Excerpts from the book "Tikanga Māori" By Mead, 2016. Introduces key ideas about tikanga Māori

1. TIKANGA
MĀORI
Excerpts from the book “Tikanga Māori, Living by
Māori Values” by Hirini Moko Mead, 2016

2. INTRODUCTION
“Tikanga Māori controls
interpersonal relationships,
provides ways for groups to meet
and interact, and even determines
how individuals identify
themselves. It is difficult to
imagine any social situation
where tikanga Māori has no
place”

3. “’Tika’ means ‘to be right’ and thus tikanga
Māori focuses on the correct way of doing
something. This involves moral judgements
about appropriate ways of behaving and
acting in everyday life”

4. “Though a few people
are quite
knowledgeable, the
vast majority knows
little about tikanga
Māori. Active
suppression by
agencies of the Crown
over the last century is
one reason. Another is
the conversion of Māori
to Christianity and its
accompanying
repudiation of culture”
“All tikanga Māori are
firmly embedded in
mātauranga Māori,
which might be seen as
Māori philosophy as
well as Māori
knowledge. While
mātauranga Māori
might be carried in the
minds, tikanga Māori
puts that knowledge
into practice and adds
the aspects of
correctness and ritual
support”
“The ideas of many
people long departed
from this world remain
with us today. Through
time, isolation and
adaptation, however,
the meanings of some
of the ancient tikanga
have changed or have
been extended in new
directions”

5. “Manaakitanga is one of the values that underpin
tikanga Māori. It refers to an expected standard of
behaviour, an ideal that one should aspire to
reach.
Te Rangikaheke discussed a fundamental concept
that underpins certain beliefs about the nature of
individual talents and characteristics. He was very
clear that the source of these characteristics was
te moenga rangatira, the chiefly marriage bed. “It
will never be lost, the seed of chiefly persons”
(Grove 1985:12).”

6. “The child of parents of some social standing in
the tribal group would receive a generous
entitlement of assets such as garments and
ornaments, and later, interests in land; would be
well brought up and well educated, and would by
right of birth receive a richer portion of attributes
than other children.
The principle of te moenga rangatira is easy to
understand. Children born of te moenga rangatira
receive more of everything according to their
position of birth in the chiefly lineages”

7. “While every Māori person is born with a
whakapapa which is part of the birthright,
there is no common starting point and
no level playing field. Every person is
different and every one has a unique
position in the social system. Te moenga
rangatira is an important ranking device
which has relevance and validity in
today’s society”

8. THE TAPU OF PLACES & THINGS
“The level of tapu varies with built things or created things. A
carved house, for example, is very tapu during its
construction. The state of tapu indicates that the construction
stage and the artistic activities associated with the building
are highly regarded. The carpenters and artists are
accountable for the quality of their work and there is a ritual
aspect to it. This high level of tapu remains in place until the
ceremony called the kawanga whare is performed to clear
away the dangers associated with a high level of tapu both
from the created structure and from the builders, carvers, and
artists who created it. After this the house is safe”

9. “The tapu of material culture accessories
again is recognition of their ‘social value’ –to
adopt a term which R. Brown has employed to
such advantage. Objects of importance to the
community, such as large canoes, always
had a certain amount of tapu pertaining to
them, whereas small fishing canoes of
ordinary type were void of such quality”

10. WHAKAHUIHUI TANGATA
“The whānau unit: The Māori
world is full of social groups that
call themselves a whānau. Some
are household units and some are
large extended families
numbering up to several thousand
members”

11. NGĀ MAHI AUAHA
“The tapu of creative work: work that
is exciting and usually very enjoyable.
Why then should it be placed under
tapu and restrictions built around such
activity? There are several aspects to
this answer”

12. “Pūmanawa: creative
talent was unique to
the whānau or family
and that it is expected
that this talent will
manifest itself in one
or more of the
descendants from
time to time.
Whakapapa
determines the
distribution of talents”
“The divine origin of most of the arts
explains why they are tapu and very
special. According to Tūhoe sources,
Takataka-putea and Marere-o-tonga
were the originators and inventors of
dancing, flute playing and various
games. Other tribes credit Raukata-uri
and Raukata-mea with these arts. The
haka is credited to Raumati. Tattooing
originated in the underworld of spirits”

13. “The next source of tapu comes from the
materials that artists work with. Anything
from the forest belonged to the God
Tāne. Shells and shark teeth are from
the world of Tangaroa. Greenstone is
from the earth and credited to Poutini.
Whales are from the realm of Tangaroa”

14. “There are similar sorts of requirements for every
art form and there is a list of dos and don’ts for
each, some quite extensive. The best way to learn
the tikanga of any one art form is to work
alongside an experienced worker. People who
teach themselves do not necessarily get the
tikanga right. They may master the technical
aspects of the art form and fail to achieve the
same level of mastery over the tikanga. Artists
who feel uncomfortable or inadequate with the
tikanga Māori aspects of their work could choose
to work outside of the rules of tapu. That is their
choice”

15. “Māori culture can be
likened to Humpty
Dumpty. When Humpty
fell the whole being was
shattered and broken
into pieces. In the case
of Māori culture the
pieces have been
scattered –some have
been destroyed, some
hidden, and others are
just waiting to be
reconstructed”
“Mātauranga Māori is
not like an archive of
information but rather is
like a tool for thinking,
organising information,
considering the ethics
of knowledge, the
appropriateness of it all
and informing us about
our world and our place
in it”
“The method of
teaching was different
from what happens
today. There was a
leading tohunga
assisted by one or more
tohunga. Their task was
to prompt when
required and to fill the
gaps when there were
lapses of memory on
the part of the lecturer.
Teaching was very
much a group effort”

16. “Characteristics of the traditional whare wānanga (place of learning):
1. The transmission of knowledge was not open to everyone. It was limited to members
of a waka confederation or an iwi.
2. Each iwi conducted its teaching and practices according to its tikanga.
3. Students selected by their tribe needed to be alert, intelligent, committed to learning,
young and male. The students were tested by their own iwi and if suitable were
recommended to attend the whare wānanga.
4. The whare wānanga was a whare tapu, a sacred house. All who participated in
teaching and learning were covered by the tapu of the institution and of learning.
Knowledge was tapu.
5. The whare wānanga was constructed outside the main village. The whole site with
every structure within it was regarded as a marae.
6. Cooking facilities were outside of the ware wānanga site.
7. Women were not permitted on site.
8. The house itself was constructed like a whare whakairo.
9. Lessons commenced at daylight and ended at midday”