Te Kauae Māro o Muri-ranga-whenua: Portal Journal of Multidisciplinary International Studies Vol. 2, No. 2 July 2005 ISSN: 1449-2490 http://epress.lib.uts.edu.au/journals/portal/splash/ Te Kauae Mārō o Muri-ranga-whenua (The Jawbone of Muri- ranga-whenua): Globalising local Indigenous culture - Māori leadership, gender and cultural knowledge transmission as represented in the film Whale Rider Tānia M. Ka‘ai, University of Otago Introduction The demi-god Māui-tikitiki-a-Taranga (Māui) is a central character in the many traditions of the Māori (Indigenous people of Aotearoa/New Zealand). These traditions provide Māori with an understanding of how aspects of their environmental world were created. These range from the slowing of the sun, Tama-nui-te-rā, the fishing up of the North Island (Te Ika-a-Māui), the attainment of fire and mortality. The subplot to all of Māui’s adventures is his relationship with his tīpuna kuia (female ancestors) who provide Māui with the knowledge to undertake his feats. One of his tīpuna kuia, Muri-ranga-whenua, gave her jawbone to Māui, among many things, symbolising the importance of women in leadership roles in Māori society. The metaphorical use of this title symbolises the intent of this article to challenge the way in which the film Whale Rider portrays many Māori cultural concepts. This article will illustrate how various tribal traditions are represented, and more importantly misrepresented, in the film. Furthermore, this article concentrates on the education and social status of young Māori women, demonstrating how the patriarchy/feminism division operates very differently in the Ngāti Porou tribe, where Whale Rider is based, than it does either in the film or in Eurocentric feminisms. A description of why a Māori/Pākehā (a non-Māori person of European ancestry) film production aiming at a global market intervenes on tribal cultural reproductions so as to transfigure the role of elders and girls, provides an account of various sites for tribal Ka‘ai Te Kauae Mārō o Muri-ranga-whenua reproduction (from the local meeting place to the globally popular film) and their relative power. Whale Rider is a New Zealand film of unprecedented international success. It is based on the novel by the highly acclaimed Māori writer and scholar, Witi Ihimaera, who is heralded by Māori people as their most famous male novelist. His numerous novels capture many of his experiences as a child growing up in a predominantly Māori community around the Ngāti Porou tribal boundary on the east coast of the North Island. The essence of his work resonates well with Māori people as culturally specific themes are developed which reflect a Māori world-view. His ability to capture the particular nuances contained within Māori society are often overlooked and misunderstood by the unenculturated non-Māori, thus making his work appealing as an ‘exotic’ piece of fiction. His novel Whale Rider reflects his connection to the Māori world as the inspiration behind this story is based on a Ngāti Porou tribal narrative and tradition; ‘a modern retelling of a Maori legend’ with Ihimaera creating the central figure as a female ‘in reponse to his daughter complaining about the boy always being the hero’ (Ihimaera in Mottesheard 2005,1). Conversely, Niki Caro, who wrote the screenplay and directed the film, is a Pākehā. It is apparent that she enlists Eurocentric feminisms as the basis of her writing and film directing. Therefore, the portrayal of a young woman’s struggle for leadership within her tribe becomes the focus of this film irrespective of whether this was the intention by Ihimaera in his novel. Produced after the hard-hitting film, Once Were Warriors (directed by Lee Tamahori), the Whale Rider appears to be of a genre which appeals to the masses much like a 1960 Walt Disney family story. Although the former film focused on a dispossessed urban Māori family, Caro takes the audience to a contrived Māori rural community that appears to be locked in a time warp, as there appears to be no contact with Pākehā. This is an unlikely situation as Pākehā people settled in Aotearoa/New Zealand in the early 1800s including in rural communities. Furthermore, throughout the film there are numerous indicators of European contact such as empty bottles of alcohol, cars and the chassis of old cars, clothing, tobacco, and technology such as bicycles and a Portal Vol. 2, No. 2 July 2005 2 Ka‘ai Te Kauae Mārō o Muri-ranga-whenua slide projector. The uncertainty of the timeframe in which Whale Rider is located dissipates the authenticity of the film. There is a danger in this as it is a form of re- colonization and a mode of primitivism