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Documentation for Action Groups in Asia
Maori and Pacific Island
Stories of Peace and Justice
DOSSIER
November 2003
PREFACE
The concept of ʺjustpeaceʺ is not alien to indigenous and local communities throughout Asia. To the Aotearoa New Zealandʹs Maori and the Pacific Island people, the importance of dignity in human relationships based on harmonious co‐existence cannot be overstated. Anything that does not confirm to this guarded peace of community living is seriously viewed and taken cognizance of immediately by the village elders and the chief. During this time of numerous religious, economic, ethnic political and cultural conflicts that threaten the very existence of our global community, from whom do we as peacemakers draw our tactics: Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Bishop Romero and/or our ancestral heritage? What understandings of traditional conflict mediation have been lost to the 20th century leaders? When will the global justice movement realize the rich heritage abiding in millennia old cultures such as Africa and Asia? Both of these continents possess thousands of years of experience in living in harmonious community, solving conflicts and building peace in their own unique and creative ways. They draw much of this wisdom from the spirits of their ancestors and the natural world of which they are such an integrated part. Why then are we not tapping into these boundless resources? In this Dossier, Paddy Noble provides us with a brief introduction to the traditions and culture of the Maori in Aotearoa New Zealand and the Pacific Island people which clearly reflect this ancient wisdom and respect for their environment. By seriously studying the words and experiences these cultures have to share with us we can, perhaps, gain a new understanding of justpeace and some of the tools available to us as we work to build this justpeace. Justpeace must begin with a careful and respectful study of the tools already available to us through indigenous people as well as marginalized and oppressed communities. Paddy Nobleʹs work on this Dossier is a clear example of how we can begin this study. Max Ediger
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
NGA WAHANGA
INTRODUCTION ‐ TE KAUPAPA ME NGA MIHI ………………………………………………………...
He Whakatauaki / Maori Proverbs Call to Sacredness – Te Karanga Acknowledging our Ancestors – Nga Tipuna Opening the Way of our Stories – Te Kaupapa 1‐2
Part 1 HISTORY OF MAORI IN AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND – TE WHAKAPAPA …………………………… The Migration of Maori The Moriori and Maori contact Maori Contact with Europeans and the Missionaries Political and Tribal Map of Aotearoa New Zealand MAORI STORIES AND CUSTOMS OF PEACE WITHIN THE COMMUNITY …………………………….. The Symbolic use of the Marae. Maori Protocols of Everyday Living MAORI AND THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT …………………………………………………………... Creation Stories of Ranginui (Sky Father) and Papatuanuku (Earth Mother). Tangaroa (Tipuna – Ancestor of the Sea) Te Wao Nui a Tane (Guardian Ancestor Tane) INTERTRIBAL RELATIONS AND CONFLICT …………………………………………………………… Peaceful Exchange between Kaimoana (Seafood) and Huawhenua (Forest Foods) Tribal Goodwill in times of Famine and Drought Tribal Conflict between the Nga Puhi and Ngati Porou Peoples MAORI AND ISSUES OF TODAY ………………………………………………………………………… Peace and Reconciliation Among the Tribes Our Bicultural Journey Maori Women Reclaiming their Mana from Abuse and Domestic Violence. Maori Restorative Justice using the Marae Justice System. Maori and the Peacemaking Circle 3 ‐6 3 3 4 6 7 ‐1 0 7 10 1 1 ‐1 3 11 11 13 1 4 ‐1 6 15 15 16 1 6 ‐2 2 16 17 18 21 21 Part 2: Pacific Island Stories of Justpeace
Demographic Summary of the Pacific Island Peoples Map of the Pacific Islands. CULTURAL PRACTICES TO ENSURE A HARMONIOUS COMMUNITY …………………………………. The Traditional and Medicinal Use of Kava, Ava, Yagona. The Traditional Purposes of the Kava Ceremony The Samoan Practice of ‘Ifoga’ to Seek Reconciliation When a Serious Crime is Committed. Seeking Peace in Bouganville 1998 The Philosophy of the ‘Hula’ Dance from Hawaii. 22 23 2 4 ‐3 0 24
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Part 3: Transcending Gender in the Pacific Culture for a Peaceful Community
The Stories of the Multi‐Gender People of the Pacific Queer Indigenous Peoples and their Lost Spirit: Two Stories The Pacific Identity in the 21st Century 31 34 36 GLOSSARY OF TERMS / NGA KUPU WHAKAWARAMA ………………………………………………. 37 APPENDIX I: TAPU ………………………………………………………………………………………. 39 APPENDIX II: TREATY OF WAITANGI ………………………………………………………………….. 42 BIBLIOGRAPHY AND WEB SITE REFERENCES ………………………………………………………… 45 P
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INTRODUCTION
TE KAUPAPA ME NGA MIHI
Mate atu he tëtë kura, whakaeke mai he tëtë kura. A fern frond dies another frond rises to take its place. (When one person dies, another will come and take their place to continue the peaceful leadership of the community.) Näu te rourou, näku te rourou, ka ora te manuhiri. Your food basket and my food basket will satisfy the guest. (When you bring your food basket and share with my food basket we will be content to live in peace with each other.) E nga mana, e nga reo, e nga karangatanga, tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa. E maumahara a tatou tipuna me te hunga kua mate, tena koutou, tena koutou, tena tatou katoa. Ki te Rangi I runga, tena koe, te Papautanuku e takoto nei, tena koe, tena korua. Ki to tatou Kaihanga o tenei ao hurihuri kei te mihi, kei te mihi, kei te mihi. Ko Hikurangi te Maunga, Ko Waiapu te Awa, ko Ngati Porou te Iwi, Ko Paddy Noble ahau, te uri o te Whanau‐a‐
Rakairoa me te Whanau‐a‐Iritekura. Na reira, tena koutou, tena koutou, tena tatou katoa. In the dignity and respect of our integrity, our languages, and to the sacred call of our lives, we give thanks and greetings to all who come from afar. From the four winds, Father Sky, Mother Earth, and our Creator of this forever‐turning world we give thanks and respect. To all who struggle for peace and justice in whatever form, we pay homage and respect to you all. I come from the sacred mountain Hikurangi, the sacred river Waiapu, and my tribe is Ngati Porou. I’m a descendant of two women ancestors Rakairoa and Iritekura. My name is Paddy Noble. Maori and Pacific Island peoples of today are faced with a more global reality to that of our ancestors in terms of injustice and social anarchy by colonial, imperial and globalisitic forces. The US coalition’s invasion and colonisation of Iraq, Israeli oppression towards the Palestinians, so called democracy disguised in corrupt leadership and an abuse of political power are forces we must face. Although western concepts are continuously used to validate our social values and behaviours according their measures, we must refute this by using the life giving peaceful models of articulating and implementing indigenous methods for a ‘just‐peace’ society. This is partially part of our move to deconstruct and reconstruct ourselves in a more contextual manner that looks at the very core of our culture and value systems of restoring the tapu (sacred), mana (dignity) and wairua (spiritual) disconnection that we face in society. Maori and Pacific Island Stories of Peace and Justice
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In retrospect to our past, present and future we cannot write our stories without acknowledging the methodology that has forced us, by intertribal or colonial conflict, to come up with practical and realistic solutions to bring about ‘just‐peace’ in our societies. The hope of this dossier is to encourage the process of this ‘redefinition’ and ‘reshaping’ of our lives to take centre stage as a valid and mutual method among the millions of other models of a ‘just‐peace’ society from the indigenous peoples of the world. This may be refuted by conservative westernised methods by nullifying our existence therefore we need to counteract this by reclaiming, analysing, critiquing and to mainstream our stories of peace and justice thus offering alternative solutions to restore stable and healthier societies. Deconstructing our colonial past for further analysis enables us to identify a vast range of further oppression as minorities within a minority grouping. A classic example is the further oppression that indigenous sexual minorities have endured at the hands of their own people as a result of colonial and neo‐colonial influences within the church and society. The ‘Two Spirit’ people of the First Nations in Canada and Native Americans in the US are a prime example of what it means to be casualties of a secular and theologically fundamental patriarchal western society that forces the indigenous peoples of these countries to find less healthy means of survival and existence in a hostile and predominantly racial, sexist and discriminative situation. The ‘Two Spirit’ people of these countries were once considered shaman and identified as peacemakers in hostile situations. Therefore the hope of such a dossier like this, is to restore similar stories that the ‘two spirit’ peoples of Asia and the Pacific shared like their Native American cousins. In response to our reconstructing process we must not reconstruct our value systems at the behest and arrogance of counteracting western methods, but we must be open to analyse, articulate and suggest positive solutions from a more peaceful standing point. This requires personal reflection and community praxis. This will lead to the restoration of the life values of all peoples as models for those who are seeking ‘just‐peace’ resolutions from conflicting situations in all aspects of society, even more so when the spirit to find alternative and creative peaceful means seems futile. Maori of Aotearoa New Zealand cannot completely illustrate their struggles and methods of restoring peace and justice among their society in today’s context without recognising the Pacific Island peoples. This dossier will look at various illustrations that our pacific cousins have developed in their quest to stabilise their society from their struggles of conflict among themselves and external influences. This dossier does not claim that this is a full representation of all Maori and Polynesian concepts of its peoples but the actual intention is to encourage peaceful and positive culture for peaceful and just resolutions among hostile and conflicting situations, both in symbolism and practicality. Naku noa, Paddy Noble 2
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HISTORY OF MAORI
IN AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND
THE MIGRATION OF MAORI According to new theories and archaeological findings it is said that the ancestors of the Maori explorers derived from a migration of people of the Taiwan Ta‐pʹen‐kʹeng culture, around 3500 BC, known as the Austronesians. arrival of ancestors of the Maori; however there is no evidence to support this belief. The Moriori named these islands Rekohu, after the mist which hangs over the area. Here, the Moriori remained isolated until the European discoverers arrived in 1791. Although the Moriori are close relatives of the The Austronesians had been steadily Maori, they have distinct features which squeezed south from Taiwan, by the indicate an independent colonisation from expanding Chinese, and had moved down tropical Polynesia. through the Philippines, Borneo, Vietnam, Malaysia, Java, Sumatra, the Celebes, and These first settlers were said to be descended from Te Aomarama and Rongomaiwhenua across to the Solomon’s by 1600 BC. (which is Moriori for Sky Father and Earth By 1200 BC they had arrived in New Mother). The names of the three canoes Caledonia, Fiji and Samoa, then expanded bearing the first Moriori settlers were: Rangi eastward to the Society Islands, the Cook Houa, Rangi Mata and Oropuke. Islands and the Marquesas and Tuamotu Archipelago by around AD 1. Five hundred The main activity in the harsh conditions of years later, the Easter Islands were inhabited, these islands at that time became hunting and around 1000 AD, Pitcairn Island ‐ and birds, seal and shellfish for survival. The Moriori population increased to an estimated then New Zealand. 2000, but later fell to around 1660 after the [source: http://www.zealand.org.nz/history.htm] arrival of the first Europeans. Besides the archaeological theories and findings it is inevitable that the people of the The Europeans arrived in the Chatham Islands Pacific and Asia share a proud history of (Rekohu) in 1791 as part of George expedition. The British discovery to new lands leaving behind years Vancouverʹs of stories narrated in various cultural styles. Lieutenant Broughton sailed in on the brig Preserving the integrity and validity of each ʺChathamʺ, took possession of the islands in culture within the migration from Asia to the the name of King George III, and gave them Pacific each peoples have adapted ways of their present day name. As with Abel Tasman telling their stories to the next generation in and Captain James Cook, the first confused encounters led to violence, with some Moriori many ways of human communication. being killed. THE MORIORI AND THE MAORI The Moriori people arrived in the Chatham From 1793, whaling and sealing ships from Islands off the coast of New Zealand either Europe and North America began invading just before or at the same time as the first New Zealand and the Chathams, making the Maoris were busy settling on the mainland. It Chathams the centre of this industry. They is sometimes claimed that the Moriori were a largely ignored the Moriori ʺtapuʺ that were race that settled in New Zealand prior to the directed against killing on breeding grounds, HTU
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Similarly to what happened with the Maoris, intertribal warring led to a dangerous decline in the Moriori population. Chief Nunuku Whenua is said to have stopped this by ordering an end to warring so that the population would not become decimated. If a dispute took place, the custom was to cease immediately at the first drawing of blood. In this way, the Moriori became a completely peaceful people. and this European activity killed off one of the main sources of the Moriori diet. In 1835 Maori tribes from the Wellington area arrived in the Chathams, driven south in search of new land, and claiming ownership of the Chathams. A number of Morioris were killed and others captured. The Moriori population fell to 101. Most of the Maori eventually left the Chathams by 1870. It was Solomonʹs grandfather, the chief of the Rauru tribe, who convinced the Moriori to remain pacifist during the invasion of their land. Tame Horomana Rehe Solomon, known as Tommy Solomon, the last full‐blooded Moriori, died in 1933. HTU
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[source: http://history‐nz.org/moriori.html] HTU
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MAORI CONTACT WITH EUROPEANS AND THE MISSIONARIES Documentation on the ‘The Colonisation of Aotearoa 1769 – 1983’ A background paper prepared for the Christian Conference of Asia Consultation for Asian Lawyers on Justice and Human Rights
1642, European Contact. Maori first stability is needed and the Church is prepared encounter a European, Dutch Navigator Abel to provide it in return for Christian salvation. Tasman. This contact sparks little interest among the exploiting powers of the imperial forces, as there are few resources available to render a colonial control of Aotearoa. 1769 Captain James Cook lands in Aotearoa. After his contact with Maori, pakeha (Europeans) first begin trading whale, flax, timber and human heads. Contact between Maori and Traders sometimes results in conflict, but Maori generally accept pakeha, especially for trade and access to new technology, particularly the musket. 1814, Christianity in Aotearoa. Samuel Marsden arrives into a port off Whangaroa, Bay of Islands. Mid 1820’s Pakeha immigrant numbers increase, disrupting food, economic and social relations, settlement and lifestyle. Frequent land claims reflect the conflicting Maori and pakeha concepts of land ‘ownership’. Some 4
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The Process of Colonisation The process of colonisation and possible annexation thus assumes greater urgency, and brings new pressure to bear on the Colonial Office to act. By this time, the CMS abandons proposals for a Maori New Zealand and supports moves toward the assumption of full British sovereignty. Threatened encroach‐
ments of Catholicism may add to their change of heart. This increases CMS missionaries’ desire to secure title to their personal and institutional land holdings, which are very large by now. The goal of all pakeha parties is clear – to establish and promote peaceful pakeha settlements of New Zealand in the name of God. 6th February 1840 Te Tiriti o Waitangi. This is the date historically tied to the signing of the Treaty. In reality the process is much more complex. It is not completed in one day, and is not confined to the venue of Waitangi. Nor does it take place with the pomp and ceremony recorded in the pakeha history books. In reality it is a hurriedly arranged, informal and rather chaotic end to several days of often hostile debate on the merits of an alliance with the British. While some 45 P
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signatures are collected on the 6th, they are mainly representatives of the northern Iwi, and Nga Puhi in particular. It is over a number of months that a further 468 names are added to different versions of the Treaty as Hobson’s emissaries travel through the North and South Islands. Several important Iwi still refuse to endorse the Treaty and others withdraw their former support on the grounds that they have been misled as to its effect. CMS Motives: The church’s vision for the future is of a Maori New Zealand under British protection and based on Christian values and virtues. Repeated calls are made to the Colonial Office to provide some limited oversight to help stem the growing disorder. These calls are not for full annexation, however the CMS have strong fears that such action would undermine their influence on the Maori, so they jealously guard their position. 8th February 1840. The passing of sovereignty is officially celebrated. No similar ceremony takes place during the treaty’s progress throughout the country. P
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Note: The concepts and underlying character of the Treaty of Waitangi was based
on the development of the British Sovereignty over Maori and their land. Had the
Maori fully understood this they would not have signed the Treaty. Appendix II has a
detailed analysis of what the Treaty of Waitangi actually says.
