Tūturu Episode 5: Mātauranga Māori
Summary
TLDRThis transcript delves into the concept of Mātauranga Māori, explaining its origins, evolution, and significance. The speaker discusses how the term Māori and the knowledge system Mātauranga Māori are responses to colonization and how they’ve become modern concepts reflecting deeper indigenous ways of knowing. It highlights the importance of understanding the world through indigenous knowledge systems, rooted in careful observation of the natural environment. The speaker critiques Western knowledge frameworks for their limitations, emphasizing that indigenous knowledge offers valuable insights for living harmoniously with the environment.
Takeaways
- 🌱 Maori was not a term traditionally used by the indigenous people of New Zealand; it emerged as a response to colonization to unite tribes under one identity.
- 📚 Maturanga Maori (Maori knowledge systems) evolved in response to Western education systems and colonization, with words like 'maturanga' and 'Maori' being modern developments.
- 💡 Maturanga Maori is a modern term but reflects ancient ways of knowing and understanding the world, passed down through generations.
- 🏞️ The Maori knowledge system is deeply connected to the environment, focusing on understanding and respecting nature's patterns and the living world.
- 🌍 Maturanga Maori encompasses spiritual, physical, and ecological aspects, all rooted in the careful observation of natural patterns over time.
- 🧠 There is no single concept of Maturanga Maori; rather, it varies across tribes, regions, and different Maori communities.
- 🔄 The Maori ways of knowing are based on interconnectedness—how natural events, like the migration of birds, are tied to environmental cycles.
- 🛑 Western academics often criticize Maturanga Maori, but indigenous knowledge has deep value and cannot be easily compared to Western scientific methods.
- 🧬 Indigenous knowledge systems, like Maturanga Maori, have guided generations in living sustainably with their environment long before colonization.
- 💬 The speaker emphasizes that understanding Maturanga Maori requires listening to Maori voices, as they are the true holders of this knowledge, not outsiders.
Q & A
What is the origin of the term 'Māori' according to the script?
-The term 'Māori' was not originally used by the indigenous people themselves but was adopted as a response to colonization to unite various tribes. It was a term imposed by others to collectively refer to the indigenous people of New Zealand.
What is the meaning of 'mātauranga Māori' as explained in the script?
-'Mātauranga Māori' refers to Māori knowledge systems. However, the script highlights that it is not a traditional Māori term but a modern development that arose as a response to colonization and the Western education system.
How did the term 'mātauranga Māori' come into use?
-The term 'mātauranga' was adapted to mean education, and 'Māori' was used to refer to the collective knowledge systems of the indigenous people. These terms were responses to colonization, but they have since been embraced by the Māori people.
How does the script describe the nature of Māori knowledge systems?
-The script emphasizes that Māori knowledge systems are deeply rooted in their environment and culture. It is based on careful observation of natural phenomena, passed down through generations, and intertwined with spirituality, physicality, and connection to the land.
What are some of the traditional Māori terms for knowledge?
-The traditional Māori terms for knowledge include 'korero' and 'wānanga,' which were used before 'mātauranga' became the modern word for education and knowledge.
How does the script explain the relationship between Māori knowledge and the environment?
-The script explains that Māori knowledge, or mātauranga Māori, is deeply connected to the environment. It involves long-term observation of natural patterns, such as the migration of birds and whales, and how various environmental changes are interconnected.
What criticism does the script mention regarding Western academic perspectives on mātauranga Māori?
-The script mentions that some Western academics criticize mātauranga Māori, seeing their own scientific methods as the only valid way of knowing. The speaker finds this perspective insular and misinformed, as it dismisses indigenous ways of understanding the world.
How does the speaker in the script respond to criticisms from Western academics?
-The speaker argues that Western academics are not qualified to define or criticize mātauranga Māori. The speaker believes that only Māori people can truly understand and define their own knowledge systems, and dismisses criticisms as fear-based and misinformed.
What is the significance of observing the natural world in Māori knowledge systems?
-Observation of the natural world is fundamental to Māori knowledge systems. This involves understanding how environmental changes are connected and how these observations, built up over generations, guide Māori practices and beliefs about living in harmony with nature.
How does the script suggest mātauranga Māori can contribute to global sustainability efforts?
-The script suggests that mātauranga Māori offers locally relevant knowledge and practices for living in harmony with the environment. It emphasizes eco-centric approaches to sustainability, which align with some of the UN’s sustainability objectives.
Outlines
📚 The Origins and Modern Adaptation of Mataranga Maori
This paragraph discusses the origins of the term 'Mataranga Maori,' explaining how it emerged as a response to colonization and was not a traditional Maori term. Initially, Maori were referred to by their tribal affiliations, and the term 'Maori' was used to unite different tribes under one identity. 'Mataranga' originally meant education and was adapted to represent Maori knowledge systems. The paragraph highlights how modern Maori have reclaimed these terms, using them to reflect deeper understandings of their worldview and cultural knowledge.
