Māori Perspectives on Personhood and Development

Introduction and Opening

  • Karakia: The lecture began with a karakia, a prayer or incantation to open the corridor and space. This specific karakia is about journeying and safe passage, though it can be applied widely.
  • The Concept of Pepeha: A structural way of introducing oneself in Māori culture that emphasizes connections to whakapapa (ancestry) and whenua (land). It situates a person within a network of ancestral and geographical ties.
  • Tamara’s Pepeha:
    • Maunga (Mountain): Puhanga-tohorā. This is the mountain where her ancestors resided, located near Ōhaeawai in Northland.
    • Roto (Lake): Omapere, located close to the Puketi Forest.
    • Waka (Canoe): Mātaatua.
    • Iwi (Tribes): Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Te Pēkihinga, Ngāti Wai.
    • Pākehā Ancestry: Her father is Australian with European ancestry (Ngāti Pākehā).
    • Hapu (Sub-tribe): Ngāti Rēhia.
    • Marae (Ancestral Meeting Ground): Parahenua.
    • Whānau (Family Name): Munro.
  • Whakawhanaungatanga: The process of finding points of shared reality and placing oneself within a context. It involves building relationships by considering the environments that have nourished one's ancestors.

Learning Objectives: Māori Personhood and Development

  • Perspective on Personality: There is no formal "personality theory" within Te Ao Māori. Instead, the focus is on identity, personhood, and how these are developed within a cultural lens.
  • Core Concepts (Kupu): Understanding constructs like Whakapapa, Wairua, Mauri, Tapu, and Mana.
  • Theoretical Frameworks: Revisiting Te Whare Tapa Whā and Te Whāriki from a development and personality standpoint.
  • Emic vs. Etic Approaches:
    • Etic approach: Focuses on universal traits across cultures from an outsider's perspective, using standardized measures and comparisons.
    • Emic approach: Comes from within the culture, asking how the culture views its own beliefs, traits, and behaviors.
  • Structural and Historical Influences: Considering the impacts of colonization (Nahoe FaNahoe\,Fa/The Four Winds) and essentialism on Māori identity, including urban diaspora and Takatāpui (LGBTQI+ Māori).

Collective Knowledge Transmission

  • Oratory Tradition: Knowledge is traditionally held collectively on Marae and in Whare Wānanga. It involves sharing, collaboration, debate, and deliberation through Waiata (song), Karakia, and Whakataukī (proverbs).
  • Accountability of Knowledge: There are responsibilities and protections around sharing knowledge, particularly spiritual or "Wairua-laden" concepts. The laws of Tapu can impact the holder of the knowledge.
  • Gatekeeping vs. Preservation: There is a tension between the need to pass down ancestral treasures to mokopuna (grandchildren) and the need to protect knowledge within the context of colonization.

Māori Concepts of Child Development

  • Te Whāriki: An early childhood education curriculum informed by Kaupapa Māori. It conceptualizes children not as isolated individuals but as bringing an "invisible ropū" (group/ancestors) with them.
  • The Seed Metaphor: Children are viewed through the lens of a kakanō (seed). They are born with seeds of greatness and the potential of generations of chiefs (rangatira). They are not seen through a deficit model but as full, complete beings.
  • Cultural Dispositions (Te Whatu Pōkeka Framework): These function similarly to traits but are grounded in Māori values:
    • Rangatiratanga: Leadership, autonomy, and self-determination. A rangatira is also one who "weaves together a group."
    • Manaakitanga: Care, generosity, and the act of uplifting others.
    • Aroha: Compassion, empathy, and love.
    • Whakatoi: Playfulness, creativity, and humor.
    • Whakamana: Pride.
    • Whakapahu: Humility, gentleness, and peacefulness.

Roles within the Whānau and Community

  • Fluidity of Roles: Roles are not fixed; they are stances people take based on birth order, mana, or situational needs (e.g., restoring Tapu).
  • Specific Roles Identified by Pāhenārete:
    • Kōkiri: Organizers or "wranglers" who move a group toward a decision.
    • Ringawera: Literally "hot hands"; workers who prepare kai (food) and ensure manaakitanga in the kitchen.
    • Kaiawhina: Caregivers and emotional presences.
    • Kaimahi: General workers or helpers, often behind the scenes.
    • Tautoko: Emotional supporters, especially during grief or stress.
    • Whakatara: Provocateurs or "stirrers" who challenge the status quo to spark deeper thinking.
    • Kaumātua: Elders.
    • Tohunga: Knowledge holders in spiritual or specialized realms.
    • Mātāmua: The eldest child, traditionally carrying leadership expectations.
    • Pōtiki: The youngest child, associated with boldness, creativity, and challenging norms.