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POLITICAL AND TRIBAL MAP OF AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND
Aotearoa New Zealand is an island landmass of 268,798 Sq Km (103,783 Sq Mi) and the largest Pacific Island in the world. As of April 2003, the population
is estimated to be 4 million due to the growing birth rate and immigration from the Pacific Islands and Asia. 6
Full country name: Aotearoa New Zealand Area: 270,534 sq km Population: 3.8 million (as of April 2003 the NZ statistics stipulate that the NZ population will be at 4 million.) The Maori Population is approximately at 500,000 whereas 20 years ago it was much lower Largest City: Auckland (1,000,000) approx. Capital city: Wellington (pop 345,000 ) People: 74% European (Pakeha), 13.5% Maori, 6% Polynesian, 6% Asian Languages: English and Maori Religion: Predominantly Christian followed by an Asian influence of Buddhism and Muslim. Government: Independent member of the British Commonwealth Prime Minister: Helen Clark GDP: US$85 billion GDP per head: US$22,360 Annual growth: 2% Inflation: 2% Major industries: Food processing, wood and paper products, wool, textiles, dairy products, iron and steel, machinery, tourism Major trading partners: Australia, Japan, UK, China and the USA. Daga Press 2003
MAORI STORIES AND CUSTOMS OF PEACE
WITHIN THE COMMUNITY
THE SYMBOLIC USE OF THE MARAE 2. Inoi (Prayer). On most occasions, an inoi is What distinguishes Maori much more than race usually said before going to the Marae with from Pakeha (Europeans) is the Marae. Maori the visiting group, in order to seek spiritual have an advantage over Pakeha people when guidance and safety and to ensure that the we look at the concepts of the Marae within the process of going onto the Marae isn’t community. disturbed. The Marae is a central place that allows Maori 3. Te Wero (Challenge). This part of the to come together for various social reasons – powhiri is not often seen but is used in meetings, funerals (tangi), or other socially formal gatherings. The most fit and skilled important functions designed to host a local warrior of the tangata whenua will multitude of people. usually come forward and place a taki Knowing the basic principles of coming onto the Marae will help people understand the process utilized to maintain a sense of peace in a tribal setting. (dart) at the foot of the visitors. How the dart is placed down and picked up by the visitors will determine the intentions of each people – whether their visit was peaceful or intended for war. The first and most important ritual when coming onto the Marae for any occasion is a 4. Karanga (call). As the two groups of people ‘Powhiri’ – a time to welcome people using meet, the elderly women from the tangata symbolism, spirituality, dignity, and whenua (host) call and chant so that community pride. The Powhiri process is everyone can hear. Depending on the better understood in stages: occasion her call will establish the reasons of the gathering and if possible, the 1. Nga Tangata (The People). Two groups are ancestral links that both parties have with required to begin a Powhiri: the Tangata each other. At most times you will hear her Whenua (the people of the Marae), and the wailing and crying in remembrance of Manuhiri (the visitors). Without either of those who have passed on. The tone is a these people, especially the Tangata sombre chanting sound, a very spiritual Whenua, there can be no Powhiri. Both and moving sound when heard. It reminds groups comprise men and women who take us all of our roots with each other and our on the role of powhiri. The men do the homes. The elderly women of the manuhiri whaikorero1 (formal speeches), while the (visitors) then respond with their own women do the karanga (call). Both sides are karanga while walking onto the Marae usually required to designate their roles grounds with the visiting people they are and responsibilities before coming onto the accompanying. Because of their Kasranga, Marae. the women’s voices are the first voices to be 1
heard on the Marae. No one is allowed to There are tribal variations to both men and women doing the whaikorero. In Ngati Porou and Te Whanau a enter onto the grounds of the Marae until Apanui women have also held a leadership role on the they hear the karanga from the women. TP
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5. Haka Waiata (Welcome Dance). There are variations to this dance. In the Ngati Porou Tribe where I come from we commonly use the ‘Women’s Haka’, The haka dance is a reflection of the occasion. It gives further dignity and essence to the Powhiri Ritual. The tribal pride is expressed even more when doing a Haka Powhiri. 6. Whaikorero (Speeches) The manuhiri (visitors) gather, creating the tapu space between the two parties, as they seat themselves on the chairs placed on the right hand side in front of the Marae House. The men who have been chosen to do the whaikorero (speeches) are always seated in the front of everyone. The tangata whenua will be seated on the opposite side directly across the manuhiri with a 20‐meter space in between each other. The speakers are usually kaumatua, the elders from among the people, who will speak on behalf of the people. manuhiri who have gathered before entering the Marae complex, collect a koha, an offering to the tangata whenua as a gesture of peace and support as hosting peoples. In the past many people brought food and highly prized korowai (cloaks made of feathers), whariki (fine mats), whale bone and other objects of value to show intentions of honour and peace. In some cases, I have watched tribes give a pounamu patu (a green stone of NZ jade, a smooth flat clubbed shape weapon) as a gesture of peace. This former weapon of warfare has now been offered as a peace symbol, by turning the back end around. The Greenstone Patu or Whale Bone Patu was the greatest possession of any Maori warrior so its symbolism was of the highest importance. The koha now is an exchange that will help benefit the upkeep of the Marae throughout the duration of the their stay. 8. The Hongi (pressing of the nose). There are tribal variations to this act but the pressing of the nose is done when all the speeches and gifts have been given. The tangata whenua will then call the manuhiri, in a line formation, to exchange the spiritual essence of each other through the hongi. This is again symbolic of who we are in accordance to our creator and spirituality. Everyone is expected to do this by bringing the forehead and the nose together, by pressing once or twice, or in other areas three times. There are usually pauses when the noses are pressed together. The manuhiri hongis everyone in a line formation until they have reached the end of the line. This act symbolizes the essential understanding of what it means to be in one spirit with each other. It also represents the first breath of life that was 7. Te Koha (The Gifts). When both parties given to Hineahuone when Tane breathed have finished their speeches, the space life into her nose “Ti hei mauri ora” “I between each other is still maintained. The sneeze and awaken to the life of the world.” His words are chosen with caution as to the situation of the gathering. As the kaumatua, he will sometimes refer to past issues that both people may have had with each other, and so the importance of this ritual is both to address issues and seek some reconciliation. At the conclusion of each whaikorero, the people whom they represent will rise up and do an oriori (song or chant) to support what has been said in the speech. When the tangata whenua have finished their speeches, the manuhiri will respond in the same fashion. The speakers will impress everyone with their oratory skills by waving the tokotoko (walking/talking stick), dancing, and using rhetorical words that will get people to listen and take heed to what they have to say. 8
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9. Kai/Te Hakari (Food, gathering to eat). When all the formalities of the powhiri have finished, the final aspect of this welcoming ritual is to share a meal together. This is similar to customs in many cultures where food is used to bring people into closer contact with each other without any other motive but fulfilling ones hunger pains. Nevertheless, the Hakari is also the place where the tapu of the powhiri ritual is uplifted and people are in commonality with each other. A state of noa has therefore been put on the people, meaning that certain restrictions placed on the visit have been taken off, and now the manuhiri (vistor) is part of the tangata whenua (hosting people). their visitors but also maintains peace under the pressure of providing for their guests. Having an understanding of the Marae and its multiple uses can also be essential to understanding certain traditional protocols and philosophies that each Maori individual maintain within themselves and in their interaction with other cultures. There are certain codes of conduct that Maori maintain to ensure the utmost highest respect to others when on the Marae premises or in everyday life, at work, school, home, or travelling overseas. Some of these protocols are quite common in Polynesian cultures and you will they will be enacted in other parts of the Polynesian Islands. MAORI PROTOCOLS OF EVERYDAY LIVING After the hakari and settling bedding This is better understood by understanding what arrangements have been made in the Marae should not be done to Maori people to avoid any Whare Tipuna (Ancestral House), the people conflicting situations. who were considered the manuhiri and are 1. Alcohol is not permitted on the Marae. now tangawhenua are expected to help with Most of us would like to see this in most everyday chores of keeping the Marae clean, Maori homes because of the unfortunate like washing dishes, and many other jobs that demise in Maori values as a result of help maintain an Ancestral House. Finally, alcoholism. Unfortunately this is not so in when a new amount of manuhiri arrive (this many cases. will most likely happen during a tangi, funeral) the recent arrivals will seat 2. The right hand side of the Marae in the Whare Tipuna (Ancestral House) where themselves on the tangata whenua side of the everyone is to sleep has certain protocols in Marae on the left. Leaving the right of the the sleeping arrangements. The visitors are Marae for the new comers. to sleep on the right and the hosts are to Attending a Maori Tangi (funeral) is the most sleep on the left. classic example of how common it is for hundreds of people to gather within a 3 to 4 3. Do not sit on the pillows or put your feet on them. In most cases, these are from Maori day period. Not only does it show the dignity homes. and mana of the person who has died, but also gives the Marae the honour of hosting visitors 4. Jumping on the mattress may lead to stern from afar. I have watched thousands of growling from the elders if they are people come to the funeral and stay children and a more abusive vocal insult if throughout the 3 to 4 day period. During my adults do this. This is very uncommon. grandfather’s tangi, over 1000 people came each day. The powhiri ritual and the basic 5. Shoes must be taken off at the front door of the Marae, which is also to be expected in knowledge of understanding a Marae, all Maori homes. therefore, does not only maintain peace with Maori and Pacific Island Stories of Peace and Justice
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6. Eating and drinking inside the Whare 9. It must be said that there are certain Tipuna of the Marae is strictly forbidden. restrictions on how we eat food and where. The Whare Kai (dining hall) is reserved for First, it is an insult to refuse food by your eating purposes and is always open for host, even if it is not what you are use to. people to help themselves. It is usually The best policy is to eat what is possible on located behind the Whare Tipuna. This is the plate to save face and embarrassment. likewise for smoking. There are usually Sitting on the dining table, bench and any places out the back of the Marae that allow other area that is used to eat and cook food smoking. on is a definite insult and could result in a very vocal telling off from the cooks. 7. Do not walk in front of a speaker during either formal or informal speeches on the 10. Do not walk over people’s legs when Marae. This may result in a stern look from sitting down in the Marae as it is belittling the local people and a telling off. It is better the dignity and sacredness of the person to lower yourself below the height of the sitting. speaker to excuse yourself from the room. 11. Finally do not touch anyone on the head. 8. When living in the Marae do not hang The head is the most tapu (sacred) part of clothes or other personal items on the the human body. Touching people on the carvings or photos within the Marae. There head is an insult and will encourage ill are usually places where clothing can be feelings between the owner and hung up without covering the faces of perpetrator. ancestors in both the pictures and carvings. 10
