title: An interface of mātauranga Māori and archaeology to generate a whakapapa of pā tawhito

authors: McIvor, Isaac

subjects: Māori

abstract: Mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge, epistemology) is foundational to iwi-Māori pasts and is essential to generating new knowledge about those pasts. Archaeology (the study of the physical remains of past human activity) is also an invaluable tool in understanding human history in Aotearoa New Zealand. Few studies have explored an interface between the two forms of knowledge, yet such an approach has great potential to develop new insights about the past that are relevant to descendants today. 

This thesis explores an interface between mātauranga Māori and archaeology to develop a whakapapa (relational genealogical framework) of the development of pā with a case study in Waikato. The word “pā” can refer to any tangata whenua (Indigenous people of the land, i.e., local Māori) settlement or village, but commonly refers to fortified forms, including villages, food stores and places of refuge. Many pā tawhito (historically occupied pā) have physical evidence that may simultaneously enhance descendant identity and well-being through ancestral connections and be a source of potential archaeological information. Researchers have recorded over seven thousand pā across the country (on the New Zealand Archaeological Association’s ArchSite database) at a much higher density than similar fortifications elsewhere in Oceania. Despite this proliferation, only limited and imprecise archaeological findings demonstrate when tangata whenua began constructing pā in their fortified form. We also do not sufficiently understand pā construction sequences through space and time.

This thesis is part of a broader Marsden-funded research project named ‘Rua Mātītī Rua Mātātā: A multidisciplinary investigation into the spatial-temporal role of pā in the development of Māori culture’. This project aimed to create a regional history of Waikato pā at the interface of archaeological science and mātauranga Māori. One side of the project included archaeological surveys and excavations in partnership with Waikato, Ngāti Apakura and Ngāti Maniapoto marae. This thesis focuses on the mātauranga Māori associated with pā in these areas and the broader Waikato region, and how tangata whenua and researchers may theoretically interface that information with archaeological knowledge.

The thesis has five research questions – each targeting a different facet of the whakapapa of pā in Waikato: (1) Why do kōrero (oral histories) include pā? (2) To what extent can we relate calendar years to whakapapa (tribal genealogies)? (3) When did warfare and pā construction develop in Waikato based on whakapapa? (4) Why did warfare and pā construction in Waikato develop at these times? (5) How do descendants relate to pā today?

Mixed methods included a thematic analysis of kōrero about pā and pakanga (warfare) from unpublished reo Māori (Māori language) manuscripts, Māori Land Court records, published sources and research interviews; the application of a Chronological Network Analysis (CNA) using ChronoLog software to relate whakapapa to calendar years; and a qualitative thematic analysis of research interviews with several Tainui descendants.

The review of textual information identified previously unrecognised primary reo Māori written texts for the vast majority of published twentieth-century Tainui kōrero authorities. Identifying these commonly uncited sources is a considerable contribution for future historians. Using a functionalist analysis of these sources, I argue that kōrero refer to pā as both real historical places and symbols of mana hapū (authority in collectives of extended families) in areas of land, their depth and breadth of occupation, socio-political changes and the strength of a community. Relating calendar years to whakapapa demands a historicisation of those structures, which is possible if one accepts the postmodern perspective that neither archaeology nor kōrero tuku iho (intergenerational oral histories) generate empirical or objectively true histories. Nonetheless, pursuing new and comprehensive understandings of the past is valuable.

A CNA model generated a 40-year median birthdate estimate span for over one thousand individuals born during the thirteenth to nineteenth centuries. Based on this whakapapa structure, kōrero pakanga (warfare histories) up until the battle of Mātakitaki in 1822 had five periods of higher frequency: 1420–1540, 1550–1580, 1600–1640, 1690–1730 and 1780–1822 CE. More conservative estimates combine the second and third periods, but the others are consistent. Smaller scale increases and decreases in the frequency of kōrero pakanaga were also present based on localised histories. The earliest kōrero pakanga correlate, if not slightly precede, the earliest known radiocarbon dates of pā fortification in approximately 1500 CE. Relative densities of kōrero pakanga and recorded archaeological pā also generally correlate by district.

Utu (rebalance) was the most common cause of warfare in kōrero across all periods. Meanwhile, conflict over mana rangatira (authority, influence, control) between related communities were more common in earlier kōrero pakanga. Warfare between more distantly related groups was more common from the 1600s and was commonly driven by utu and the occasional competition over whenua (land) and rawa taiao (resources). Contrary to anthropological literature, conflicts rarely resulted in conquest. Furthermore, there was a general increase in conflict size and political complexity in the later periods. The most recent layers of pā whakapapa are relationships held by living descendants who formed the qualitative interview group. I generated three themes based on interview responses: (1) pā (and wāhi tūpuna or ancestral places generally) are spaces of connection and identity affirmation; (2) colonising projects challenge those connections; and (3) descendants have kaitiakitanga (guardianship, through whakapapa) obligations to those places.

