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Māori, the indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand, have a rich tribal society based on kinship and reciprocity. Kaupapa Māori embodies Māori philosophy and values, reflected in the Koru symbol of life. Māori cosmology traces creation from chaos to enlightenment, emphasizing core ethics like tapu and whakapapa. The Māori way includes concepts like manaakitanga and kaitiakitanga, highlighting generosity and stewardship. This overview delves into the essence of Māori culture and societal structure.
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Introduction to the Māori world Te Āo Māori Professor Ella Henry AUT Business School
Te Āo Māori • Māori are the Indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand; • Māori are part of the Austronesian Diaspora, having entered the Pacific around 3,000 years ago, discovering and populating many of the islands of the South Pacific; • Aotearoa was among the most recently populated by humans; • Māori society is tribal, kinship-based, underpinned by a collectivist social structure, and gift-giving economy, founded on reciprocity; • The map on the following slide shows the distribution of the language and DNA, from Taiwan outwards to Easter Island in the East, Aoteraoa in the South, and Madagascar in the West
Kaupapa Māori • Kaupapa Māori is glossed as The Māori Way; • It is embodied in Māori philosophy, cosmology and worldview; • Māori scholars have developed a set of principles, to describe the values and cultural practices that underpin Māori society and culture; • Professor Manuka Henare (1998) encapsulated these in his seminal work on the Koru of Māori Ethics based on Māori cosmology; • The koru is the symbol of life, used in all traditional art forms.
Māori Cosmology • Maori religion is not found in a set of sacred books or dogma, the culture is the religion. History points to Maori people and their religion being constantly open to evaluation and questioning in order to seek that which is tika, the right way. Maintaining tika is the means whereby ethics and values can be identified (Henare, 1998: 3); • The origins of life and Maori society are laid out in three cycles, beginning with the creation of Ranginui, the sky father, and Papatuānuku, the earth mother (Walker, 1990); • The three states in the evolution of creation are: Te Kore (the void, chaos), ki te pō (darkness), ki te āo mārama (enlightenment, cosmos), which resonates with ancient Greek philosophy, from chaos to cosmos, and the big bang theory, for the origins of the universe
Glossary Glossary • Io Matua Kore, the source and origin of existance, is at the heart of the koru; • Ranginui, sky father, and papatuānuku, earth mother, emerged out of the chaos of Te Kore • Te Pō, the long dark night, was a time when Papatuānuku and Ranginui gave birth to the guardians of all life; • They bequeathed to their offspring the key elements of the koru; • Tapu, sacredness; Mauri, spirit; Hau, the breath of life; Aroha, empathy and love; Mana, personal prestige; and Whakapapa, connection to all other living things; • These core ethics (tika) underpin cultural practice (tikanga); • Wairuatanga, acknowledging the sacred; whanaungatanga, expressing connection; kotahitanga, seeking solidarity; kaitiakitanga, assuming guardianship; manaakitanga, generosity; and rangatiratanga, the responsibilities of leadership; • These gifts to humanity mark the transition from the void, Te Kore, to the long darkness of creation, Te Pō, to the emergence into the world of enlightenment, Te Ao Mārama
Koru of Koru of Māori Māori Ethics Manaakitanga: Generosity Kaitiakitanga: Stewardship Ranginui Papatuānuku Aroha Rangatiratanga: Leadership Hau Mana Mauri Io Matua Kore Te Kore Te Pō Tapu Atua Whakapapa Kotahitanga: Solidarity Whanaungatanga: Kinship Wairuatanga: Spirituaity Ki Te Ao Mārama Manuka Henare, 1998