driven by globalisation of world culture underpinned by First World economic imperatives. Although Caro purports to have undertaken a cultural audit, in that she sought approval and guidance from a Māori community who live in the area in which Whale Rider was actually filmed, it is difficult to ascertain how much Caro negotiated to ensure her Eurocentric feminist ideals were sustained in the film. She states, ‘…I can ONLY look at it differently. Because I’m not inside the culture’ (Caro in Mottesheard 2005, 2). This supports the theories of Knudtson and Suzuki (in Barnhardt 1992, 3) that we all carry around our own sub-conscious filters to make sense of the world around us. However, when we confront people with a very different set of filters, we are asked to face up to the assumptions, predispositions and beliefs that we take for granted and make us who we are (Ka‘ai 1995, 24). Therefore, Caro can only ever be expected to use her own set of cultural filters in her role as director, and for this reason is unable to reproduce the peculiar nuances in the film that Ihimaera captured so well in the novel. This article does not attempt to provide a comparison between Ihimaera’s novel, Whale Rider, and Caro’s film of the same title. However, it is important to understand that a defining feature of differentiation between the novel and the film is that Ihimaera integrates a much wider cultural history pertaining to the East Coast tribes and their ancestors, to develop the theme of Māori female leadership, while Caro confines her portrayal of the novel in the film solely to one ancestor, Paikea. Therefore, the film Whale Rider can be viewed as a confined and limited adaptation of the novel. Caro challenges society to debate ‘who should tell Indigenous stories’ (Caro in Mottesheard 2005, 2) through the medium of film. The appropriation of Indigenous knowledge, and specifically Māori knowledge, has long been the focus of debate between Māori people and non-Māori people. The misuse of Māori knowledge by non-Māori is currently the basis of the WAI: 262 (Intellectual Property) Claim that is being prepared Portal Vol. 2, No. 2 July 2005 3 Ka‘ai Te Kauae Mārō o Muri-ranga-whenua for the Waitangi Tribunal. Therefore, if Caro’s suggestion of her portrayal of an ‘Indigenous’ story is appropriate, how then does this line up to the cultural paradigms of a Māori world-view? It is these cultural paradigms that will be discussed in this article and more specifically Māori concepts relating to leadership, gender and cultural knowledge transmission that critique Caro’s portrayal of Māori cultural concepts and the concrete ways in which these concepts are constructed within the film Whale Rider. Overview of the Film Whale Rider tells the story of a young girl, Paikea, who demonstrates many leadership qualities. However, tradition prevents her grandfather Koro Paka from seeing Paikea as the natural leader of their tribe. Indeed, Paikea is a constant reminder to him of ill fortune because the intended leader of the tribe, Paikea’s twin brother, died along with their mother in childbirth. Koro Paka’s eldest son (Paikea’s father) leaves the tribe due to the pressure of imminent leadership, while the obvious leadership qualities of Koro Paka’s second son are ignored because he is not the eldest son. Thus, Koro Paka begins a search amongst the local eldest boys for a new chief to rejuvenate and lead the tribe. He starts a whare wānanga (traditional school of learning) to train the boys, hoping the true male leader will emerge, while ignoring, or else admonishing, Paikea’s persistence in demonstrating her leadership qualities. A central theme of the film is Koro Paka’s blindness to what he is searching for; a male leader. The blindness is caused by supposed traditional sexism and also traditional birthright (i.e. the eldest son). Koro Paka’s blindness is overcome when he finally realises Paikea’s leadership abilities when she rides the whale to safety after it had been stranded along with its pod. Paikea’s leadership qualities are realised by the whānau (family), hapū (sub-tribe, clan), iwi (tribe) because, just like their founding ancestor and her name-sake, Paikea—who rode to Aotearoa/New Zealand on a whale—she is a whale rider. Understanding the Cultural Context As stated earlier, Muri-ranga-whenua was the tīpuna kuia of the demi-God, Māui. This wise woman provided Māui with her sacred jawbone which he used as the hook to fish up Te Ika-a- Māui (The North Island). Portal Vol. 2, No. 2 July 2005 4 Ka‘ai Te Kauae Mārō o Muri-ranga-whenua The themes which permeate the title of this article include the transmission of knowledge through