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MAORI AND THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT The forest and the sea is also considered to Maori as a Marae in the philosophical, metaphorical, spiritual and practical essence and sense of an actual Marae. How we conduct ourselves in the sea and forest is dictated by how we carry ourselves in the forest or on the sea. As ancestral names are associated with the Marae so the same applies to the natural environment we live in. To have a better understanding of this the Maori creation story helps us understand who the important ancestors are to help maintain a peaceful balance between the physical and spiritual world of the Maori and subsequently everyone else. THE MAORI CREATION STORY, of each of the elements to which they were ascribed. Both personal spirituality and good communal intentions are the most important tools to have while treading in the natural environment of the forest and sea. This is also a must even when living in urban cities where globalisation has changed the dimensions of how we live. Respecting the spirituality of rooms, houses, buildings, and material items ensures a more peaceful life without being in conflict with both the natural and spiritual world that live in parallel with each other in everything and everyone. TANGAROA (TIPUNA –ANCESTOR OF THE SEA) RANGINUI (SKY FATHER) AND PAPATUANUKU * When fishing, prayers are said to express a (EARTH MOTHER) sense of respect to ‘Tangaroa’ god or ancestor Back in the mists of time Ranginui, the Sky of the sea. Many of the local fishermen still Father and Papatuanuku, the Earth Mother, practice this method in local fishing grounds. lay together in each other’s embrace. Their children, both female and male, were * Some of the local men will urinate in their conceived and held within their parent’s fishing basket on shore before setting off to embrace in complete darkness. Their children collect seafood. Women who have their ‘mate’ were gods or ancestors of the cosmos and (period) are restricted to go collecting seafood natural environment. Tangaroa, the god of because it will cause the fish to flee and attract the sea, Rongomaitane, the god of the sharks. cultivated food, and Haumiatikitiki, the god * Women who are hapu (pregnant) are also of wild foods, all tried to separate their restricted from collecting seafood because parents but failed. Tumatauenga, the god of their tapu is given added emphasis and war, almost succeeded but it was Tanemahuta collecting seafood or cultivating any food in the god of the forest who finality separated his this state can cause problems during her parents to allow light to come forth. Lying on pregnancy as she is respected and regarded as his back he used his legs to push his father to whare tapu. sky and his mother remained with her * When collecting seafood the first find is to children as Mother Earth. At the separation of be given back as an offering to ‘tangaroa’, this their parents, light and life sprung forth. This will then be rewarded with a larger amount of separation wasn’t approved by one of the seafood. children, Tawhirimatea, god of the winds and storms. Eventually each god or ancestor * Seafood harvested at specific seasons will became the cultivator, overseer, and mediator ensure that only the older and mature catches of seafood are available. It is not permitted to Maori and Pacific Island Stories of Peace and Justice
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fish in the off‐season, as this results in undersized seafood. Failure to follow these rules may result in a fine and confiscation of fishing rights by the MAF (Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry) as well as upsetting the tides of the sea, which could result in a very bad omen whilst at sea. * Seafood is not to be eaten at the shoreline of the beach, as it will insult ‘tangaroa’ and also result in another bad omen. * Swearing, screaming yelling, littering, and other bad vices within the sea could also result in the change of weather and something less fortunate for oneself or friends. * When removing rocks to look for seafood underneath, the rocks must be replaced as they were found. Moving the rock could disorient the fish and other creatures in the sea, potentially causing them to leave and not return in the following season. * In Aotearoa New Zealand whales are often washed ashore. Unfortunately, we are not always able to rescue all the whales, so they are usually buried by the local people. Should artisans skilled in whale bone carving request the jawbone of the whale they are to seek out a ‘tohunga’ local Priest skilled in mediating between the spiritual world to ask ‘tangaroa’ for this valued possession from the whale. 12
The bone of the whale is used for carving purposes, as gifts of honour like the pounamu (NZ Greenstone, Jade). * One of the most important rules to understand when cultivating and living as seafaring peoples is the Rahui. The Rahui means to put a state of tapu on the sea, giving further physical and spiritual restrictions on how we live and cultivate life on the sea. If the local elders, tohunga, or ministers put a Rahui on certain coastal areas, people are not allowed to cultivate, collect or fish for seafood. In some cases people are not allowed to go swimming, depending on the reasons of the Rahui. If the fish, crayfish or seashells are too small or slowly depleting, for example, a Rahui is placed on the sea to allow a regeneration of seafood for cultivating. If there is an accident in the sea that causes death, the people will put a Rahi on the sea to stop others from swimming in the waters until the body is found and the tangi (funeral ritual) has been completed. This practice is still implemented in the seas of Aotearoa New Zealand and part of the Ministry for Agriculture and Fisheries policies is to ensure safe environmental use of the sea using traditional Maori methods to ensure safe and good fishing practices. Daga Press 2003
When cutting down trees for carving purposes, food, or other uses for the (GUARDIAN ANCESTOR TANE) community, a prayer must always be said to This picture represents the Maori creation story seek ‘Tane Mahuta’s’ approval in cutting with the central figure Tane Mahuta (god and down one of his children. ancestor of the forest) separating his parents by pushing his feet to allow light and life to come * Finally, all cases that involve interaction with each other and the natural environment forth. require a sense of respect for people, animals, Tane is the ancestral guardian or god of the bugs, the natural elements and the spirit forest. His is the most important role in bringing world, which are all interconnected. Should life upon the world from within the forest and any of their ‘tapu’ sacredness be dishonoured the essential elements that sustain life for in any way, skilled tohunga, priests and animals and human. people who are gifted in things pertaining to Like his brother ‘Tangaroa’ we also have to tapu and the spirit world will give advice on travel with respect within the forest and the how to return the tapu. lands of other cultures and peoples. Animals, This is the same for all that we do with each birds, bugs, trees, sea, and people are all other in today’s society. This attitude towards interconnected through Tane Mahuta and further what we conceive to be tapu in any of life’s back to the cosmos. Respecting the life giving situations is not always there and is at most elements of Tane Mahuta ensures peace within times forgotten. External forces that go the community and the natural environment against the natural realm, globalisation, surrounding us. Again, the forest is like a Marae capitalism, deforestation, social and political and we must treat the forest and natural anarchy pushes what we once new as a surroundings as we would treat our Marae. peaceful community into chaos, leaving us to * Karakia are said again when travelling in the forget the natural and spiritual forest to collect material or just travelling interconnectedness that we once shared with through. Those with a developed sense of each other. spirituality will recognise what to touch and Nevertheless observing these intricate details what not to touch. Certain aspects of any forest of Maori life and life in general, will ensure require caution when travelling through. that peaceful communities will come to the Before European influences, Maori buried their fore and maintain a much healthier and stable ancestors in dense forests and a tree or stone society. was sometimes used as a burial marker. Many of our ancestors were hung and dried and then put into the hull of a tree to rest in peace. TE WAO NUI A TANE Maori and Pacific Island Stories of Peace and Justice
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INTERTRIBAL RELATIONS AND CONFLICT
Maori are intricately linked to each other not only through the spiritual, metaphysical, and cosmological creation of their livelihood since the beginning of creation, but are also through our tribal affiliations with each other according to whakapapa (genealogy), whenua (land), whaungatanga (alliances) and a shared history of struggle by internal and external influences such as intertribal and colonial warfare. An appreciation of this can be fully understood when two tribes come together to share their commonality. Some tribes in Aotearoa New Zealand have held secure and lasting relationships with each other whilst in other areas of Maoridom ill feelings still exist from the past. At a Marae visit within the tribes, therefore, tribal warfare stories are told during the whaikorero (formal speeches) to remind us all of our links with each other and past grievances. Grievances of the past help us gauge our present and future to ensure that we do not repeat our mistakes. An example of past tribal relationships involves the need for food and provisions as a means of help and supporting tribal relationships. This also brought the ability to trade and interact in good will. Although war was prevalent among Maori over power, control and land, somehow food seemed to be one of the passages that allowed a medium of good will. Two classic cases that I have heard from the local elders involve the stories of seafood exchanged for forest foods and root crops. Another story is the famine that existed in the Hauraki that resulted in the gifting of land to Ngati Porou. 14
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PEACEFUL EXCHANGE BETWEEN KAIMOANA (SEAFOOD) AND HUAWHENUA (FOREST FOODS) Maori on the coastal borders were skilled in harvesting and cultivating seafood. Maori would collect just enough seafood for themselves and their family. Alongside their cultivating process, they would also take enough for the inner tribal lands, who were unable to collect seafood but were experts in the agriculture of root plants and forest foods. They too would reciprocate this goodwill by giving the best of their land crops to the coastal tribes who again were unable to get various root crops and ferns for their daily provisions. An exchange of various types of food harboured not only the satisfaction of survival in the seasons when food was scarce, but it was an implicit means of implementing peace and goodwill between each other. In most cases, it also changed the social dynamics of the tribes concerned. Marriage, religion, land, provisions, valuable treasures, and pride played an important part in cross tribal interaction and relationships. The exchange of foods still exists in various parts of the country and can be found in a more rural setting when kaimoana (seafood) and Maori and Pacific Island Stories of Peace and Justice
huawhenua (land crops) are exchanged between tribes, families and friends. TRIBAL GOODWILL IN TIMES OF FAMINE AND DROUGHT The Mataora Land was gifted to the people of Ngati Porou from the Hauraki Tribes for their help in providing provisions of food and other goods during a time of famine as a result of intertribal wars. In return the chiefs of the Hauraki gave the people of Ngati Porou the land mass of the Mataora Blocks overlooking the sea and bay on the coast of Waihi south of Thames, along the Coromandel as a token for the support given. Therefore when travelling to the Hauraki tribes the people of Ngati Porou will continuously be reminded of the past in providing provisions for the local tribes. In Kennedy’s Bay at the heart of the Hauraki there is a Marae called Rakairoa that was opened and dedicated to the Ngati Porou subtribe located in Waipiro, Kie Kie, Aku Aku, Whareponga and inland – Te Whanau‐a‐
Rakairoa. History, whakapapa (genealogy) and story telling skills are an important tool when two tribes come together to meet for any occasion. This art is to keep us alive in the present, history and future. 15
Ngati Porou, and the Hauraki Tribes were causalities of the Nga Puhi raids leaving a AND NGATI POROU PEOPLES great loss and determination to rebuild their Nga Puhi is a tribe from the far north of the communities. After several raids by the Nga North Island, which is the biggest tribe North of Auckland, neighbouring the Te Rarawa, Te The places that endured much intertribal Aupouri, Ngati Whatua, Ngati Hine. Nga warfare are now tapu (sacred) places. It is Puhi has had a history of warfare and raids common for many Maori to wash their hands upon the Ngati Whatua, Whanau‐a‐Apanui, with water and sprinkle their heads when encountering such places. Many Maori will Ngati Porou and the many others that share a often avoid going into the dense marshlands bitter history with Nga Puhi. TRIBAL CONFLICT BETWEEN THE NGA PUHI It should be said at this point that each tribe is very distinct. Besides dialect differences in the language, the customs of each tribe and their Marae Protocol differ throughout the country. Marae Protocol, language, personalities, attitudes, spirituality and folklore and law are a minute aspect of our differences. Nga Puhi inflicted continuous raids upon the central and eastern tribes securing women, materials, and land, and possible slaves to take back when they returned home. Their slaughter also acquired the prized possession of head hunting chiefs and people of high status and rank. Hunting and eating the heads were seen as the final ritual of war and done to absorb the mana (spiritual power) of the person. Cannibalism was only practised when certain people of high status and rank were killed. 17
and coastal areas that once harboured violence and warfare.