This thesis provides a whakapapa of pā, their origins, development, and importance to ngā kanohi ora (living descendants). It is only one among many potential interfaces between different ways to conceive and explain changes in time and space. The chosen method of exploring the interface treats it as multi-vocal, blurred, and complex. It exemplifies the potential avenues for fruitful knowledge generation between Western Science and Indigenous Knowledge Systems (in this case, mātauranga Māori). It also challenges the entrenchment of problematic terminology, such as “Prehistory” in Aotearoa New Zealand and demands space for, not only the protection of important wāhi tūpuna, but also the Crown’s development of resourcing, legislation, and policy to facilitate the exercise of kaitiakitanga. The results open potential ways in which archaeology may feedback into kōrero tuku iho in ways that are appropriate to the chronological whakapapa foundation of mātauranga ā-hapū.

text: An interface of mātauranga Māori and archaeology to generate a whakapapa of pā tawhito Mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge, epistemology) is foundational to iwi-Māori pasts and is essential to generating new knowledge about those pasts. Archaeology (the study of the physical remains of past human activity) is also an invaluable tool in understanding human history in Aotearoa New Zealand. Few studies have explored an interface between the two forms of knowledge, yet such an approach has great potential to develop new insights about the past that are relevant to descendants today. 

This thesis explores an interface between mātauranga Māori and archaeology to develop a whakapapa (relational genealogical framework) of the development of pā with a case study in Waikato. The word “pā” can refer to any tangata whenua (Indigenous people of the land, i.e., local Māori) settlement or village, but commonly refers to fortified forms, including villages, food stores and places of refuge. Many pā tawhito (historically occupied pā) have physical evidence that may simultaneously enhance descendant identity and well-being through ancestral connections and be a source of potential archaeological information. Researchers have recorded over seven thousand pā across the country (on the New Zealand Archaeological Association’s ArchSite database) at a much higher density than similar fortifications elsewhere in Oceania. Despite this proliferation, only limited and imprecise archaeological findings demonstrate when tangata whenua began constructing pā in their fortified form. We also do not sufficiently understand pā construction sequences through space and time.

This thesis is part of a broader Marsden-funded research project named ‘Rua Mātītī Rua Mātātā: A multidisciplinary investigation into the spatial-temporal role of pā in the development of Māori culture’. This project aimed to create a regional history of Waikato pā at the interface of archaeological science and mātauranga Māori. One side of the project included archaeological surveys and excavations in partnership with Waikato, Ngāti Apakura and Ngāti Maniapoto marae. This thesis focuses on the mātauranga Māori associated with pā in these areas and the broader Waikato region, and how tangata whenua and researchers may theoretically interface that information with archaeological knowledge.

The thesis has five research questions – each targeting a different facet of the whakapapa of pā in Waikato: (1) Why do kōrero (oral histories) include pā? (2) To what extent can we relate calendar years to whakapapa (tribal genealogies)? (3) When did warfare and pā construction develop in Waikato based on whakapapa? (4) Why did warfare and pā construction in Waikato develop at these times? (5) How do descendants relate to pā today?

Mixed methods included a thematic analysis of kōrero about pā and pakanga (warfare) from unpublished reo Māori (Māori language) manuscripts, Māori Land Court records, published sources and research interviews; the application of a Chronological Network Analysis (CNA) using ChronoLog software to relate whakapapa to calendar years; and a qualitative thematic analysis of research interviews with several Tainui descendants.

The review of textual information identified previously unrecognised primary reo Māori written texts for the vast majority of published twentieth-century Tainui kōrero authorities. Identifying these commonly uncited sources is a considerable contribution for future historians. Using a functionalist analysis of these sources, I argue that kōrero refer to pā as both real historical places and symbols of mana hapū (authority in collectives of extended families) in areas of land, their depth and breadth of occupation, socio-political changes and the strength of a community. Relating calendar years to whakapapa demands a historicisation of those structures, which is possible if one accepts the postmodern perspective that neither archaeology nor kōrero tuku iho (intergenerational oral histories) generate empirical or objectively true histories. Nonetheless, pursuing new and comprehensive understandings of the past is valuable.

A CNA model generated a 40-year median birthdate estimate span for over one thousand individuals born during the thirteenth to nineteenth centuries. Based on this whakapapa structure, kōrero pakanga (warfare histories) up until the battle of Mātakitaki in 1822 had five periods of higher frequency: 1420–1540, 1550–1580, 1600–1640, 1690–1730 and 1780–1822 CE. More conservative estimates combine the second and third periods, but the others are consistent. Smaller scale increases and decreases in the frequency of kōrero pakanaga were also present based on localised histories. The earliest kōrero pakanga correlate, if not slightly precede, the earliest known radiocarbon dates of pā fortification in approximately 1500 CE. Relative densities of kōrero pakanga and recorded archaeological pā also generally correlate by district.