generations, the importance of women in leadership roles in Māori society, the relationship Māori have with the natural environment and the cultural concepts of aroha (love), whanaungatanga (a term describing a kinship network which links Māori to their whānau, hapū, iwi and to te ao Māori (the Māori world)) (Ka’ai & Higgins 2003, 18), and manaaki (a sense of reciprocity, of giving and receiving) (Reilly in Ka’ai et al 2003, 68). Muri-ranga-whenua was motivated by these cultural concepts to rip her jawbone, te kauae mārō, from her lower face and offer this to her mokopuna (grandchild) providing him with the technology to assist him in his journey for the advancement of te ao Māori. Without this assistance, Māui would have failed. Te kauae mārō means ‘a strong jawbone.’ However, kauae also refers to knowledge; te kauae runga means esoteric knowledge and te kauae raro means practical knowledge. In traditional Māori society, this knowledge was handed down from generation to generation through tribal whare wānanga. The transmission of knowledge, and who received this knowledge, was not premised on either age or gender; more to the point it was driven by cultural markers such as rangatiratanga (right to exercise authority in relation to sovereignty, leadership and identity) and the preservation of whānau, hapū and iwi. People were chosen on this basis. Traditional Māori leadership was either inherited through genealogical links or ascribed based on the display of outstanding personal qualities and achievements or ability. Leadership was not at all gender orientated. This is particularly so in Ngāti Porou (East Coast tribe in the North Island) where women are traditionally known to assume key leadership roles in the iwi. For example; there are 58 marae (traditional Māori complexes where particular rituals occur including rituals of encounter) within the Ngāti Porou tribal boundary; all but two of these are named after women, reflecting the dominance of women in the tribe. For Portal Vol. 2, No. 2 July 2005 5 Ka‘ai Te Kauae Mārō o Muri-ranga-whenua example, Hine-matioro, who was a prominent female leader in Ngāti Porou history, was considered too tapu (sacred) to walk on the ground like other human beings because of her leadership status in the tribe. Consequently, she was carried from place to place by male servants. Such was her power that she was reported in international circles as, ‘the great Queen who possessed a large territory and numerous subjects’ (Ballara 1990, 192). Another example of female leadership in Ngāti Porou is the story of the union of Ruataupare and Tūwhakairiora, who were both of chiefly rank and equal status. Over time however, due to power struggles between them, Ruataupare grew tired of Tūwhakairiora and eventually left him, moving from Wharekāhika to Tokomaru Bay. She established her genealogical links with the Ngāti Ira and Wahine-iti hapū in the area, quickly establishing her leadership over the people and the land, thus creating her own hapū, Te Whānau a Ruataupare (I am a descendant of Ruataupare). Similarly, Ngāti Porou and Ngāi Tahu share a history concerning a woman called Hamo who, too, was a prominent female leader. She was the wife of Porourangi, the eponymous ancestor of Ngāti Porou, and according to Ngāti Porou tradition, upon his death she married his younger brother, Tahu Pōtiki. This was a common customary practice in traditional Māori society. It is against this background that it can be assumed that the film Whale Rider is located within the tribal boundary of Ngāti Porou. This can be attributed to the names Paikea and Porourangi, which belong to two of the lead characters in the film. The marae where the film is set is the home of Ngāti Konohi, a hapū of the Ngāti Porou tribe located within the tribal territory at Whangarā. Paikea is a prominent ancestor in Ngāti Porou history. Yet this film has failed to recognise the importance of women in Ngāti Porou. The few examples of female leaders of Ngāti Porou discussed previously are only a small sample of this tribe’s tradition of acknowledging the status of women. This tradition has always been prevalent from traditional society through to contemporary Māori society. It is well known amongst all Māori iwi that Ngāti Porou is the most pro-female iwi of them all. The film contradicts the histories and traditions of this iwi that it is based on. Portal Vol. 2, No. 2 July 2005 6 Ka‘ai Te Kauae Mārō o Muri-ranga-whenua In the novel Whale Rider, however, Ihimaera develops it further by referring to the well known Māori narrative of Muriwai, the ancestress of Te Whānau-a-Apanui, who called out to the Gods, ‘Kia whakatāne au i