Puhi, Ngati Porou was at a greater loss when the missionaries and British soldiers arrived. Nga Puh, being the northern point of the country, came into contact with the missionaries and British soldiers at various times. Within the undercurrents of their arrival more problems arose for Maori such as sexually transmitted disease, measles, small pox and other sicknesses as well as alcoholism, resulting in the loss of land. Muskets were also introduced to the Northern Maori, which the rest of Maori society had never before encountered. When the Nga Puhi raids came upon the Ngati Porou peoples, they were therefore at a disadvantage because of the muskets sold to Nga Puhi by business entrepreneurs disguised as missionaries preaching the Gospel of Christ. Daga Press 2003
MAORI AND ISSUES OF TODAY
PEACE AND RECONCILIATION tribes. Maori were already being swallowed up by British colonialism, highlighting the fact that intertribal fighting gave the Pakeha (White Man) the advantage of assuming control over the lands. As a part of the reconciliation process the Nga Puhi peoples offered intermarriage with the women of Ngati Porou. Whether this was affective is something that time can only tell. Nevertheless, the past stories are continually revived to remind us of how infallible we are if we don’t truly look to harbouring a better relationship with each other. AMONG THE TRIBES The long history of tribal warfare has not been forgotten among Maori in today’s societies. Whenever the opportunity arises Maori will take the chance to rekindle these horror stories of warfare when visiting each other. During the whaikorero (formal speech) the speaker will recite these stories to remind the people and tribes of their history and the possibility of reconciliation. A thin line of peace may still be tread when visiting a Maori whose tribe has either participated in or become the The relationship between Nga Puhi and Ngati causality of wars from the past. Porou is somewhat different from the days of The hate attitudes are still as prevalent among old. Although the war has ended, the Maori today as they were in the past. We are attitudes toward each other are still prevalent constantly reminded of the atrocities that we when snide remarks are made to each other have inflicted upon each other. Nevertheless over certain issues pertaining to tribal many of us from Ngati Porou continue to gatherings. Maori still The assimilated harbour ill will towards the Nga Puhi peoples. harbour certain model of the British The reconciliation process of both Ngati Porou prejudices toward each Colonial Family: and Nga Puhi was something that many tribes other when traditions, were known to do to keep the peace between characteristics, and 0 PAKEHA FATHER each tribe, encouraging alliances by marriage attitudes are used to Pakeha Mother to compare the rights and Tribal Peace & Reconciliation. usually Pakeha Children chiefly families. wrongs between each 0 MAORI FATHER • Intermarriage This practice other. I have personal Maori Mother • Exchange of gifts was something experience with this, as Maori Children • Exchange of foods that all cultures, my parents come from • Reconciliation by having a even the Royal both tribes – my father (The Maori Father is Hui (meetings) seeking Families of from Nga Puhi and my to live according to peace England, would mother from Ngati the standards of the • Karakia (prayers) by skilled do to ensure Porou, and my only Pakeha Father, tohunga, priest seeking diplomatic ties affiliation is based on making sure his wife divine intervention and peaceful my Ngati Poroutanga and family followed • Recognition of signs of alliances and the history that I the same model.) nature and the environment between each have grown up with. other. I have been told that during the early OUR BICULTURAL JOURNEY 1920s, the first Maori Member of Parliament, The Maori population was at a serious decline Sir Apirana Ngata from Ngati Porou, wanted during the climax of British colonialism in the to seek some reconciliation between the two 1800s, and 1900s. Although we are only five 17
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hundred thousand out of three million people today this is a more positive rate to that of the 1920s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s, where the population had decreased by two hundred thousand. The education system prevented Maori from speaking their own language, and did its best to assimilate Maori into the Pakeha (White Men) world. This assimilation, of course, was not only in the education system but also in the mainstream lifestyle of how citizens of Aotearoa New Zealand should live. Therefore the social and (whanau) family structure of Maori people was modelled on the nucleus of British, European family structure, which caused problems among Maori. This structure continues to impact the lives of Maori today, although we are now gradually peeling away our colonialist past and attitudes. Today Maori people are more self‐
reliant and do not act a subservient role to Iwi (Tribe), Hapu (Subtribe), Whanau (Family) Kaumatua (elders); Kuia (elder women); Pakeke (Adults); Rangatahi (Youth); Mokopuna (Children) [gender distinction was never asserted to any particular sex, their role as provider to the Maori tribal structure was more important.] Pakeha and their colonial Past. Many Pakeha people are also more in tune and recognise the rise of Maori reclaiming their ‘Tino Rangatiratanga’ (Sovereignty), although the fusion of the two peoples hasn’t come about as 18
easily as we would have liked. According to some of our elders, we Maori cannot discriminate Pakeha, as we would be belittling our own mana and ourselves. There are no more full blooded Maori and many of us have Pakeha ancestry to Britain, Ireland, Scotland and other parts of Europe. To have a true ‘Bi‐
cultural’ understanding is a journey of peace for both Maori and Pakeha. The Treaty of Waitangi in its original and overall entirety must be the basis of all that we do in Aotearoa New Zealand. Maori are in the process of de‐colonisation although some Maori critics say this should have happened long ago. In a more democratic society, the power of mainstream government still dictates how we should implement Maori sovereignty within the mainstream systems of Aotearoa New Zealand. This is not satisfactory to Maori, and Maori groupings have recently revived several political organisations as a means of reinstating ‘Tino Rangatiratanga’ (total Maori Sovereignty) in all aspects of life in Aotearoa New Zealand, ‘Te Kotangitanga’ (Maori Parliament), and ‘Kohuiarau’ (who also claimed another form of Maori Parliament). Although the latter’s attempt failed to resurrect Maori Sovereignty is an example of how Maori are still struggling to establish ‘Tino Rangatiratanga’ in a country where policies to encourage economic growth are more important than the recognition of a people and their spiritual connection to the land. MAORI WOMEN ARE RECLAIMING THEIR MANA FROM ABUSE AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE Without putting words in the plight of many Maori women the struggle for peace at home is something like a myth in which domestic violence is the only means of survival. Several generations of Maori have grown up in single parent families because the father has usually Daga Press 2003
drifted in and out of the lives of the child without any real commitment or acknowledgement to the responsibilities to their children. Alcoholism heavily affected Maori who were disenfranchised from their turanga or whenua (place of belonging, their spiritual and ancestral roots). Maori men who had become the breadwinners in their families struggled to meet the standards of their Pakeha counterparts who were also harbouring very macho and patriarchal attitudes within their families. Alcoholism and domestic violence proved the only way to vent the anger and frustration of trying to meet the standards of colonial expectations. In the early 1900s, Maori men were expected to fight for God, Queen and for Country during World War I and II, as well as the subsequent wars thereafter; Vietnam, Korean War and more recently in implementing peace in East Timor, Bosnia and parts of Africa. The fusion of war, alcohol, loss of land and colonial expectations did not mean that this would result in healthy stable families; it meant that the violence came home! Many of the Maori men who didn’t go to war or join the army fought their own war in the urban cities struggling to find work to support the family. Therefore what seemed as the happy traditional Maori family wedding in a picturesque Marae resulted in domestic violence and the quelling of voices among the vulnerable in the families; the women and children. This is an all too common feature for Maori children of the 70s, 80s, 90s and in the 21st century, and many Maori remember the beatings they would endure as kids as far back as the 1920s at the peak of colonial assimilation. P
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To seek any reconciliation the model of Maori families needs to be understood, analysed and resurrected to ensure a safe ground as a forefront to present an arena for peace and justice. Social analysis of Maori societies in its Maori and Pacific Island Stories of Peace and Justice
holistic entirety is a must. One method is to resurrect the pre‐colonial methods of sustaining healthy families. The revival of the language, returning of lands or full compensation, the implementing of education programmes focused on a more healthier model of Maori life and the most difficult, the change of attitudes, from both Maori and Domestic violence requires further analysis and study, something I cannot do in this dossier, but would encourage further study and reading to those interested in learning more about intricate levels and dimensions of this unfortunate problem in any community. Stephanie Milroy gives a foundation into reading and bibliographical references of research issues pertaining to Maori Women and Domestic Violence: “The Maori Women and Domestic Violence: the Methodology of Research and the Maori Perspective”: http://www.waikato.ac.nz/law/wlr/special_199
6/2_milroy.html
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Also see the web page ‘Justice the experiences of Maori Women, Te Tikanga o te Ture, te Matauranga o nga Wahine Maori’: http://www.lawcom.govt.nz/documents/public
ations/R53.pdf
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Pakeha. This is what is called a bicultural journey, although easy enough in name and theory, the practice is a long way from being a reality. The movie ‘Once Were Warriors’ is a depiction of a dysfunctional family as a result of what I have highlighted. Beth’s (wife of Jake) move to rescue her whanau (family) from further destruction and return them back to the life on the Family Marae is not only a move to provide healing and sustenance for her and the children. It is a reclaiming of a spirit and culture that was beaten out of her, reclaiming herself as a warrior and proud people ‐ fighting for self‐determination justice and peace. 19
It is very difficult to point out the right way of reconciliation for Maori women, children and men who have suffered years of domestic violence by their husbands, wives, spouses or partners. Their stories and methods of seeking reconciliation and justice can only be done in an individualized time frame to allow for safe guidance in ensuring their mana and tapu has been restored and remains intact at all times. Domestic violence is intricate and carries various levels and dimensions to its existence in Maori society and society in general. Domestic violence transcends culture, religion, politics and class and the perpetrator can derive from any gender coated with a wide range of motives. Those who experience domestic violence are constantly reminded who is in control of their lives and fate, and how they should model their behaviour according to the control patterns of the perpetrator. This is just one aspect of the thousands of dimensions and aspects of domestic violence. As mentioned many times, the Marae spiritual and healing ground where our self‐
determination, identity and fight for peace and justice can stem from in a more embodied manner when Maori are in the more secular world. Nevertheless, Maori women today are still the victims of domestic violence. The deconstruction of a patriarchal society means to also challenge cultural norms that Maori have implemented within their tribal societies. This brings to the fore the life of Maori families who feel that because the men are the only people allowed speak on the Marae and embody themselves in a state of tapu, the women are to play a subservient and submissive role to their husbands. This mindset is also reflected in their religious and spiritual lives and in the spiritual institutions that many churches have established. Therefore the decentralisation of power and gender roles is essential to reconciling a dismembered Maori family from violence. This is easy enough to say but practicality is a true marker of making this happen. Nuclear Family Model Understanding the Family Structure The difficulty in understanding each other meant a struggle to understand two different cultures. Although Maori found it difficult to work in the colonial nuclear family structure, this does not mean that abuse did not exist in the Maori model of families. Addressing abuse in the Maori (The Maori Father is to live whanau structure meant that accordingly to the standards of the both the Marae and whanau Pakeha Father, making sure his needed to address this issue. wife and family followed the same The circular model is by far the model.) best model to the modern family of Aotearoa New Zealand. The assimilated model of the British Colonial Family: * PAKEHA FATHER Pakeha Mother Pakeha Children * MAORI FATHER Maori Mother Maori Children The Whanau/Family Model
A true Bicultural Journey Maori & Pakeha Whanau Iwi (Tribe); Hapu (Sub‐tribe) Kaumatua & Kuia (elders) Pakeke (Adults) Tamariki, mokopuna (children) [note: no distinction of gender] Although the circular model is what we would like, the cessation of domestic violence goes deeper into the hearts and minds of those who are affected by this. Both Maori Men and Women need to reconcile with themselves and the actual issues that underlie domestic violence. The staunch macho attitude embedded in today’s mainstream society dominates the very core of our mentality, perpetuating the abusive streak among some Maori. Alcohol, drugs, and unemployment are all heightened when other mediums of violence are used to validate how men and women should behave in the patriarchal conservative sense. Reconciling ourselves with this violence comes if we are true and committed to establishing it. 20
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MAORI RESTORATIVE JUSTICE USING THE MARAE JUSTICE SYSTEM Reconciliation and peace cannot happen without Restorative justice is a process justice. Justice, that aims to put things right according to a for the people who have been more realistic, victims of offences. It does practical, holistic this through a meeting approach that between the victim and Maori once knew, offender called a restorative is go back to using justice conference. At a the Marae to seek conference: restoration of a • Victims can have a say tapu that has been and focus on their needs • Offenders can say what broken. Returning they have done and take to the Tribal Marae responsibility for putting is just the things right beginning of Conferences are private and reconciliation. safe, and run by trained What should facilitators. follow is skilled Both Victims and offenders and safe facilitation are encouraged to have in order to create support people with them. an arena for The conference is voluntary. dialogue, as well as It will take place only if the victim and the offender agree working out to participate. methods of seeking http://www.courts.govt.nz/cr
justice. This rj method has already been enacted in parts of Aotearoa New Zealand’s justice system thus recognising that the current court system to punish perpetrators of criminal offences only creates more violent men and women when they are placed back into society. The Maori restorative justice system is a model that calls for the perpetrators of certain offences to return back to their local Marae and face the whakama (shame) of the crime they have committed. What is Restorative Justice? The shame they encounter is elevated when the perpetrator is not defined as an individual but also as a member of his tribe. The tribe Maori and Pacific Island Stories of Peace and Justice