Utu (rebalance) was the most common cause of warfare in kōrero across all periods. Meanwhile, conflict over mana rangatira (authority, influence, control) between related communities were more common in earlier kōrero pakanga. Warfare between more distantly related groups was more common from the 1600s and was commonly driven by utu and the occasional competition over whenua (land) and rawa taiao (resources). Contrary to anthropological literature, conflicts rarely resulted in conquest. Furthermore, there was a general increase in conflict size and political complexity in the later periods. The most recent layers of pā whakapapa are relationships held by living descendants who formed the qualitative interview group. I generated three themes based on interview responses: (1) pā (and wāhi tūpuna or ancestral places generally) are spaces of connection and identity affirmation; (2) colonising projects challenge those connections; and (3) descendants have kaitiakitanga (guardianship, through whakapapa) obligations to those places.

This thesis provides a whakapapa of pā, their origins, development, and importance to ngā kanohi ora (living descendants). It is only one among many potential interfaces between different ways to conceive and explain changes in time and space. The chosen method of exploring the interface treats it as multi-vocal, blurred, and complex. It exemplifies the potential avenues for fruitful knowledge generation between Western Science and Indigenous Knowledge Systems (in this case, mātauranga Māori). It also challenges the entrenchment of problematic terminology, such as “Prehistory” in Aotearoa New Zealand and demands space for, not only the protection of important wāhi tūpuna, but also the Crown’s development of resourcing, legislation, and policy to facilitate the exercise of kaitiakitanga. The results open potential ways in which archaeology may feedback into kōrero tuku iho in ways that are appropriate to the chronological whakapapa foundation of mātauranga ā-hapū.

year: 2024-07

title: Our Place in New Zealand Culture: How the Museum of New Zealand Constructs Biculturalism

authors: Goldsmith, Michael

subjects: museum

abstract: The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa opened in 1998 amidst controversy but has been a huge popular success and has become an icon of national identity. The controversy was confined to elite circles and stemmed from criticisms of the contrasting ways in which Maori and Pakeha (European) cultural items were displayed — the former in a reverential manner and the latter as a kind of 'amusement arcade' of supposedly incoherent, temporary and mocking exhibits. Through an analysis of these displays and of the representations surrounding them, this paper argues that the sacred/profane dichotomy promulgated by the Museum may be open to argument but is probably an inescapable feature of the official policy of biculturalism in a postcolonial setting.

text: Our Place in New Zealand Culture: How the Museum of New Zealand Constructs Biculturalism The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa opened in 1998 amidst controversy but has been a huge popular success and has become an icon of national identity. The controversy was confined to elite circles and stemmed from criticisms of the contrasting ways in which Maori and Pakeha (European) cultural items were displayed — the former in a reverential manner and the latter as a kind of 'amusement arcade' of supposedly incoherent, temporary and mocking exhibits. Through an analysis of these displays and of the representations surrounding them, this paper argues that the sacred/profane dichotomy promulgated by the Museum may be open to argument but is probably an inescapable feature of the official policy of biculturalism in a postcolonial setting.

year: 2003

title: Running the race: Competition discourse and broadband growth in Aotearoa New Zealand

authors: Ganesh, Shiv

subjects: broadband

abstract: The objective of this study is to understand key aspects of contemporary discourse surrounding telecommunications development in Aotearoa New Zealand after the privatization of telecommunications in the late 1980s. We identify various characteristics of discourse on competition and telecommunication and trace how competition discourse was rhetorically positioned in attempts to produce economic, political and cultural outcomes. In particular, we argue that a race metaphor underpinned discussions about competition in broadband development. The race metaphor itself was raced inasmuch as it tapped into national anxieties about Aotearoa New Zealand’s place in the ‘developed’ world in order to motivate action on broadband policy. We also found that competition discourse in relation to broadband policy exhibited inherent contradictions in promoting control, in the form of increased regulation, while simultaneously promoting freedom, in the form of ‘unbundling’. Implications for understanding broadband growth as well as competition discourse itself are discussed.

text: Running the race: Competition discourse and broadband growth in Aotearoa New Zealand The objective of this study is to understand key aspects of contemporary discourse surrounding telecommunications development in Aotearoa New Zealand after the privatization of telecommunications in the late 1980s. We identify various characteristics of discourse on competition and telecommunication and trace how competition discourse was rhetorically positioned in attempts to produce economic, political and cultural outcomes. In particular, we argue that a race metaphor underpinned discussions about competition in broadband development. The race metaphor itself was raced inasmuch as it tapped into national anxieties about Aotearoa New Zealand’s place in the ‘developed’ world in order to motivate action on broadband policy. We also found that competition discourse in relation to broadband policy exhibited inherent contradictions in promoting control, in the form of increased regulation, while simultaneously promoting freedom, in the form of ‘unbundling’. Implications for understanding broadband growth as well as competition discourse itself are discussed.

year: 2011-07