ahau’ (‘Now I shall make myself a man’), in order for her to save the Mātaatua canoe (Ihimaera 1987, 17). This reference indicates Ihimaera’s respect for, and deep understanding of, the status of women in traditional Māori society. In Māori society, the relationship between a grandparent and grandchild is described as being sacrosanct. It is about tiaki (protection), aroha and manaaki. The primary role of grandparents in the whānau was to raise, protect and teach their grandchildren. Parents ensured the physical well-being of the child while the grandparents provided spiritual, mental, educational and emotional sustenance for the mokopuna. The concept of whānau is represented in the fan shaped dimensions of the harakeke (flax bush or phornium tenax). Each blade of this plant is used as an analogy for the whānau. The rito (centre shoot) is the ‘child’, protected on either side by its ‘parents’, and the outer blades are the ‘extended family’ (Higgins nd: ii). If the rito is removed, the plant will die. Therefore, the role of the whānau is to ensure the protection of the rito and the child, which will ensure the survival of the plant and the whānau, hapū and iwi. Mokopuna who are raised by their grandparents form a strong bond that cannot be penetrated. Furthermore, mokopuna who are raised by their grandparents are easy to identify as they behave in a particular way as a consequence of being given access to tribal knowledge well ahead of their chronological years. It is against this background that the reaction by Koro Paka toward his newly born granddaughter is best understood in a cultural context as not one of rejection because he dismissed the female in favour of the male; rather it was one of protection and love for his granddaughter. It was also premised on a combination of love and the fear that her name, Paikea, could expose her vulnerability as a woman in terms of the cultural concept of whare tangata (womb) and the ability to have children. Portal Vol. 2, No. 2 July 2005 7 Ka‘ai Te Kauae Mārō o Muri-ranga-whenua People are considered the most important objects in the Māori world and the survival and continued procreation of the whānau rests on the protection of women and their whare tangata. Exposing women to tapu areas puts them, and future generations, at risk. Kanga (curses) were used when whānau, hapū, or iwi allowed their women to tread in these sacred areas. One such area is the marae ātea (the courtyard in front of the main house on the marae). The marae ātea is recognised as being the domain of Tūmatauenga, the God of warfare and people. The female role in this context is assigned to the karanga (call), which in traditional society was executed by a kuia (elderly woman) because she had more often than not finished her child-bearing days. This role was not given to young women for fear that kanga would be placed on their whare tangata, leaving them barren, thus extinguishing a genealogical line in the whānau. This traditional cultural practice was distorted in the film, as Paikea was invited by her grandmother to perform the karanga. This is simply inconceivable in Māori society, for her grandmother was exposing her to the risk of kanga. Regardless of Paikea’s inherited status, she is vulnerable because she has not yet reached puberty and therefore a prime candidate for such practices. Furthermore, Paikea behaved as if she was a child brought up by her father in Germany, with no knowledge of Māori culture, when she sat on the front pew with the men. A child raised by her grandparents would simply not behave in this way. This is an example of the Eurocentric feminist belief that women can challenge a supposed male hegemonic practice that appears to discriminate against Māori women and, therefore, relegates them to lesser positions in Māori society. The disregard for the cultural significance of the marae and the protection of women is masked by this Eurocentric feminist challenge, thus portraying Māori as a ‘barbaric’ people who have no respect for women. Early Pākehā ethnographers of Māori culture and society documented how they perceived the life and customs of the Indigenous people of Aotearoa/New Zealand. However, like Caro, these writings are ‘subconsciously filtered’ through their own western world-view. It is apparent in early colonial history that Pākehā women played subordinate roles within their society. Furthermore, it is this subordinate position Portal Vol. 2, No. 2 July 2005 8 Ka‘ai Te Kauae Mārō o Muri-ranga-whenua that forms the basis from which Eurocentric feminism is derived. It, therefore, can be assumed that early Pākehā ethnographers believed Māori women held inferior