and local community also suffer the state of shame that has clouded over them from the crime committed. It must be understood that the shame of one Maori person also means the shame upon his family and tribe. Seeking some reconciliation means that a certain punishment needs to be agreed upon, to restore the tapu of the victim or victims, but also to travel on a journey to rebuild the tapu of the person who has committed the crime. THE MARAE AND THE PEACEMAKING CIRCLE The Maori Restorative Justice system is based on the justice‐seeking model of peaceful living on a Marae. The formalities of a sacred space are brought to the fore when both the person who has done the crime and the victim are brought together to meet under a secure and safe environment. Sometimes, the act of coming onto the Marae initially means everyone in the local community is given the right to come; so local elders and justice department are able to facilitate a more succinct and controlled environment to enable dialogue. What is taken for granted in this process is that the symbolism needed to ensure the practical and reality of the gathering is upheld without disruption. Of course, this kind of justice systems has to be agreed upon by both parties with the facilitation of both the Marae elders and the justice department. The circular movements, when bringing such a case onto the Marae, requires that the circular motion of the Marae must carry on to enable the true Mana and Tapu of the Marae to come to the fore. Family Group Conferencing is rooted in Maori culture in New Zealand where, like in other parts of the world, the indigenous population is over represented in the court and prison system. The Maori concept directly involves the offenderʹs family in the process of holding the offender accountable, in teaching individual responsibility and in addressing the harm done. It was introduced to the juvenile justice system in New Zealand as an alternative to youth court and later expanded to Australia North America and other countries
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Peacemaking Circles These circles rooted in Aboriginal experience and tradition, are based on the belief that the primary responsibility for addressing the problems of crime lies in the community and not just with those directly impacted by the crime and their immediate families. Peacemaking circles, be they healing circles or community circles or sentencing circles, also have at their core, the belief that it is important to address not only the presenting criminal problem but also to build community. These circles try to uncover the underlying problems, and restore balance where possible. A good source for models from Aotearoa and Indigenous Cultural frameworks is the Canadian Annotated Bibliography on Restorative Justice: http://www.csc‐scc.gc.ca/text/rsrch/briefs/b28/b28_e.pdf. HTU
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PART 2: PACIFIC ISLAND STORIES OF JUSTPEACE
The rich stories that belong to the peoples of the oceanic continent demonstrate to the rest of the world that we didn’t just arrive at this present day without a fusion of valid stories and traditions coming together to help us live in harmony with nature and with each other. It is the hope that the traditional stories fused in symbolism, ritual, music, and oral narratives will help to empower communities to resurrect and find new life‐giving methods of ensuring a peaceful community when in conflicting situations. Hemisphere and including all of those islands in the Pacific that are collectively referred to as Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia, Australia and New Zealand. Although the Pacific Ocean makes up nearly one‐third of the Earthʹs surface, the Pacific Islands add up to a little less than 500,000 square miles (1,300,000 square kilometres) of land area divided among more than 10,000 scattered islands (Fiji, Solomon’s, Vanuatu, Samoa, Tonga, Cook Islands). Papua New Guinea (eastern part of the island of New Guinea) has a total area of Although this part of the dossier is focused on 462,960 square kilometres. The Pacific Islands lie the Oceanic cultures, I have chosen only a few mainly in the area bounded by latitudes 23º N stories from various parts of the Pacific to and 27º S and longitudes 130º E and 125º W. highlight how they have followed ancient Australia is a compact tropical and near‐tropical customs to ensure a more peaceful community. continent, bounded to the north‐west by the A larger book that comprises Oceanic stories of Timor and the Arafura seas and located between Peace and Justice needs to be researched and latitudes 10º41ʹ S and 43º39ʹ S. No major arms or written to illustrate the plethora of stories in the embayment of the sea penetrate far into the Oceanic world of the Pacific continent, with the landmass. New Zealand, which lies in the emphasis on justice and peace. This dossier is southern Temperate Zone, stands in isolation at unique in its hopes to revive and stimulate longitude 109º W, almost halfway to South dialogue and story‐gathering from grassroots America, and has a land area of 270,500 square people and organisations that are committed to kilometres. The principal features of Oceaniaʹs community building using just‐peace methods climate stem from its position, shape, and size as the foundation of these communities. form to rainfall patterns, air circulation DEMOGRAPHIC SUMMARY OF THE PACIFIC (monsoon) and distance from the sea. ISLAND PEOPLES [http://www.globalgeografia.com/oceania_eng/oce
Oceania is the smallest continent, lying between ania.htm] the Pacific and Indian oceans in the Southern 22
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OCEANIA DEMOGRAPHIC STATISTICS ANNUAL COUNTRY Australia Fiji Kiribati Micronesia Nauru New Zealand Papua New Guinea Samoa Solomon Islands Tonga Tuvalu Vanuatu LIFE EXPECTANCY AT DEATH RATE BIRTH (1 0 0 0 ) M F POPULATION BIRTH RATE (1 0 0 0 ) (% ) 1,1 1,7 2,0 2,2 1,3 1,2 19,546,792 856,346 96,335 135,869 12,329 3,908,037 14,1 23,0 31,0 28,0 18,8 16,3 6,9 6,0 11,0 6,0 4,5 7,9 75 64 62 66 64 73 81 68 67 70 69 79 2,3 5,049,055 32,4 10,0 57 59 1,0 3,7 0,6 1,6 2,5 67,084 480,442 104,227 11,146 196,178 26,7 36,2 27,0 27,0 33,0 6,0 4,1 5,8 9,0 6,2 67 69 68 64 65 71 74 72 70 69 POPULATION GROWTH RATE According to the 2002 statistics of studies and fact finders of ‘World Alamanac’ aneki.com the Oceanic population makes up 43% of the worlds population. Many of the Oceanic peoples over time have migrated to other parts of the Pacific Continent, mainly to Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia. Auckland City is the biggest Polynesian City in the world, comprising 6% of the population. The Asian migration is also at 6%. Over the past decade, Aotearoa New Zealand has seen a growth in the population with the migration of peoples from the Pacific Islands and Asia. The future of Oceania depends on the lives of those who inhabited this continent; issues of nuclear testing, colonisation and neo‐colonisation, depletion of mineral resources, migratory movements for a better life, will have an impact on the resources of Oceania to better sustain the lives of those who inhabit the Pacific Ocean. Maori and Pacific Island Stories of Peace and Justice
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CULTURAL PRACTICES TO ENSURE A
HARMONIOUS COMMUNITY
THE TRADITIONAL AND MEDICINAL USE OF appropriation of kava and its use in foreign cultures. KAVA, AVA, YAGONA Kava is a root drink from the kava root plant (Piper methysticum). The royal families, noblemen, and locals used this drink as a means of relaxation, community gatherings, formal ceremonies and informal meetings. It is a drink that, depending on each cultural setting, is used commonly to bring communities together to create a sense of peace. Kava continues to play a key role in Fijian, Samoan, Tongan, Hawaiian and Melanesian societies where it is drunk in ceremonies meant to honour visitors, unite participants and consolidate their social identities. When the Europeans first made contact with the Pacific islands in the early 18th century, they found that kava played a central role in the islanders’ religious, political and social life: The natives chewed or pounded the root and mixed it with water to produce a brownish, often bitter brew, which they then consumed for its psychoactive properties (Lebot, 1992: 1). A number of writers and scholars have since described this plant and its properties, giving various theories of origin and explanations of use. Many writings examining the cultural role of kava raise questions such as how kava is affected by the introduction and use of alcohol, the commercialisation and 24
Kava is so prevalent in Oceania that it can be seen as the one item in the Pacific peoples’ material culture that connects them across thousands of ocean miles. It is thought to have a similar sociological role to peyote in many Native American tribes, opium in the Middle East and Asia, and the chewing of coca leaves in Peru. Although the use of kava has lessened due to missionary prohibitions and introduction of alcohol, which was non‐
existent in Oceania prior to first contact, kava is still consumed today, most especially in Western Polynesia in both formal and informal ceremonies. There is a growing interest in kava due to political independence and renewed concern for ethnic traditions, which had been clamped down by missionaries and colonisation. The kava drink still holds an important position and continues to function as a social beverage, as a medicine for various ailments, and as a soothing relaxant in the Pacific Islands. [source: http://kavaroot.com/aboutkava_frames.htm] HTU
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honoured visitors. But drinking kava is not TRADITIONAL PURPOSES OF KAVA CEREMONY
the only way for relationships to be cemented. • Kava can be found in Sometimes, recreational and social Helpful web pages that discuss Kava presenting gatherings. It has been ceremonies: others with a used as a social drink A KAVA Ceremony in Tonga kava root is a for high‐ranking http://kavaroot.com/Folklore/ceremony/cerem
sign of welcome chiefs and elders, ony_Tonga.htm
and peace. drank as a form of Informal Kava drinking in Tonga T
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welcome for honoured guests, consumed for preparation and completion of an event or of work, to validate status, observe births, marriages and deaths, remedy illnesses etc. http://kavaroot.com/Geography/Tonga/Feldm
anTonga.html
Drinking Kava among the Samoans. http://kavaroot.com/Geography/Samoa/Percy
SmithSamoa.htm
Traditional courtship in Tonga http://www8.plala.or.jp/oiaue/Tonga/court.ht
ml
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to relieve stress, • In Hawaii, kava is drunk during divination ceremonies, naming of children aged one, the consecrating of a male child, or initiating young girls into traditional hula and chanting. Attending a Kava ceremony, be it formal or informal, allows newcomers to take part in a true sense of community from a Pacific Peoples perspective. This picture is the Tongan Fai Kava ceremony where the women are assigned the role of mixing and serving the Kava to all who attend. Her role is as important as the Kava in generating goodwill and a sense of community. • In Tikopia, it affirms sacred symbols and can be used as a religious libation and poured onto the ground instead of drunk. It is drunk in kinship and chief‐ship rituals, for public atonement of misdeeds. Many people were pardoned for their crimes after a kava ceremony. • Sharing a kava bowl fosters socialisation and friendship. Fears are allayed and friendships cemented. • On Wallis Island, official decisions are made during the kava ceremony, and enemies are reconciled and goodwill is restored. Those who committed the crimes are often allowed to go free, thanks to the kava ceremony. • Kava has a key role in social ceremonies. It is usually the only way to welcome Maori and Pacific Island Stories of Peace and Justice
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Hawaiian Chant when Awa (kava) was offered to the Gods
Here is 'awa from me, Awini,
A fisherman am I
Of the inaccessible cliffs
Of greater Laupahoehoe and lesser Laupahoehoe,
A plant set out by Kane and Kanaloa,
My gods of the heavens above and the heavens below,
The 'awa popolo of Kane, that existed above,
Grew above, leafed above, ripened above.
It was seized by Makali'i and hung on high.
The rat ascended and chewed the rope that held it.
Down it fell, multiplied and spread over the earth.
The birds carries some up into the trees,
The 'awa hiwa and the makea (varieties) came down,
A pair were they.
The dark papa and the light papa,
A pair were they.
The mo'i and the mokihana,
A pair were they.
The nene and the ka-wai-maka-a-ka-manu,
A pair were they.
The 'awa of Kane is mixed with water,
The 'awa is drunk, fish is eaten for an aftertaste.
This is your offspring, Hanoalele,
Amama, it is freed, it has flown.
[source: http://kavaroot.com/Folklore/ceremony/HawaiiChant.htm]
THE SAMOAN PRACTICE OF ‘IFOGA’ TO SEEK RECONCILIATION WHEN A SERIOUS CRIME IS COMMITTED Ifoga is the Samoan practice of showing remorse, in which the family of a wrongdoer asks for forgiveness from a victim’s family for a serious crime that has been committed, like murder. In this practice, members of the family of the wrongdoer go over to the family of a victim and sit outside their house with Samoan fine mats over their heads and waiting to see if the victim’s family will accept them. This is a matter of life and death, as the wrongdoer’s family members are putting their lives on the line to seek forgiveness. Two 26
things can happen: either the victim’s family accepts the apology or they will come out and kill them on the spot. In the olden days, the wrongdoer’s family would take firewood and umu (Samoan oven, imu in Hawaiian) stones along with them, as a symbol of death. They put the firewood and stones in front of the victim’s house to show the family of the victim that they are willing to die for one of their family member’s crime. They would sit outside in the sun or rain for as long as it took the victim’s family to deliberate and decide whether or not to forgive the wrongdoer’s family. Daga Press 2003
If the family of the victim accepted the ifoga the Talking Chief of the victim’s family would come out, give the acceptance speech and invite the wrongdoer’s family inside the house. In the olden days, the wrongdoer’s family, as a form of retribution, would present the fine mats that they had used to cover themselves along with other gifts that are of the highest value in the Samoan culture to the victim’s family. Nowadays, the wrongdoer’s family will even offer to pay for the funeral of the victim. Stories of the Ifoga: http://www.merriewood.com/pacific/caen.html
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http://www.courts.govt.nz/publications/restorati
ve_justice.pdf
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Before the western form of judicial system was established in Samoa, ifoga was the traditional system of settling serious crimes between families and even villages. Unlike the former, which required punishment for the person responsible for the serious crime, the Samoan ifoga can put a hold on ill feelings between families. Of course, the family of the wrongdoer will turn around and disgrace their family. The wrongdoer will be made to kneel in front of the whole family and apologise for what he or she had done. The Matai’s (titles head of a family) will lecture the wrongdoer about family honour and the disgrace that has overcome their family and so forth and to make sure that nothing happens again. In Samoa, the ifoga is still practised and revered to this day. The western judicial system will still carry out its course and the wrongdoer will be prosecuted with the necessary punishment applied even if an ifoga was done and accepted. Ifoga is a system based on respect and it still serves its traditional purpose of asking for forgiveness from a victim’s family. Maori and Pacific Island Stories of Peace and Justice
[source: ‘Understanding the Samoan Culture’ http://samoanserviceproviders.com/IntroPage/UNDER
S_1/unders_1.HTM] HTU
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SEEKING PEACE IN BOUGAINVILLE 1998 PEACE AND RECONCILIATION ʹBefore the crisis, Iʹd never killed a man, but when members of my family were killed I had to fight back. Then I had to kill people, but it was hard because we are the same skin.ʹ To end the continuing grief and mistrust, Bougainvilleans have been engaging in a series of reconciliation rituals. During these highly orchestrated events, people who have sometimes committed devastating acts of violence against one another, come together to say they are sorry. ʹWe wait a long time for this ceremony, since the cease‐fire. Weʹve been thinking this must happen. Slowly, slowly weʹve been talking. Now weʹre ready. We had a heavy heart, now we want peace, light heart.ʹ For the former militiaman the pathway to peace began in the west coast village of Hahon. The reconciliation ceremony began just before midday, with Justin and other former resistance fighters standing on one side of an open field preparing to meet former members of ʹthe enemyʹ, the Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA). ʹThings come up, memories of the crisis, and make me sad or angry. Now we must lose this feeling.ʹ The ceremony begins with the old women at the front of the bamboo ʹboatʹ waving their spears and dancing forward. Behind them, the elders ʹrowʹ their paddles though the air, symbolically propelling the group toward a small ceremonial hut. On the opposite side of the field, the other group also moves forward. When the two groups meet in the middle of the field, pigs, betel nut and other gifts are swapped. Food wrapped in palm leaves is 27