🌌 Mataranga Maori: The Knowledge of Life and the World
This paragraph delves into how Mataranga Maori encompasses the Maori understanding of life, death, and their place in the world. It explains how this knowledge, including narratives like Matariki and the maramataka, has been passed down through generations and varies across regions. Mataranga Maori is seen as a holistic system that teaches respect for nature and provides practical knowledge for survival, such as how to interact with the environment sustainably. The speaker emphasizes the importance of delving deeper into this knowledge for both personal growth and environmental stewardship.
🎓 Criticism and the Importance of Maori Knowledge Systems
Here, the speaker addresses criticisms from Western academics regarding Maori knowledge systems. They argue that non-Maori individuals, especially those unfamiliar with Maori culture, should not dictate what Mataranga Maori is. The speaker feels that such criticisms often stem from ignorance and a narrow worldview that assumes only one valid way of knowing. They also point out the historical consequences of such narrow thinking, including wars and societal divisions, contrasting this with the Maori tradition of living harmoniously with the environment.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Mātauranga Māori
💡Colonization
💡Tīkanga
💡Iwi
💡Indigeneity
💡Maramataka
💡Papatuānuku and Ranginui
💡Tāonga
💡Western knowledge systems
💡Sustainability
Highlights
Mātauranga Māori is not a traditional term but a modern development in response to colonization.
The term 'Māori' itself was not originally used by indigenous people; it was imposed to unite tribes as one people.
Mātauranga Māori combines 'mātauranga' (education) and 'Māori' (a uniting term), reflecting a modern understanding of indigenous knowledge.
While 'mātauranga' is a modern term, it is now owned and embraced by Māori to represent their knowledge system.
Mātauranga Māori is a catch-all term used for policy and broader conversations, but the true knowledge resides in iwi (tribes) and whānau (families).
Indigenous knowledge systems, like Mātauranga Māori, evolve from deep, long-term observation of the environment, such as seasonal shifts and animal migrations.
Mātauranga Māori is not a subject in schools or universities; it embodies spiritual, physical, and environmental knowledge passed through generations.
Criticism of Mātauranga Māori from Western academics stems from a narrow view that dismisses indigenous ways of knowing and perceiving the world.
Indigenous knowledge systems, including Mātauranga Māori, emphasize a harmonious relationship with the environment, which has sustained indigenous peoples for generations.
Indigenous knowledge, such as understanding environmental patterns and natural cycles, cannot be artificially created in a short time; it is built over generations.
The revitalization of indigenous practices, such as Matariki (the Māori lunar calendar), demonstrates the importance of reconnecting with traditional knowledge.
Mātauranga Māori represents a holistic worldview, integrating everything from environmental care to the naming of children and the design of buildings.
Mātauranga Māori offers insights into global sustainability challenges and provides eco-centric solutions that have been practiced long before colonization.
Mātauranga Māori aligns with the UN's sustainability objectives, promoting eco-centric solutions that predate Western environmental efforts.
Western criticism of Mātauranga Māori often results from a misunderstanding of indigenous knowledge systems, leading to dismissal of alternative ways of knowing.
Transcripts
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foreign
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knowledge systems
need to make it very very clear that
matauranga Maori is not a traditional
term terms that were used as responses
to colonization actually so Maori is not
a term that we've called ourselves it
was something that was used to unite us
as one people we were in our own tribes
our own our own husband and so that
phrase or the term Maori normal was
placed upon us that kind of a response
to the desires of another people wanting
to collectively pull us together
matadonna is not a traditional Maori
word for knowledge
we generally use core little or wanana
but what happened is as a response to
education they used the word Marto to
know matotunga became education and so
you've got these Matilda namali which
are two words what's your responses to
being colonized
put together
to stand for a Maori knowledge system so
Maori ways of knowing and understanding
I liked it too I'm not saying it's a bad
two because it's a modern development so
I think began as responses but now we've
started to own we've started to own
Maori we've started to own martorama and
we're saying they are they are two
modern words and a modern phrase but
it's reflective
of a much older and deeper understanding
of how we understand our world ourselves
and everything in our world
is a concept that's used as a catch-all
phrase
to describe
what is actually
at a national level so we talk about
there isn't actually a thing called
Martha rangam Maori because all of our
mataranga comes through
the repositories for that mataranga are
generally our foreign
is a concept that can be Loosely used
when we're talking about a catchphrase
for all of those things particularly
when we're talking about policies to
deal with it or you know Common
struggles in relation to it but there
isn't actually a singular element of
Mata rangam Maori the the elements are
really
foreign
um aiwi and then now that we've accepted
that in about the 1990s I suspect ah
there's actually
knowledge is two knowledge up and we
knowledge is up and we knowledge there's
actually this is
and then now we're down to actually
there's a martyr no there's actually it
comes right down in the jewels down we
started up here and we're actually going
back and we're going down and we're