positions in society because they did not, in the main, partake in the formal speech making on the marae. Consequently, it is perceived by Pākehā that because only men appear to debate and voice their concerns during this formal speech making ritual that they are the obvious leaders in Māori society. It is clear that in the film Koro Paka expected his son, Porourangi, to inherit his leadership role. However, Porourangi rejected this role, and left the settlement as a way of escaping this responsibility. It is not uncommon in Māori tribal history for the tuakana (older sibling) to reject his or her hereditary position of rangatira (chief, leader). What is unusual is that a good leader did not recognise that his second son, Rāwiri, possessed the attributes of leadership demonstrated by his ability in mau taiaha (weaponry), despite being the teina (younger sibling). The film failed to depict this. There are numerous accounts of the teina acquiring the mantle of rangatira for their ability to lead. Māori culture was not fixed in its position that only the tuakana can claim their inherited rights. Leadership fell to those who had the right characteristics to be leaders, regardless of age and gender. One such example of a teina assuming a leadership role is the first character introduced in this article, Māui-tikitiki-a-Taranga. Māui was the pōtiki (last born) of five brothers, yet through his many achievements demonstrated and acquired the position of leader within his whānau. The early ethnographic writings of Elsdon Best, one of New Zealand’s most notable Pākehā ethnographers of Māori culture and society, in 1898 described the eight characteristics of a rangatira in traditional Māori society as being: 1. Industrious in obtaining or cultivating food. 2. Good at settling disputes, etc. 3. Brave. 4. A good leader in war—an able general. 5. Expert at carving, tattooing and at ornamental weaving. 6. Hospitable. 7. Clever at building a house or pa [fortified villages], and in canoe-making. 8. Knowledgeable about the boundaries of tribal land. (Best 1898, 242; cited in Patterson 1992, 105) Portal Vol. 2, No. 2 July 2005 9 Ka‘ai Te Kauae Mārō o Muri-ranga-whenua An important aspect to note in Best’s list of characteristics is that senior genealogical descent is not included. Although some of his characteristics include distinctive male roles, such as carving, building of houses, pā and canoes, it also includes the female art of ornamental weaving. It can be assumed that Best’s focus on male characteristics is derived from his own world view, however, it is important to note that he does not dismiss women altogether. Ascribed and inherited leadership as evident in traditional Māori society is still relevant in contemporary Māori society. The impact of colonisation upon Māori society (such as the 1847 Education Ordinance Act which was a policy of assimilation, and the 1907 Tohunga Suppression Act which outlawed Māori experts applying traditional knowledge and customary practices) has for 130 years forced the declining Māori population to prioritise individual needs such as education and employment, often ahead of the needs of their iwi. Therefore, Māori leadership has evolved in contemporary Māori society to embrace this demographic change. While ascribed and inherited leadership are still very relevant in contemporary Māori society, combinations of these two categories also apply. For example, one group might have ascribed leadership, another might have inherited leadership, and others may have a combination of the two. Therefore, it is proposed that the attributes of Māori leadership in contemporary society are: • Ability to strategise and plan for the future to ensure the wellbeing and survival of the people they are managing—politically, socially, economically, spiritually and intellectually. • Ability to make sound judgements. • Ability in te reo me ngā tikanga Māori (Māori language and customs). • Ability to communicate effectively. • Ability to represent the people in all forums, in an effective and efficient manner. • To be a role model for those they are representing. • To have excellent organisational skills. • Ability to motivate, inspire and mobilise the people. • Ability to critically reflect and evaluate their own performance as a leader. • Ability to manage conflict amongst the people, seek resolution and make difficult decisions. • Well developed negotiation and facilitation skills. • Sophisticated knowledge of, and experience in te ao Māori. • Ability to be multi-tasked. Portal Vol. 2, No. 2 July 2005 10 Ka‘ai Te Kauae Mārō o Muri-ranga-whenua • Active participation in Māori cultural activities at a