distributed, symbolising a new found trust; fighting. In the other, ex‐combatants hand a with food again able to be shared without fear large stone to the elders of both groups. The of poisoning. stone, representing the power seized by the Men from both groups also chew betel nut young men during the war, is given back to and spit their reddened saliva into a specially the elders, and buried in a hole in the ground, setting off a tangible wave of relief through dug hole. Their spit represents the blood spilt the crowd. Former enemies shake hands. on both sides ‐ the hole is covered over. People weep and embrace. The ceremony gradually builds toward two [source: significant events. In one, former fighters raise http://www.abc.net.au/ra/pacific/people/reconcilia
their bows and arrows above their heads, and tion.htm] snap them in two ‐ a gesture of peace, symbolising a commitment to end the HTU
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THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HULA DANCE FROM HAWAII King Kalakaua said:”The hula is the heartbeat of the Hawaiian people.” [quote: http://www.kaimi.org/history_of_hula.htm] HTU
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Colonisation in the Pacific has caused the demise of cultural philosophies and practices romanticised and demonised by American and British misconceptions of Pacific culture. The Hula dance from Hawaii, Tahiti and the Cook Islands has been one example of their misconceptions, as they portray pictures of slim sleek women offering themselves to western men by inciting them into their hypnotic dance routine and sexuality. Now, however, we are in the process of telling our true stories in their true capacity. In a real sense, the Hula dance from Hawaii represents many dances as a means to tell stories, to ensure a link to the spirit world and to embody a state of harmony between the worlds of nature and the spirit as well as each other. practice. Teachers and students were dedicated to Laka, goddess of the hula, and appropriate offerings were made regularly. American Protestant missionaries who arrived in 1820 introduced Christianity and prevailing Western values. With the support of converted high‐ranking chiefs, they denounced and banned the hula as heathen. Declining numbers of hula practitioners therefore taught and performed clandestinely through the mid‐nineteenth century.” [Source: http://www.paulwaters.com/hulaenc.htm] The dance of the ‘Hula’ is a lifestyle that is embedded within a philosophy that enables people to take pride in their culture as Hawaiians. It is a dance that combines language, medicine, science, art, and crafts, using Hula as a way of expressing the poetry, drama and spirituality of the Hawaiian aho (lifeline). The language and dance of the hula is done in chant, poetry and illustrates the stories of people whose everyday realities are based on living in the natural and spiritual “In the pre‐European period, hula was closely worlds. related to religious practices. Extant dances “True hula is a positive, life‐giving force that accompanied by the pahu (sharkskin‐covered log transcends the performer and the observer drum, used in temple ceremonies) appear to be the through time and space into a state of well‐
most sacred, dedicated to the gods. As late as the being. It allows the unification of mind, body early twentieth century, ritual and prayer and spirit; the domestication and taming of surrounded all aspects of hula training and 28
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Kaua`i in 1778, discovering for the Euro‐
American Civilisation this last outpost of Oceanic Islands. With the arrival of Western ideals in the islands, the dynasties of the Hawaiian kings alternately cherished or crippled the indigenous culture. Western ideals flourished alongside the people’s growing impatience with kapu and restrictions of the ancient religion. one’s self with spiritual understanding, which leads to truth and creativity. With the practice of hula, the development of aloha (love and compassion), mahalo (respect), kupono (honesty), kuleana (responsibility), of malama and kokua (care and help), ha`aha`a (humility), hu`eu (humor), as well as malu (strength), ahonui (patience), mahao`o (wisdom) and `oia`i`o (truth) is encouraged. The Hula transcends the lives of the community to keep in touch with both harmony and peac, to intercede to the Gods for divine guidance and sustenance for the Hawaiian communities. A brief understanding of the history of the Hula helps us appreciate the context in which the hula is performed. Hawaiian hula went underground. Dancers glorified the gods and entertained friends and families in remote sections of the islands. Kumu (teacher) instructed and haumana (student) performed, but in secret. Once suppressed, hula became a titillating idea that the more enterprising white entrepreneurs exploited. They presented exotic dances surreptitiously for seamen’s amusement. The Hawaiians were delighted to take part, since to them all hula had equal importance. It was at this point that hula began to accumulate its forlorn reputation of exotic and/or bawdy entertainment for sailors and tourists…… “Hula was part of the Polynesian culture. Stories about the gods, and historical events were passed on in the oral tradition by oli (chants) and mele (songs accompanied by music and dance). The apo (male or female chanter) was able to recall and repeat chants for hours without error. In this way, sacred lore passed from one generation to the next. Oli and mele were similar to modern poetry; they utilised interior rhyme, hidden meanings, multileveled symbolism, unifying repetition, anger, embarrassment, joy, grief, honour – and humour. ……..Meanwhile, the kumu guarded lore, chants and movements of the sacred hula and transmitted them to the haumana. In the twentieth century, young women and men continued to be trained in the secrets of the traditional hula, instilling the value of tradition. The Hula will not become lost.” Dances were an integral part of the culture [source: http://www.kaimi.org/history_of_hula.htm]
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PART 3: TRANSCENDING GENDER IN THE
PACIFIC CULTURE FOR A PEACEFUL COMMUNITY
The stories of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and transvestite peoples in the Polynesian, Micronesia, Melanesian, Australia, and Asian continents have gradually eroded in time due to external factors of colonialism, individuality, western imperialism, and religious fundamentalism. Sadly the stories that have been told are coated in phobic statements from society and religious institutions fuelling the misrepresented portrayal of peoples whose lives were once interconnected with every day society. Although many cultures have now denied their past roots to accommodate a more modern, nuclear family, and materialistic lifestyle, the stories of the past have a way of reviving themselves. community and society, within our own cultural context. The historical stories of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people is very difficult to find as there is not a lot of literature that has been written to document the spiritual lives that these people once possessed with the community. Nevertheless, the stories of current times help us reflect on the stories of the past, allowing us to rediscover and reinterpret what has been lost. Terms of (Third Gender) peoples of the Pacific. Fa’afafine (male brought up in Samoa to live as a woman) Fakaleiti (Tongan, to be lady like) Mahu (Tahitian, Hawaiian, male brought up to live as a woman) Takatapui (recently coined in Maoridom to represent: gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender) This section of the dossier has been created to help revive the stories of the Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual, Transgender peoples in the Asian and Pacific regions. People will hopefully understand that within Asia and the Pacific, gay, lesbian, bisexual and Note: Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender transgender peoples were known to be some peoples of the pacific identify themselves in many of the most important people within the ways and with a plethora of names therefore this indigenous cultures as they can travel through is just a small example of names that associate the natural and spirit world. Their stories queer people of Oceania. Finally, gay, lesbian, bi reflect the similarities to that of the native and trans people use ʹqueerʹ as a positive American Peoples and the First Nation terminology as a means of reclaiming back the Peoples known as ‘Two Spirit’ who played an negative terms associated to our gender active role in the life of the community differences. through their prophetic skills of divination to ensure a more holistic and harmonic THE STORIES OF THE MULTI‐GENDER PEOPLE community. Unfortunately, their stories have OF THE PACIFIC also eroded over time. In Samoa, it is often said, ʺthe most beautiful Hopefully, the ancient prophetic skills of women are men.ʺ Paul Miles queer indigenous peoples in the Asia and In the Samoan Culture, Fa’afafine means to be Pacific can be revived as another model to women‐like in dress and persona and ensure a more holistic and peaceful characteristics within the community. Therefore it is not unusual to find families Maori and Pacific Island Stories of Peace and Justice
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whose son is raised as a girl in all aspects of dress, work and expectations within the community. When European missionaries first arrived in the Pacific, it was a big cultural shock to see men dressed as women, performing the caring duties of providing for the family and community. “Samoaʹs social acceptance of faʹafafine has evolved from the tradition of raising some boys as girls. These boys were not necessarily homosexual, or noticeably effeminate, and they may never have felt like dressing as women. They became transvestites because they were born into families that had plenty of boys and not enough girls.” [quote: http://www.abc.net.au/ra/pacific/people/hazy.htm] In modern society the attitudes towards the Fa’afafine have changed the myth of inclusivity in the Pacific, refuted by many queer people who have experienced homophobic attitudes within the Pacific. Brian Fuata gives another portrayal on the Fa’afafine from a gay perspective in Australia in an interview with Pacific Beat: “Assimilation, the ideology that my parents have assimilated to in that the way to prosper in this society is to be white, to ignore or deny our Samoan culture, language, way of living and the religious influence and yeah …” Maori and Pacific Island Stories of Peace and Justice
European Encounter: “At the end of the 18th century, a British merchant ship stopped at Tahiti, then known as Oteheite, to take on provisions. Local people arranged feasting and dancing for their guests. One of the shipʹs officers, George Mortimer, wrote in his journal ʺAttracted by the sound of drums and a great quantity of lights, I went onshore one night with two of our mates to one of these exhibitions. We seated ourselves among some of our friends whom we found there; when one of the gentlemen who accompanied me onshore took it into his head to be very much smitten with a dancing girl, as he thought her, went up to her, made her a present of some beads, and other trifles, and rather interrupted the performance by his attentions; but what was his surprise when the performance was ended, and after he had been endeavouring to persuade her to go with him on board our ship, which she assented to, to find this supposed damsel, when stripped of her theatrical paraphernalia, a smart dapper lad. [http://europa.eu.int/comm/development/public
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and spiritual advocates ensuring a holistic and harmonious community. Today, in almost every part of Oceania there are people who are known to cross the gender roles (gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender), who are held in high regard within their communities. Whether the society and religious institutions like to admit it, people who are able to walk in two gender worlds have existed over the centuries because their spirituality is part of the interconnectedness of the overall society. In Hawaii, and among Maori and Melanesian cultures people who portrayed the characteristics of crossing gender roles were seen as people with a deeper relationship to the spirit world. In parts of the Melanesian culture, homosexual relationships were expected in the community. Ritualised homosexuality was an initiation process young boys would endure in their adolescent age as a rite to adulthood through a divination process. Although something that the western world may not fully understand, ritualised homosexuality provided an arena of strengthening the fertility of the community in connection with the natural and spirit world. (Ritualised Homosexuality in Melanesia edited by When decisions were made within the Gilbert H. Hert, 1993, gives a detailed analysis of community, the Mahu in Tahiti were understanding gender and sexuality in Melanesia). consulted and used to ensure a deeper Besides the Oceanic perspectives, queer spiritual relationship between the local people of other indigenous cultures have held people, nature and the gods. The prophetic similar experiences and stories of ‘two spirit’ abilities gave them the role as royal advisors peoples known to transcend between the natural and spiritual world. They were not An Interview with Malidoma Somé seen as exclusively male or female and they Copyright © 1993 by Bert H. Hoff were neither. This gave them the ability to This article appeared in the September, 1993 issue of travel in areas considered tapu or sacred. This M.E.N. Magazine. I don’t know how to put it in terms that are clear also gave them the ability to communicate to enough for an audience that, I think needs as much the spirit world for guidance for the entire understanding of this gender issue as people in this community. country do. But at least among the Dagara people, * In various African Tribes, queer people gender has very little to do with anatomy. It is purely were known to be ‘Guardians of the Gate’ and energetic. In that context, a male who is physically were acknowledged as gatekeepers because of male can vibrate female energy, and vice versa. That is their medicinal, spiritual and ritual and where the real gender is. Anatomic differences are divination purposes. simply there to determine who contributes what for the continuity of the tribe. It does not mean, necessarily, that there is a kind of line that divides people on that basis. And this is something that also touches on what has become known here as the ʺgayʺ or ʺhomosexualʺ issue. Again, in the culture that I come from, this is not the issue. These people are looked on, essentially, as people. The whole notion of ʺgayʺ does not exist in the indigenous world. That does not mean that there are not people there who feel the way that certain people feel in this culture, that has led to them being referred to as ʺgay.ʺ * In Central Java, Indonesia, the dance and practice of the Reog Ponorogo, spirituality and sexuality and power in Javanese culture exemplifies how gender roles are assumed at a young age when men in leadership positions take young boys as their gemblak to fulfil an ancient tradition of leadership, gender and spirituality. [For a detailed discussion on the subject, see: http://wwwsshe.murdoch.edu.au/intersections/issue2/
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* The First Nations Peoples of Canada and the Native Americans have given us classic examples of how queer people have been known to have a special role in Native Indian society. Their shamanistic powers gave them the ability to work among the community as care givers, warriors, and priests. Preferably known as ‘two spirits’ in most Indian tribes the surge of deconstructing their colonial past and resurrecting the life giving aspects of their culture has enabled many queer Native Americans to re‐establish what was once demonised, and ostracised by western missionaries and colonialism. * As much as Christian Religious Fundamentalism denies it, there is a plethora of stories depicting eunuchs or gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender peoples. Their stories have a commonality of loyalty to their role and faith in God. Acts 8:26‐40. “…As they were going along the road, they come to some water; and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptised? He commanded the chariot to stop and both of them, Philip and the eunuch went down in the water, and Philip baptised him….” (see also Matthew 19:12ff; (Ruth 1:16); Luke 7:1‐
10ff) Nearly all of the worldʹs Aboriginal cultures recognise that people should endeavour to live their lives in accordance with their spirit. This liberating tradition far predates the modern materialist conceptions and constrictions of todayʹs heterosexual roles. In North Americaʹs Native societies, Two‐Spirit people fulfilled important roles as healers within their respective communities. Two‐