Identity and Personhood (Ko Wai O)

  • Interconnectedness: A Māori sense of self is intimately connected with whenua (land), taiao (environment), and wairua (spirit).
  • Whakapapa:
    • Verbatim Definition: "The layering of." It is the fundamental philosophy that every thing in the universe has a genealogy (e.g., sand descends from rocks/shells, which descend from volcanoes).
    • Nature: It is stable and the least controversial frame for identity (if you have whakapapa Māori, you are Māori).
  • Tūrangawaewae:
    • Verbatim Definition: "A place to stand." It represents belonging and the right to belong through kinship and ancestry.
    • Quote from Sir Sidney Moko Mead: "As individuals, we have no identity except by reference to them [tūpuna]."
  • Wairua:
    • Conceptualization: Wairua is a multidimensional spiritual force present before birth and after death. It flows as "two waters" through the whakapapa lines from atua (gods) to tūpuna (ancestors) to mokopuna (grandchildren).
    • Mahia Wairua: Spiritual work involving going "upstream" in one's ancestry to unblock metaphorical dams (intergenerational trauma) so the waters can flow clearly.
  • Mauri:
    • Definiton: Energy or life-force that animates all things. It is a state rather than a trait and can shift within moments.
    • States of Mauri:
      1. Mauri Tau: Calm, settled, grounded, and balanced.
      2. Mauri Oho: Awakened, activated, or stirred into action.
      3. Mauri Moe: Withdrawn, low, inactive, or apathetic.
  • Mana and Tapu:
    • Tapu: Inherent sanctity or restrictedness. Every person has inherent tapu derived from their relationship with atua and whenua.
    • Mana: Derived from whakapapa and conduct (ethical behavior). It is "tapu in action." Mana is strengthened by Tika (correct action), Pono (honesty), and Aroha. Violating others' mana also diminishes the mana of the perpetrator.

Case Study: Miriama

  • Profile: A 3838-year-old Māori woman in student support, raising two tamariki (children). Described as calm and humorous.
  • Experience of Context-Dependent Identity:
    • In Pākehā Environments: Felt Whakamā (shy/shameful) due to subtle racism and low expectations. Her mana was diminished, her mauri became moe (withdrawn/fatigued), and she disconnected from her wairua.
    • Diagnostic Contrast: A Western lens might label her as "high in neuroticism" or "introverted," whereas a Māori lens sees her state as a reaction to an environment that does not recognize her identity.
    • Reclamation: Reconnecting with whānau and te reo Māori restored her balance. Her mana was enhanced through an ethic of care, clarifying her hinenaro (thoughts) and invigorating her tinana (physical body).

Te Whare Tapa Whā and Colonization

  • The Model: Developed by Mason Durie, conceptualizing well-being (Hauora) through four pillars (Pou):
    • Physical: Taha Tinana.
    • Mental/Emotional: Taha Hinengaro.
    • Social/Family: Taha Whānau.
    • Spiritual: Taha Wairua.
  • Foundation: The model is built upon the foundation of Whenua (land).
  • History of Land Alienation:
    • 18141814: Māori held nearly 100%100\% of the land.
    • 19101910: Māori retained roughly 27%27\% of North Island land.
    • 19391939: Land ownership dropped to around 9%9\%.
    • 20172017: Māori ownership was approximately 4%4\% to 6%6\%, despite Māori being 17%17\% of the population.
  • Causal Analysis (Tom and Grimes): Greater land retention predicts cultural well-being; land confiscation correlates with negative health indicators like high smoking prevalence. Whenua is a "first-order determinant of Hauora."

Structural Impacts on Identity

  • The Meihana Model (Nahoe\,Fa): Describes "The Four Winds" that impact the waka (the person/family):
    1. Colonization.
    2. Racism.
    3. Migration.
    4. Urbanization.
  • Essentialism: The belief that a group has a fixed essence. This leads to "authenticity policing" and labels like "plastic Māori."
  • Blood Quantum: Dismissed as a colonial tool used to suggest identity is "diluted." In Māori worldview, whakapapa cannot be diluted.
  • McIntosh's Identity Categories:
    • Fixed Identity: Often tied to traditional/rural markers and te reo fluency.
    • Fluid Identity: Adaptive identities in urban or multicultural settings where Māori express Indigeneity in new ways.
    • Forced Identity: Deficit identities thrust upon Māori by racist societal framings.
  • Lateral Violence: Mana-diminishing behavior directed toward others within the same group (e.g., questioning someone's "Māori-ness").

Clinical Application and Questions & Discussion

  • Naive Inquiry: Clinicians should avoid assuming identity based on appearance. Open questions about self-identification allow for a more expansive and accurate understanding of a client.
  • Holistic Formulation: Moving beyond the individual to include environment, colonization history, and engagement with institutions.
  • Questions & Discussion:
    • Question: Are the roles in a whānau (like Kōkiri) fixed?
    • Response: No, they are not fixed. People shift between them depending on the group's needs and the context. Some roles are hard to do simultaneously (like being an elder and a pōtiki/youngest child), but many overlap.
    • Discussion on Mauri: Students discussed their current mauri states. One student shared feeling between "Mauri Tau" (settled) and "Mauri Moe" (withdrawn/attention elsewhere) while still being "Mauri Oho" (awake/activated) for learning.
    • Discussion on Recognition: The speaker shared a personal anecdote about being encouraged by a Dean of Māori Psychology who used naive inquiry to help her see that her upbringing was Māori, despite her own self-doubt based on a "fixed identity" metric.