grass-roots level, such as attending tangihanga and tribal hui. (Ka‘ai & Reilly 2003, 95-96) Had Koro Paka been observant in his role as a respected tribal leader, a caregiver, a protector and a teacher of his grand-daughter Paikea, he would have known and acknowledged that she most certainly possessed some of these leadership qualities, and more importantly that she had hereditary rights to assume a leadership role in the whānau and hapū. There are many instances where the film is a corruption of Māori cultural practices, particularly within Ngāti Porou. For example, the whare wānanga was not a school of learning solely for men or boys and it is simply inconceivable that a child, male or female, would beat an elder let alone a tribal leader with their taiaha (a weapon and oratory staff). To do so would be to commit a hara (a cultural offence of the worst order). Another important point to make concerns the haka (posture dance) performed at the end of the film. The haka, Ka Mate was chosen and not Rūaumoko, or Poropeihana, which are two famous Ngāti Porou compositions. Rūaumoko and Poropeihana are automatically identified by iwi Māori as haka of Ngāti Porou. The haka, Poropeihana would have been more appropriate and would have resonated well as it was composed about the introduction of a parliamentary bill on the prohibition of alcohol. The basis of this haka was an outcry by the people of Ngāti Porou to one of their own son’s, Sir Āpirana Ngata, who at the time, was a minister of parliament supporting the prohibition bill. Such protestation by the people was a sign that they had grown tired of colonial laws and an expression of continuing their quest for tino rangatiratanga (self determination) in relation to Te Tiriti o Waitangi (The Treaty of Waitangi) and their rights as Indigenous people of the land. The use of Ka Mate is likely to have been chosen because of the international reputation it has gained through its use by the All Blacks, New Zealand’s premiere rugby team, prior to the start of a game. It is this icon that is used so that the global mass can identify with a New Zealand identity as opposed to a tribally specific identity. The acquisition of Ka Mate by mainstream New Zealand society has become an Portal Vol. 2, No. 2 July 2005 11 Ka‘ai Te Kauae Mārō o Muri-ranga-whenua identity marker by Pākehā for the global market, in the absence of their own unique culture. Furthermore, it would appear to non-New Zealanders that te reo me ngā tikanga Māori has been afforded respect within New Zealand society, yet this is not the case. Furthermore, it is the recognition of te reo me ngā tikanga Māori that has been the basis of Māori assertions to sovereignty since the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840. While Caro had no obligation to provide an authentic portrayal based on a Māori cultural reality, from an Indigenous context, if she had attempted this, the film might have given rise to a work with more integrity, creating a vastly more powerful film in cultural- political terms. For this reason, the power of the film is diluted. This is best understood from the viewpoint that the film is aimed at a global market and necessitated intervening on iwi (tribal) cultural reproduction, so as to transfigure the role of Māori elders and girls to align with the division of patriarchy and Eurocentric feminisms. To do so is to make the film more appealing and sexier for the global market. Having said this, the reality for Māori is that the film is a distortion and misrepresentation of the Māori world and in particular of Ngāti Porou tikanga and kawa. Its appeal to Māori lies in the cinematography, which captures the beautiful landscape of the east coast of the North Island, where thousands of holidaymakers swarm each year to enjoy the hot temperatures and the fine beaches. The return of Cliff Curtis (one of Māoridom’s finest actors, who has broken into the Hollywood market and appeared in films such as Training Day with Denzel Washington), to appear in a low budget New Zealand film such as Whale Rider, symbolises to the national Māori community that Curtis is very much connected to te ao Māori, to his roots and his cultural heritage. Furthermore, it makes a strong statement that he has not abandoned his culture (the local meeting place) nor the advancement of film-making in Aotearoa/New Zealand for the fame and fortune of the Hollywood film world (the global market). The theme of rural community life and the significance of the papakāinga (a community of Māori people living around the mara, which is central to their lifestyle) and ahikā (the people who remain at home within their tribal community and