Spirit people bestowed sacred names, cared for orphans, served as teachers, spouses, diviners, Medicine people and were respected as match makers, treaty negotiators, historians, physicians and spiritual counsellors. In the present day, Two‐Spirit people continue to fulfil these same roles in many varied contemporary capacities. Yet as is true in many other indigenous societies, belligerent outside elements altered our existence forever. Aggressive Euro‐theological zeal has negatively affected the Two‐Spirit people and our special place within indigenous traditions in particular. This important segment of Native American society has been overlooked and nearly forgotten. Until now. It is the vision of the Northwest Two‐Spirit Society to work within the traditional strengths of the Two‐Spirit and greater Indigenous American communities by working together to mend the sacred hoop of healing. [source: http://nwtwospiritsociety.org/visions] “In my own country, my own Maori people are among the most homophobic in the world. They are a strong, wonderful people but their codes are so patriarchal as to disallow any inclusion of gay Maori men and women within the tribe. As long as we do not speak of our sin openly, we are accepted. But if we speak of it, if we stand up for it, we are cast out.” Witi Ihimaera, The Uncle’s Story: A Novel
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QUEER INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND THEIR LOST SPIRIT It wasn’t until I grew up at another time and place in my life that I realised why my cousin committed suicide. Growing up I knew I was different from everyone else, later realising that I am gay. The struggle to understand this and be accepted by my family and friends came at a heavy price where we were taught that homosexuals had no part in any society. Nevertheless my struggle through this helped me rediscover the story of my cousin. I discovered why my cousin died when I was 11. His father beat him and broke his legs with the hockey stick and caused haemorrhaging in his head. He ended up in hospital and the mental institution until he finally broke and came home to commit suicide sometime later. His father beat him black and blue because he was caught kissing another boy in his room and his parents walked in on him. His spirit to live was beaten out of him but the worst thing was watching his spirit slip away into darkness. Although some of the ancient stories and practices of indigenous peoples are lost, it is in the hands of the indigenous queer community today to slowly recover their stories. In contemporary society, there is alienation of a culture that sees the understanding of God as horizontal, which means that God is found in the interconnectedness of nature, the physical person and the spirit world. Many indigenous peoples are now assimilated into materialistic, capitalistic measurements of existence ,denying their connection to nature and the spirit world. In most cases, their focus on God or spirituality is vertical, which translates to individuality, assimilation, and spiritless. The stories of queer indigenous peoples are now tainted with sadness, violence, hate, homophobia, exclusion, suspicion, abuse, assimilation, and oppressing the very spirit of a people who were once held in high esteem within all indigenous cultures. Two stories (Based on a true story about a Maori boy who draw on the fractured dislocation of people watched his family struggle with domestic violence and child abuse.) and the spirit world. JASON’S STORY FINDING PEACE IN HOMOPHOBIA In order for me to tell my story I must tell you another. One of my greatest heroes and role models in my life when I was little was my cousin Daniel. He had everything going for him; he was handsome, had a bright future, and was always willing to help someone in trouble. When I saw my uncle destroy the life of this boy I realised what it was that I saw die in him when he committed suicide several years after, it wasn’t his body, it was his spirit. My cousin committed suicide by shooting himself in the head in front of his father and mother. Both his parents never considered his death as something to affect their already dysfunctional lives – it was just another problem they didn’t want. It is difficult to find peace within oneself and the community where homophobia exists on the grassroots level and in the mainstream institutions of society. Coming to terms with one’s sexuality is not an easy task and at most times, people find alternative ways of dealing with who they are, usually by destructive means. Suicide, alcohol, drug abuse, and prostitution provide venues to help people survive the trauma of stressful events in their lives due to rejection by family, friends, church, and other social groups. The above stories have illustrated briefly some of the traumas. The traumatic stories sometimes frustrate indigenous queer people at the crux of colonisation in any country that has forced 34
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people to assimilate another culture and value to look at us, because we’re just like anyone else. system, denying their own. Nevertheless, this That’s how this island is, that’s why it’s called the is a marking point to help us realise that the friendly island. I’ve been all over the world and its essence of who we are as a culture and tribe, good to go travelling, but there’s no place like in reflection to the ‘old ways’ are even more home.” important. Although we have suffered Let us remember the importance of our problems within our own cultural societies, sexuality to empower others who have been we are also the answer to the process of de‐ disconnected to the roots of their very being. colonisation. The difference that Indigenous Sexuality is the soul of who we are in Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender relationship with others to help us travel a people have compared to western queer journey that brings understanding and peoples is that we need to define ourselves in sacredness back into the lives of people who our indigenous societies. This means that we have lost their spirit to fight for peace and have to incorporate our sexuality into the very justice. essence of our culture amidst our family and tribal life and society, as part of who we are. To recover our stories of the past, we need to We cannot simply be gay one day and find out what is already out there that indigenous the next. We must be all this in all portrays positive models and images of queer aspects of life as caregivers for the tribe, people in the Pacific and throughout the storytellers, shamans, warriors, cultivators. world. Last year I arranged a meeting with a Sabine Lang asserts that white queer people Maori artist of fiction writing Witi Ihimaera, disassociate themselves from fighting against author of ʹThe Uncleʹs Storyʹ and the ʹWhale the norms of society, where as the Native Riderʹ recently made into a film. Witi Americans Two Spirit feel that incorporating suggested that in order to recreate our their sexuality, culture and society is more spiritual past as Tohunga, Shaman, or prophets, we need to see what current models important, to are out there, as the ensure that tribes ʺWE, AS A PEOPLE, NEED TO ALLOW AND ACCEPT indigenous cultures and families are THE GAY. THEY ARE THE BRIDGE THAT IS NEEDEDʺ share part of their lives. commonalities CROW DOG, 1995 Incorporating h
ttp://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/9569/two_spirit.html
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when it comes to our sexuality gender. with culture and family and society is important. There is an example in an article concerning the mahu Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender from Tahiti. (Native American Gender Identity, people of the Pacific and Asia were considered Sexuality, and Spirituality Edited by Sue‐Ellen the Sharman of their time. Their ability as prophets to the spirit world gives us an Jacobs, Wesley Thomas, and Sabine Lang). opening to a world that was long lost in the ancient past where God was otherwise known The Caption reads: “The Mahu’s take care of one another. On our as Goddess, foreseeing the future was a Island the males don’t tease the mahu’s because common practice and the dream world was they know one another, they were brought up also a reality. Unfortunately many gay, together. You can tell the boys that were raised lesbian, bisexual and transgender people have here because their parents taught them to respect lost the skill to see the future and interpret the the Mahu. So when we walk around, nobody tends HTU
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dream world. My hope is that this will return an example that the struggle for peace is one day. needed all the more to save the world from itself. The youth of the pacific are slowly THE PACIFIC IDENTITY IN THE 21ST CENTURY loosing their cultural roots. Unfortunately, the It is very difficult to assume any perspective stories and cultural practices that ensure a safe on the Pacific cultures of today. Migration, and peaceful community gets put on the back unemployment, family, peer pressure, career burner until something drastic happens. and measuring up to the western media expectations give a new definition to the old Our stories of peace must be told and ways of Pacific culture. Young Pacific Island encouraged in everyday society. We must Peoples see and experience the world teach the next generation to ensure peaceful differently from their elders. Although in dialogue and interaction among the theory and practice we want to retain the old communities. Our differences should not be a ways, we cannot excuse ourselves from the tool for discrimination and violence rather it world today. The New Global Order of should be used to celebrate the diversity we Imperialism is rife among the colonial share with other cultures and peoples of the countries where America, UK and Australia world. Our stories will help others discover have further exercised their wrath upon the their own stories to process, define and find indigenous minorities by invading the meaning in their own cultural context. We People’s of Iraq. Our Pacific stories cannot be need stories to help us realise that we are not understood without understanding the an object but a human person with a heart, context in which they exist today. War mind and soul. infused by power, greed, and imperialism is 36
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GLOSSARY OF TERMS/ NGA KUPU WHAKAMARAMA Tapu Usually associated with elements of both the Physical and Spiritual world that set aside a sense of sacredness that require a greater sense of respect when dealing with things pertaining to Tapu. Tapu and Mana are two concepts of Maori philosophy and theology that cannot be separated from each other. The late Maori Dominican Brother Michael Shirres elaborates more on this subject. See Appendix I for more details on the use and concepts of tapu. Mana Mana Tangata (Power from People); Mana Whenua (Power from the Land); Mana Atua (The power from the spiritual powers) These three concepts are intertwined, and express another level of what Maori see in the concept of Tapu. A Maori Proverb that better expresses the concept of Mana in these three ways is: Huutia te rito o te harakeke, kei hea te koomako e ko? Kii mai ki ahau: He aha te mea nui o te ao? Maaku e kii atu: He tangata he tangata! ʹIf you pluck out the heart of the flax bush, how can the bell bird sing? You ask me: What is the greatest reality of the universe? I reply: The human person!ʹ This means that if you take out the core of who we are, then we are not alive to the world. Therefore, the most important thing in this world is our relationship and humanity with our fellow people to retain a sense of peace and love for each other. An easy thing to understand and grasp, but very difficult to do in practice. Maori and Pacific Island Stories of Peace and Justice
Noa When the tapu of one person has acknowledged the tapu of another in the manner that upholds each other, then the situation is Noa (free from restriction). For example attending Maori tangi (funeral) gives us an example of how Tapu and Noa are intertwined with each other as both important facets of Maori life to allow each to interact with each other. There are certain tapu restrictions among people on the Marae as well as the Marae itself, so in order to move among those restrictions, certain rituals are enacted to allow freedom of movement or ‘noa’ to happen without disturbing the tapu of the ‘tangi’ or funeral. In most cases, people will be directed to wash their hands before moving away from the deceased in the front, alongside or inside the Marae before going to eat in the dinning hall away from the ritual of the tangi process itself. (Appendix I gives an in‐depth study on the use of Tapu, Mana, and Noa written by Dominican Brother Michael Shirres) Tikanga A loose understanding of the Maori word Tikanga can be better described as knowing the characteristics and cultural protocols that Maori ascribe to themselves through traditions handed down. For example there is a tikanga (or protocol) to observe when one decides to go fishing or gathering food in the forest. There is a tikanga about the people of Kie Kie Marae (The people of Kie Kie Marae hold a particular protocol and characteristics). Having an understanding of these 37
characteristics will prove beneficial when women are therefore known to be fa’afafine. Fakaleiti is the Tongan concept as above and living among Maori in general. Mahu applies to the Tahitian and Hawaiian Tangi peoples. These concepts are Polynesian ‘Tangi’ means to cry, but it is better concepts of gender but they are only a minor understood when one experiences the rite of section to Pacific understandings of gender. someone who has died and their body is taken For example Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual to their family Marae for a period of up to Pacific Island men and women are not called three days. In some cases, it can be longer. either of these names, and in most cases they The tangi is the gathering of people who have are still establishing their name and identity come to mourn for three days with the body of among their communities. The only the deceased, with the ceremonial process that commonality is that people who are ascribed is enacted during the tangi. outside of the heterosexual gender is otherwise known as ‘two spirit’ or ‘third, Iwi, Hapu, Whanau fourth or fifth gender’. Iwi means tribe, and there are more than 100 tribes in Aotearoa. There are no set This ngatu shows the preparations for an upcoming boundaries to these tribes, so they are better Miss Tonga contest, which includes Fakaleiti defined by whakapapa (genealogical), (elaborately‐dressed cross‐dressing males). [Source: http://www.clinipath.com.au/~arishart/tapa2.htm]
whenua (land), and their specific cultural protocols and characteristics. Takatapui, Takatapuhi The term ‘takatapui’ has been resurrected by the Maori Gay, Lesbian, Bi‐sexual and Transgender community to describe themselves. The concept of ‘takatapui’ is based on what is described as an intimate relationship between two male figures of a Maori Legend: ‘Hinemoa and Tutanekai and his takatapui, Tiki’. There is no mention of a sexual relationship, but this is not why Maori GLBT community associated themselves with this story. It is purely because of the same sex intimacy between the two friends, both in its physicality and spirituality. Fa’afafine, Fakaleiti, Mahu, Two Spirit Fa’afafine is based on the Samoan concept to be woman‐like. Men who dress and live as 38
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APPENDIX 1: TAPU
Ko te tapu te mana o nga atua. ʹTapu is the mana of the spiritual powersʹ. For many people today tapu means ʹforbiddenʹ or ʹrestrictedʹ. For some there is the added connotation that something bad will happen if the tapu is not observed. Maori writings of the 1840s and 50s, show that ʹforbiddenʹ or ʹrestrictedʹ is not the only meaning of tapu, nor even its primary meaning. The primary meaning given to tapu in this study is made of two elements, one from reason and the other from faith. Both elements link tapu with mana. The element from reason sees tapu in its primary meaning as ʹbeing with potentiality for powerʹ. The element from faith sees tapu as the ʹmana of the spiritual powersʹ, of Taane, Tangaroa, Tuu, Rongo and so on. Today too, where some tribes speak of tapu, others speak of mana. Different words are used for the same reality and the use of the different words itself gives us a better understanding of that reality. I do not want to impose the understanding of tapu as presented here on people who have a different view of tapu and who use different terms for tapu. But I do hope this will widen our discussion of tapu, deepen our understanding of tapu and encourage us to share our thinking on tapu. Our mutual sharing should renew and enhance the tapu of each people. Intrinsic Tapu To understand the full nature of tapu we must first recognize, as already mentioned elsewhere, that the Maori view of the universe is not a universe of two systems closed off from each other, one being spiritual and the other material. It is a universe in which the two worlds are closely linked with each other,. All activities in the everyday world are being seen as coming under the influence of the atua, the spiritual powers. So the mana of the spiritual powers is the source of the tapu of the person and extends to the tapu restrictions surrounding the person. To look on tapu only as ʹbeing with potentiality for powerʹ is to leave out the most important element of tapu: the faith element, the link with the spiritual powers. In the understanding of tapu presented here, every part of creation has its tapu, because every part of creation has its link with one or other of the spiritual powers, and ultimately with Io, Io matua kore, the parentless one, Io taketake, Each of the spiritual powers identifies with the source of all . and is responsible for a particular section of It is important to note that this is one view of creation. The wind had its own tapu: te mana tapu, a view based on some of the Maori o te hau, te tapu o te hau, ʹthe mana of the writings of the 1840s and 50s. Each tribe has wind, the tapu of the windʹ. Its source is the its own understanding of tapu and as is mana of Taawhirimaatea. The source for the evidenced in the Maori manuscripts, what one tapu of the sea and the fish is the mana of Maori writer referred to as tapu, another Tangaroa. referred to as mana. Maori and Pacific Island Stories of Peace and Justice
