there are not more well-known Māori national dishes. To counter this apparent lack, Erihi presents a fascinating account of various traditional Māori recipes with his own modern adaptations, and gives a description of traditional methods of food preservation and food gathering.
Other
- "Spinster." Te Ao Hou 44 (1963): 2.
- As a former pupil of Sylvia Ashton-Warner, Erihi comments on Piuna Rikihana’s article on the film "Spinster" and verifies various details in Ashton-Warner’s book.
Other
- Taylor, C. R H. A Bibliography of Publications on the New Zealand Māori and the Moriori of the Chatham Islands. Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, Oxford UP, 1972. 109.