keep the fires burning) to ensure the preservation of cultural knowledge and practices for transmission to the younger generation, grabs at the Portal Vol. 2, No. 2 July 2005 12 Ka‘ai Te Kauae Mārō o Muri-ranga-whenua very heartstrings of Māori as an Indigenous people who struggle to this day to combat the sins of colonisation at the cost of becoming rāwaho (those Māori who live outside of their tribal community—often because of the need to find employment). Furthermore, it is a reminder to many Māori of their own upbringing in rural Māori communities where fishing and living off the land was key to their survival; where kapa haka (Māori performing arts) at the marae was a regular activity; where Māori humour abounds and where your identity is understood within the context of mana Māori (authority, power, influence, prestige and status). Glossary aroha love, compassion haka posture dance hapū sub-tribe, clan harakeke flax-bush iwi tribe kanga curse kapa haka Māori performing arts karanga formal call by a woman welcoming visitors on to a marae kawa protocol kuia elderly woman manaaki a sense of reciprocity of giving and receiving Māori Indigenous people of Aotearoa/New Zealand marae a traditional Māori complex where particular rituals occur including rituals of encounter marae ātea courtyard in front of the main house on the marae mau taiaha weaponry mokopuna grandchild pā fortified village Pākehā a non-Māori person of European ancestry pōtiki last born rangatira chief, noble man rangatiratanga the right to exercise authority in relation to sovereignty, leadership and identity rito centre shoot taiaha weapon and oratory staff tapu sacred te ao Māori the Māori world teina younger sibling Te Ika-a-Māui North Island of Aotearoa/New Zealand te kauae mārō strong jawbone te kauae raro practical knowledge te kauae runga esoteric knowledge Portal Vol. 2, No. 2 July 2005 13 Ka‘ai Te Kauae Mārō o Muri-ranga-whenua te reo me ngā tikanga Māori Māori language and customs Te Tiriti o Waitangi The Treaty of Waitangi is a founding document of Aotearoa/New Zealand between the British Crown and the Māori people. It was signed in 1840 and has been a controversial issue as two versions were produced with Māori only signing the Māori text, but the English text has been used as the definitive version by the Crown and bares little resemblance to the Māori version. tiaki protection tino rangatiratanga self determination tipuna ancestor tīpuna kuia female ancestors tohunga traditional Māori expert or priest tuakana older sibling whānau family whanaungatanga expressions of support, love within a family; term describing a kinship network which links Māori to their whānau, hapū, iwi and to te ao Māori. whare tangata womb whare wānanga traditional schools of learning Reference List Ballara, A. 1990, ‘Hinematioro: ?-1823’, in Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, Allen & Unwin, Wellington, 192-193. Best, E. 1898, ‘Omens and Superstitious Beliefs of the Māori’, in Journal of the Polynesian Society 7, 119-36 and 233-43; cited in Patterson J. 1992, Exploring Maori Values, Dunmore Press, Palmerston North. Higgins, R. nd, ‘Foreward’, in Members of Each Other:Building Communities in Company with People with Developmental Disabilities, eds J. O’Brien & C.L. O’Brien, Inclusion Press, Toronto, ii-iv. Ihimaera, W. 1987, The Whale Rider, Heinemann, Auckland. Ka‘ai, T.M. and R. Higgins 2003, ‘Te Ao Māori: Māori world-view’, in Ki Te Whaiao: Introduction to Māori Society, eds T.M. Ka‘ai, J.C. Moorfield, M. P. J Reilly & S. Mosley, Pearson Education, Auckland, 13-25. ______, Moorfield J. C., Reilly M. P. J.& Mosley, S eds. 2003, Ki Te Whaiao: Introduction to Māori Society, Pearson Education, Auckland. ______ & Reilly, M.P.J. 2003, ‘Rangatiratanga: traditional and contemporary leadership’, in Ki Te Whaiao: Introduction to Māori Society, eds T.M. Ka‘ai, J.C. Moorfield, M.P.J. Reilly & S. Mosley, Pearson Education, Auckland, 91-102. Mottesheard, R. 2005, ‘Girl Power: New Zealand Writer/Director Niki Caro Talks About Whale Rider’ [Online] Available: http://www.indiewire.com/people/people_030606caro.html Patterson J. 1992, Exploring Maori Values, Dunmore Press, Palmerston North. Portal Vol. 2, No. 2 July 2005 14 http://www.indiewire.com/people/people_030606caro.html Ka‘ai Te Kauae Mārō o Muri-ranga-whenua Reilly, M.P.J. 2003, ‘Whanaungatanga: Kinship’, in Ki Te Whaiao: introduction to Māori Society, eds T.M. Ka‘ai, J.C. Moorfield, M.P.J. Reilly & S. Mosley, Pearson Education, Auckland, 61-72. Whale Rider (motion picture) 2002, South Pacific Pictures. Portal Vol. 2, No. 2 July 2005 15 Overview of the Film Understanding the Cultural Context