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The kuumara has its own tapu: Ko te kumara, he mea tapu rawa he tuahu to te kumara. As for the kuumara, it is very tapu and has its own tapu place.ʹ The tapu of the kuumara has its source in the mana of Rongo‐ma‐taane. The trees and the birds have their source of tapu in the mana of Taane. In some cases, more than one atua is the source for the tapu. The tapu of the canoe is linked with both Taane and Tangaroa. And so the kaha, ʹstrengthʹ, of the canoe is the ʹstrengthʹ of both Taane and Tangaroa: He kaha Tane, he kaha Tangaroa. ʹThe strength of Taane, the strength of Tangaroaʹ. We human beings are linked with, and so receive our tapu from, the mana of the spiritual powers in different ways. According to the Arawa traditions as recorded by Te Rangikaheke, we are identified with Tuumatauenga. According to other traditions, however, we owe our existence, and therefore our intrinsic tapu, to the mana of Taane. In the traditions of Ngaapuhi, Kahungunu and Kai Tahu it is said that it was Taane who made the first woman from whom we are all descended, Taane who brought light into our world by separating Ranginui and Papatuanuku, Taane who climbed up into the highest heavens and brought back for us the three baskets of knowledge. We can also be bonded to particular powers through a ritual of dedication and consecration. Some are dedicated and consecrated at birth and before battle to Tuumatauenga. Some are dedicated and consecrated to Rongo, for peace. We call on the mana of Tuu and Taawhiri combined for the axe to cut down a tree. We call on Taane and Tangaroa to give strength to our canoes. 40
Tapu and Mana The intrinsic tapu are therefore closely linked with mana, ʹpowerʹ, and at times the words tapu and mana are interchangeable. Where one writer speaks of tapu another writer speaks of mana. Several examples of the terms tapu and mana being interchangeable are found in manuscripts. For instance two of the manuscripts, GNZMMSS 28 and GNZMMSS 31, describe the tapu surrounding conception and birth. Whereas in GNZMMSS 28, the birth of the child is described as the beginning of mana, the beginning of the child in GNZMMSS 31is described as the beginning of tapu. Early Maori writings tell the the Waikato story of Kiki and Tamure, two tohunga. It is explicitly a story of mana, the mana of Kiki versus the mana of Tamure. In the original manuscript of the story, however, the story is presented as a demonstration of the importance of a personʹs tapu. The story begins with the sentence: E mea ana hoki, ko tona mea nui he tapu, kei whea hoki nga whakatauki, Nga uri o Kiki whakamaroke raakau. ʹHe thinks his great possession is tapu and so we have the proverb, The descendants of Kiki who dries up trees.ʹ TAPU, MANA AND ʹBEINGʹ Both intrinisic tapu and mana are linked with ʹbeingʹ, with ʹexistingʹ. Mana begins with existence, although that existence has its source in the mana of the ancstors and of the spiritual powers. Daga Press 2003
I te orokoputanga mai o te tamariki i roto i tona whaea ka timata tenei mea te mana, engari no mua mai, no nga tupuna. ʹIn the very coming forth of the child from its mother, from there indeed, its mana began, but it comes from right back, from its ancestors.ʹ The difference between tapu and mana is also related to ʹbeingʹ A thing has its full mana, and is fully powerful, when it has its full ʹbeingʹ – when it is fully alive, fully active. Mana is the power of being, a power that is realized over time. As mana begins with existence, so tapu, in its intrinsic and primary meaning, begins with existence. Everything that is, has its own intrinsic tapu, a tapu which begins with its existence and which has its source in the mana of the spiritual powers. Once a fish exists, it has its tapu, a tapu which has its source in the mana of Tangaroa. Once a human being exists, it has its own tapu, a tapu which has its source in the mana of the particular spiritual power to which it is dedicated. Each is truly tapu, but tapu in its own way, according to its own mode of existence. On the other hand, a thing has its full tapu as soon as it begins to exist. What its tapu is, is related not to what it is, but to what it can become. The child who is of chiefly line has not yet the mana, the power, of a chief, but has already the tapu of a chief. Tapu is being with potentiality for power. Once any being ceases to exist, it loses its tapu and it loses its mana; it no longer has any power. The fish that is eaten no longer has any tapu, any mana. So, in the story of Rangi and Papa, the fish, the birds, the kuumara and the fernroot, Tangaroa, Taane, Rongo and Haumia, are eaten by Tuumatauenga and lose their tapu. Women have their own mana and tapu. They can also be bonded to specific spiritual powers, including Tuumatauenga. Even before they are born, in the rituals following conception, they are bonded to Hine, the first woman. So, tapu ‐ being with potentiality for power, for mana, is our greatest asset. Ko tona mea nui he tapu. ʹOneʹs greatest possession is tapuʹ. The Tapu and Mana of Women [I] te ata o Hine, i te ata o Hine Angiangi, i te ata o Hine‐korikori, i te ata o wahine. ʹ[I]n the dawn of Hine, in the dawn of Hine‐moving freely, in the dawn of Hine‐beginning‐to‐stir, in the dawn of woman.ʹ This is the same Hine who later became Hine‐
nui‐te‐poo, the great woman of the night. She who is the source of life for all human beings, and who was betrayed by man, still receives into her arms all those who have died. The tapu and mana of a human being can be greatly diminished, for example, when a person is made a prisoner, his or her existence completely dependent on others. But this tapu, and mana, can be restored. In the karakia Waea te noa (see below) the tapu of the prisoner is restored by a return to Tiki, to the source of human life. Also, death is not the end for the human being, so a person still has tapu and mana after death – hence the tapu [http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~dominic/tapu.html] restrictions surrounding the cemeteries. HTU
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APPENDIX 2: TREATY OF WAITANGI
INTRODUCTION TO THE TREATY OF WAITANGI Background In the late 1830s, there were approximately 125,000 Māori in New Zealand and about 2000 settlers. More immigrants were arriving all the time though, and Captain William Hobson was sent to act for the British Crown in the negotiation of a treaty between the Crown and Māori. The Colonial Secretary, Lord Normanby, instructed Hobson that: T
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ʺAll dealings with the Aborigines for their Lands must be conducted on the same principles of sincerity, justice, and good faith as must govern your transactions with them for the recognition of Her Majestyʹs Sovereignty in the Islands. Nor is this all. They must not be permitted to enter into any Contracts in which they might be the ignorant and unintentional authors of injuries to themselves. You will not, for example, purchase from them any Territory the retention of which by them would be essential, or highly conducive, to their own comfort, safety or subsistence. The acquisition of Land by the Crown for the future Settlement of British Subjects must be confined to such Districts as the Natives can alienate without distress or serious inconvenience to themselves. To secure the observance of this rule will be one of the first duties of their official protector.ʺ T
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On 6 February 1840, the Treaty of Waitangi was signed at Waitangi in the Bay of Islands by Hobson, several English residents, and approximately 45 Māori rangatira, Hone Heke being the first. The Māori text of the Treaty was then taken around Northland to obtain additional Māori signatures and copies were sent around the rest of the country for signing, but the English text was signed only at Waikato Heads and at Manukau by 39 rangatira. By the end of that year, over 500 Māori had signed the Treaty. Of those 500, 13 were women. THE TIRITI O WAITANGI (MAORI TEXT) Preamble KO WIKITORIA, te Kuini o Ingarani, i tana mahara atawai ki nga Rangatira me nga Hapu o Nu Tirani i tana hiahia hoki kia tohungia ki a ratou o ratou rangatiratanga, me to ratou wenua, a kia mau tonu hoki te Rongo ki a ratou me te Atanoho hoki kua wakaaro ia he mea tika kia tukua mai tetahi Rangatira hei kai wakarite ki nga Tangata maori o Nu Tirani‐kia wakaaetia e nga Rangatira maori te Kawanatanga o te Kuini ki nga wahikatoa o te Wenua nei me nga Motu‐na te mea hoki he tokomaha ke nga tangata o tona Iwi Kua noho ki tenei wenua, a e haere mai nei. Na ko te Kuini e hiahia ana kia wakaritea te Kawanatanga kia kaua ai nga kino e puta mai ki te tangata Maori ki te Pakeha e noho ture kore ana. Na, kua pai te Kuini kia tukua a hau a Wiremu Hopihona he Kapitana i te Roiara Nawi hei Kawana mo nga wahi katoa o Nu Tirani e tukua aianei, amua atu ki te Kuini e mea atu ana ia ki nga Rangatira o te wakaminenga o nga hapu o Nu Tirani me era Rangatira atu enei ture ka korerotia nei. 42
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Ko te Tuatahi Ko nga Rangatira o te Wakaminenga me nga Rangatira katoa hoki ki hai i uru ki taua wakaminenga ka tuku rawa atu ki te Kuini o Ingarani ake tonu atu‐te Kawanatanga katoa o o ratou wenua. Ko te Tuarua Ko te Kuini o Ingarani ka wakarite ka wakaae ki nga Rangitira ki nga hapu‐ki nga tangata katoa o Nu Tirani te tino rangtiratanga o o ratou wenua o ratou kainga me o ratou taonga katoa. Otiia ko nga Rangatira o te Wakaminenga me nga Rangatira katoa atu ka tuku ki te Kuini te hokonga o era wahi wenua e pai ai te tangata nona te Wenua‐ki te ritenga o te utu e wakaritea ai e ratou ko te kai hoko e meatia nei e te Kuini hei kai hoko mona. Ko te Tuatoru Hei wakaritenga mai hoki tenei mo te wakaaetanga ki te Kawanatanga o te Kuini‐Ka tiakina e te Kuini o Ingarani nga tangata maori katoa o Nu Tirani ka tukua ki a ratou nga tikanga katoa rite tahi ki ana mea ki nga tangata o Ingarani. (Signed) WILLIAM HOBSON, Consul and Lieutenant‐Governor. Na ko matou ko nga Rangatira o te Wakaminenga o nga hapu o Nu Tirani ka huihui nei ki Waitangi ko matou hoki ko nga Rangatira o Nu Tirani ka kite nei i te ritenga o enei kupu, ka tangohia ka wakaaetia katoatia e matou, koia ka tohungia ai o matou ingoa o matou tohu. Ka meatia tenei ki Waiangi i te ono o nga ra o Pepueri i te tau kotahi mano, e waru rau e wa te kau o to tatou Ariki. Ko nga Rangatira o te wakaminenga. T
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The following version of the Treaty is taken from the first schedule to the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975. THE TEXT IN ENGLISH Preamble HER MAJESTY VICTORIA Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland regarding with Her Royal favour the Native Chiefs and Tribes of New Zealand and anxious to protect their just Rights and Property and to secure to them the enjoyment of Peace and Good Order has deemed it necessary in consequence of the great number of Her Majestyʹs Subjects who have already settled in New Zealand and the rapid extension of Emigration both from Europe and Australia which is still in progress to constitute and appoint a functionary properly authorised to treat with the Aborigines of New Zealand for the recognition of Her Majestyʹs Sovereign authority over the whole or any part of those islands ‐ Her Majesty therefore being desirous to establish a settled form of Civil Government with a view to avert the evil consequences which must result from the absence of the necessary Laws and Institutions alike Maori and Pacific Island Stories of Peace and Justice
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to the native population and to Her subjects has been graciously pleased to empower and to authorise me William Hobson a Captain in Her Majestyʹs Royal Navy Consul and Lieutenant Governor of such parts of New Zealand as may be or hereafter shall be ceded to her Majesty to invite the confederated and independent Chiefs of New Zealand to concur in the following Articles and Conditions. Article the First The Chiefs of the Confederation of the United Tribes of New Zealand and the separate and independent Chiefs who have not become members of the Confederation cede to Her Majesty the Queen of England absolutely and without reservation all the rights and powers of Sovereignty which the said Confederation or Individual Chiefs respectively exercise or possess, or may be supposed to exercise or to possess over their respective Territories as the sole Sovereigns thereof. Article the Second Her Majesty the Queen of England confirms and guarantees to the Chiefs and Tribes of New Zealand and to the respective families and individuals thereof the full exclusive and undisturbed possession of their Lands and Estates Forests Fisheries and other properties which they may collectively or individually possess so long as it is their wish and desire to retain the same in their possession; but the Chiefs of the United Tribes and the individual Chiefs yield to Her Majesty the exclusive right of Preemption over such lands as the proprietors thereof may be disposed to alienate at such prices as may be agreed upon between the respective Proprietors and persons appointed by Her Majesty to treat with them in that behalf. Article the Third In consideration thereof Her Majesty the Queen of England extends to the Natives of New Zealand Her royal protection and imparts to them all the Rights and Privileges of British Subjects. W HOBSON Lieutenant Governor. Now therefore We the Chiefs of the Confederation of the United Tribes of New Zealand being assembled in Congress at Victoria in Waitangi and We the Separate and Independent Chiefs of New Zealand claiming authority over the Tribes and Territories which are specified after our respective names, having been made fully to understand the Provisions of the foregoing Treaty, accept and enter into the same in the full spirit and meaning thereof: in witness of which we have attached our signatures or marks at the places and the dates respectively specified. Done at Waitangi this Sixth day of February in the year of Our Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty. [Here follow signatures, dates, etc.] Note: Both the English and Maori versions significantly differ in meaning. 44
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ifoga http://www.merriewood.com/pacific/caen.ht
ml
http://www.courts.govt.nz/publications/resto
rative_justice.pdf
http://samoanserviceproviders.com/IntroPag
e/UNDERS_1/unders_1.HTM http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~dominic/ HTU
UTH
HTU
http://www.maori.org.nz/tikanga/index.htm
http://www.maori.org.nz/tikanga/purakau/cre
ation4.htm
HTU
UTH
UTH
HTU
HTU
UTH
UTH
HTU
Marae UTH
http://www.rakaipaaka.co.nz/
HTU
UTH
Maori resource Material http://www.internet‐at‐
work.com/hos_mcgrane/maori/eg_maori_intr
o.html
Hula http://www.csulb.edu/~dance/hula.gif
http://www.kaimi.org/history_of_hula.htm
HTU
HTU
UTH
HTU
UTH
UTH
http://www.eurotattoo.co.nz/newzealand1.ht
m
Pacific Island Gender: http://www.natale.to/nb2000.htm
http://www.clinipath.com.au/~arishart/tapa2.
htm
HTU
UTH
U
HTU
Pacific Island Web Pages HTU
UTH
UTH
Pacific Media Maori and Pacific Island Stories of Peace and Justice
45
http://216.239.33.100/search?q=cache:8klD4yS
AvpEJ:europa.eu.int/comm/development/publ
icat/courier/courier183/en/en_045_ni.pdf+fakal
eiti&hl=en&ie=UTF‐8
http://www.qcinema.org/02kekulana.html http://utopia.utopiahawaii.com/frame.asp
http://nwtwospiritsociety.org/index2.html
http://twospiritdnvr.tripod.com/
http://hermaphrodite.arriba.net/twospirit.ht
m
http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/9569/t
wo_spirit.html
HTU
HTU
UTH
HTU
HTU
UTH
HTU
UTH
UTH
HTU
HTU
UTH
Aborigine: http://www.bwp.org.au/main.htm
http://members.tripod.com/reconciliation/cha
pple.htm
http://members.tripod.com/~reconciliation/int
erviews.htm
http://www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/world/pa
cific/australia/gifs/abo_r2_c7.jpg
http://www.stophomophobia.org/index/storie
s/story2.htm
HTU
UTH
Maps http://www.globalgeografia.com/oceania_en
g/oceania.htm
http://www.library.uu.nl/wesp/populstat/Oc
eania/oceania.html
http://go.hrw.com/atlas/norm_htm/oceania.ht
m
http://www.sitesatlas.com/Maps/Maps/Ocea
nia.htm
http://www.takoa.co.nz/about_takoa.htm
UTH
HTU
HTU
UTH
UTH
HTU
HTU
UTH
UTH
HTU
UTH
HTU
UTH
HTU
HTU
UTH
UTH
Javanese http://wwwsshe.murdoch.edu.au/intersections
/issue2/Warok.html
UTH
HTU
Research Recourses http://www.csc‐
scc.gc.ca/text/rsrch/briefs/b28/b28_e.pdf
http://www.shoalhaven.net.au/~abaptis/page
s/paint2.htm
HTU
UTH
Native American http://www.geocities.com/WestHollywood/Ca
stro/8260/
http://www.itsg.20m.com/
UTH
HTU
UTH
HTU
UTH
HTU
HTU
UTH
UTH
46
Daga Press 2003