Mana Moana and Indigenous methodologies Notes

Introduction and Background to Mana Moana

• Context of the Lecture: This final lecture explores indigenous methodologies from the South Pacific, specifically focusing on the Mana Moana framework.

• Dr. Karlo Mila: The work presented is based on the postdoctoral research of Dr. Karlo Mila, a poet, mother, and scholar of Tongan, Pālagi, and Samoan descent. She holds a Master’s in Social Work and a PhD in Sociology and is the author of The Goddess Muscle. Her professional background includes significant work with non-government organizations (NGOs).

• Inaugural Proverbs: In place of a traditional karakia, the lecture introduces Pacific proverbs (whakataukī) that encapsulate the wisdom of the region:

  • "Love breeds love" (Cook Islands).

  • "Loving is the practice of an awake mind."

• Primary Reading: "The interface between cultural understandings: negotiating new spaces for Pacific mental health" by Karlo Mila-Schaaf and Maui Hudson.

The Concept of the Negotiated Space

• Definition: The "negotiated space" is described as a place of "propulsive reencounter," where ideas and values are reconstructed, rebalanced, and realigned. It is particularly relevant for Pacific peoples living within Western-oriented societies.

• Functionality:

  • It uses indigenous references as a foundation while maintaining the capacity to draw on useful cultural nodes of knowledge.

  • It provides a conceptual buffer between competing paradigms, such as the Western "biopsychosocial" model and indigenous Pacific models.

  • It is an open and creative space that allows tensions and conflicts to be mediated and approached constructively.

The Mana Moana Canon

• Composition: The Mana Moana framework consists of $70$ "power words" that form a canon of concepts. Each word exists in at least $15$ different contemporary Pacific languages, including Te Reo Māori.

• Categorization of Concepts:

  • Gods/Cosmological Beings.

  • Whenua (Earth).

  • Moana (Sea).

  • Langi (Sky).

  • Kāinga (Family, people, and home).

  • Va (Relationships).

• Research Depth: Each word is backed by careful research, commentary, and over $300$ related proverbs from Tongan, Samoan, Niuean, Cook Islands, Māori, and Hawaiian traditions.

• Visual Representation: In alignment with Paulo Freire's model, these concepts are represented visually through images created by Dr. Johnson Witehira, a Māori-Samoan indigenous designer. These images act as "illuminative windows" or portals into ancestral worldviews.

• Intervention Logic: The framework is underpinned by the concept of Va and focuses on intentionality, reciprocity, and the restoration of breached relationships.

Core Principles: Va, Aroha, and Directional Energy

• Va (Relational Space):

  • Terminology: Known as Va (Samoan/Tongan), Wa (Māori), or Ara (Rarotongan). It is found in $22$ contemporary Pacific languages.

  • Definition: Unlike the Western view of space as an empty expanse, Va is the "betweenness" that relates and holds separate entities together.

  • Application: It is a space people feel rather than see, filled with emotions, memories, and vibrations. Tending the Va involves "warming" the space through positive energy and actions of reciprocity.

• Aroha / Alofa / Aloha (Love and Empathy):

  • Linguistic Origin: A Malayo-Polynesian term found in $43$ contemporary languages.

  • Meanings: It encompasses love, compassion, sympathy, mercy, and felt empathy. It is an altruistic kindness rather than a purely romantic notion.

  • Proverbial Wisdom: "What you do out of love endures; what you do out of fear will not."

• Atu and Mai (Energy Flow):

  • Atu (Outward Flow): Found in $32$ languages. It represents what flows from the individual to others—intentionality, impact, and attitudes. It is visually represented as centrifugal movement.

  • Mai (Inward Flow): Found in $28$ languages. it represents what the individual receives from others—influences and impacts. It is visually represented as centripetal movement (a spiral flowing inward).

  • Aroha atu, Aroha mai: The reciprocal flow of empathy. If the Va is unhealthy, it is because this flow is blocked by tension or stress.

• Atamai (Cognitive Processing):

  • Definition: Found in $22$ languages, meaning mind, wisdom, or intelligence.

  • Components: Atta (image) and Mai (towards the knower). It describes the cognitive process of making sense of what we receive (Mai), which then influences what we put out (Atu).

Philosophical States: Pō and Kāinga

• Pō (Darkness and Potentiality):

  • Terminology: Found in $44$ languages.

  • Dual Nature: While it represents the unknown, the mystical, and sometimes grief or depression (Boli Boli), it is also the "cosmic darkness" full of potentiality. It is the creative, "pregnant" space from which life and light evolve.

• Kāinga (Home and Security):

  • Regional Variation: In Western Polynesia, it refers to blood-related extended families associated with land. In Eastern Polynesia (e.g., Māori), it refers to the home or the land itself.

  • Significance: It represents nourishment, safety, and sustenance. To be without Kāinga is to experience hardship and poverty.

The Mana Moana Manifesto and Principles

• The Manifesto: Focuses on awakening ancestral power, healing relationships with the natural world, and activating indigenous wisdom for contemporary leadership.

• Four Key Principles:

  1. Aroha Principle: Essential love, deep mutuality, and commitment to collective good.

  2. Mana Principle: Prioritizing indigeneity over Western worldviews and decolonizing methods.

  3. Kaitiaki Principle: Protecting cultural integrity and the natural world.

  4. Generative Nature: Recognizing the flexible, innovative, and creative nature of indigenous knowledge.

Reflexive Practice for Researchers and Practitioners

• The lecture provides a series of questions to facilitate the "holding of space":

  • Whose worldview is operating here?

  • Who is missing from the room?

  • What are my hidden assumptions and judgments?

  • What are the potential blind spots?

  • Nō kōe? (Where are you coming from?)

Statistics on Pacific Youth Protective Factors

• A study comparing Pālagi (European) and Pacific students identified specific protective factors unique to Pacific youth. When these factors are present, the following statistical outcomes are observed:

• Impact of Spiritual Beliefs and Church-going:

  • $65\%$ less likely to smoke daily.

  • $76\%$ less likely to have been binge drinking in the previous month.

  • $74\%$ less likely to have ever smoked marijuana.

• Impact of Speaking a Pacific Language:

  • $70\%$ more likely to "try hard" at school.

  • $37\%$ less likely to binge drink.

  • $42\%$ less likely to have tried marijuana.

• Impact of Feeling Accepted by One's Own Ethnic Group:

  • $51\%$ more likely to try hard at school.

  • $2.5$ times more likely to achieve middle or above-middle grades.

  • $50\%$ less likely to have had suicidal thoughts in the previous year.

  • $70\%$ less likely to have made a suicide attempt in the previous year.

• Conclusion: Radical acceptance and pride in Pacific ancestry are the most significant statistical predictors of reduced suicidal ideation and attempts.