going down for one final to interact
with another fine Loop
um you were using matoda you are using
tikala you're using unique things
all those things it actually to me means
also unique a unique set of ways to
behave
um
foreign
I think about
the creation narrative by me and Papa
and even prior to that I think about
how we understand the world how we came
to be
um where we go when we die
I think about those narratives I that's
that's
matarangamaritani things that are passed
down from one generation to the next and
there's
a lot of variety in that when we look at
those narratives for example
that varies throughout the country
um now matariki the revitalization of
our Corridor around the maramataka
mataranga Maori L systems of knowledge
of understanding who we are where we've
come from where we're going and how we
connect to each other into everything
else in the Living World
um to me is um
everything you need to survive with
everything you need to to know
um how to uh respect your tail your
environment that you're in
um all the concepts of Tonga
um understanding
um
how to look after it how to utilize it
how to utilize your ahine your Forest
understanding
you know so it's a it's a beautiful
world but we need to actually understand
and learn a lot more that offers us
instead of just learning it on the
surface and just saying oh time is the
bush
we need to go further into finding out
now how can we take on and tap into that
from those areas at a deeper level so
that we gain the benefits out of that
and also be able to work and live in
harmony without tail with the old
environment
is not a subject
in our school it is not a subjected
University uh does it's not a standalone
thing Mata rangamori as a whole family
is uh
it's the spiritual side it's the
physical side all in one
all comes out of this long-standing
relationship with the tile careful
observation of the patterns of the
movement of what is called Seasons or
shifts or the you know the whether we're
talking about the murder of the goal
what other aspects and so you know again
if you look at mataranga ahapu it's very
contextual to the place where they're
standing and there's this concept and
when we talk about indigenous it's it's
a very politicized concept when people
think about well that's just this idea
of culture and the people who are there
before colonizers came there's this
other way to understand
indigeneity and being indigenous which
is you know the living breathing
thinking doing
manifestation of knowledge that comes
out of the soils and out of the waters
that surround you wherever you are when
the police blooms we know that the
kinase
and that that's observation of the
environment over a long period of time
and we start to understand that this is
connected to that and when this happens
that happens and I think those things
can't be denied those things also can't
be created
um in a short time that's knowledge that
is being built up over a long period of
observing the natural environment the
movements of the natural environment the
migrations of the birds and of the
whales and we understand that when this
happens this happens and it's all
connected
um you can't deny that you can't deny
that so on the criticism particularly
from the Western academics you know if
I'm not a physicist so I wouldn't tell a
physicist how they should do their job
nor do I work with string theory so I
wouldn't tell a string theorist how they
should do their job they're not Maori so
I think they're the last persons and
last group of people who should be
telling us who we are you want to know
what Mount odomaldi is the first group
of people I talked to is Maori it's
matarama Maori I actually feel a little
bit sorry for for the criticism because
just goes to show you how insula and how
afraid
I think and um
how misinformed those people are
thinking their way of knowing is the
only way of knowing their way of
thinking is the only way of thinking be
aware of understanding is the only way
to understand something
those types of belief systems are which
have driven some of the greatest
disasters in the history of of the human
race it has created religious wars it
has created political Wars It's created
two world wars it continues to create
division because people think my way is
the only way to know something
indigenous peoples have lived in harmony
with their environment for for so many
years or for Generation upon generation
and so I think um yeah
the criticism is is at times it's
laughable but it's also sad
and so this way of knowing being doing
and relating it has grown out of the
soils that manifests in the way that you
speak that manifests in the way that you
name your children that manifests in the
way that you build your footage that
manifests in the way that you pass on
your education or transmit your
knowledge all of those things are shaped
through
that are contextual to the tile that
comes out of that now if you look to
some of the sustainability objectives of
the UN and the things that they're
talking about they talk about how we
actually need to change everything it
needs to be you know everything needs to
be eco-centric well that's how we were
already living before the colonies that
came along and changed all of that so
this matarana
gives us some you know locally relevant
important aspects of how to
how to solve these issues how to solve
these problems how to be present with
our pile and respond to her in order to
provide the healing that's required for
each other and for our pile around us
foreign
but that's because you're looking at two
different things you're trying to
compare apples with oranges but if
you're trying to compare science with
science well
it is
by observation in coming to conclusions
if you are a human being you have
science it's just um I think near the
tomb we have an issue within we're not
quite Bucky I can't understand our view
of the world and now everything's
connected
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