title: Is there evidence that traditional mōteatea (Māori laments) were composed from a common stock of oral formulae?

authors: Roa, Raukura

subjects: New Zealand

abstract: Oral formulaic composition, which involves the use of communally owned formulae of various kinds, is a common feature of verbal arts produced in many different languages. It is particularly associated with pre-literate cultures and tends to be gradually replaced by more individualistic verbal art forms when societies become literate. There are very few publications in which the analysis of mōteatea (Māori laments) is linked explicitly to oral formulaic theory. Nevertheless, there is sufficient evidence in published sources to indicate that traditional mōteatea (defined here as mōteatea that are not fundamentally influenced by European cultural beliefs and practices) exhibit evidence of regularly recurring, conventional themes (such as death, separation, loss and travel) and motifs (such as the setting sun, the presence of rain or mist and sleeplessness). The research reported here set out to test the hypothesis that traditional mōteatea were made up of verbal formulae, that is, of the same or very similar groups of words derived from a common store of poetic resources. Based on the analysis of the mōteatea included in Ngā mōteatea, a collection initially established by Sir Apirana Ngata, I conclude that this hypothesis must be rejected.

text: Is there evidence that traditional mōteatea (Māori laments) were composed from a common stock of oral formulae? Oral formulaic composition, which involves the use of communally owned formulae of various kinds, is a common feature of verbal arts produced in many different languages. It is particularly associated with pre-literate cultures and tends to be gradually replaced by more individualistic verbal art forms when societies become literate. There are very few publications in which the analysis of mōteatea (Māori laments) is linked explicitly to oral formulaic theory. Nevertheless, there is sufficient evidence in published sources to indicate that traditional mōteatea (defined here as mōteatea that are not fundamentally influenced by European cultural beliefs and practices) exhibit evidence of regularly recurring, conventional themes (such as death, separation, loss and travel) and motifs (such as the setting sun, the presence of rain or mist and sleeplessness). The research reported here set out to test the hypothesis that traditional mōteatea were made up of verbal formulae, that is, of the same or very similar groups of words derived from a common store of poetic resources. Based on the analysis of the mōteatea included in Ngā mōteatea, a collection initially established by Sir Apirana Ngata, I conclude that this hypothesis must be rejected.

year: 2007

title: The Oral Transmission of Mātauranga Māori in regard to Traditional Hokianga Stories and the Revitalization of Significant Place Names.

authors: Barnes, Maria

subjects: Hokianga

abstract: This thesis researched the oral transmission of mātauranga Māori from one generation to another with a particular focus on the significance of place names in the Hokianga area from Waimamaku through to Opononi. It also sought to understand the stories and history that accompany this area. Our oral traditions are critical in helping to define our identity as Māori, and our relationship with the land.

This thesis begins by looking at the ways in which we as Māori are connected to the land and some of our traditional values regarding cultural practices and the way our tūpuna lived.  It also shares an example of the way in which our oral traditions and histories were preserved and taught.  There is then a detailed section regarding the significance of Hokianga place names within the Waimamaku, Omapere and Opononi area of Hokianga.  This information has been provided orally from the generosity of kaumātua of our area.  Following this I have concluded by providing an overall statement about the significance of findings and outcomes of my research.

This kaupapa is important as more and more of these place names and their histories will continue to be lost if records are not kept and shared with future generations.  I also understand the importance of protecting this knowledge.  Through colonisation and over time the use of our traditional educational practices and our place names and their histories have been forgotten, watered down, and sometimes lost.  Our learning methods, histories and whakapapa constitute important elements of who we are as Māori. They recognise the past, help us to understand today and guide us into the future. 

The research strategy used in my thesis is collaborative storying co-constructed between myself the researcher and local kaumātua deemed to hold traditional knowledge of our area.  This has provided the opportunity to find out significant place names and our local histories. Prior to working on this thesis only a few names were known and understood.  However in the end we are able to get a more detailed picture of our history.  There are still plenty more place names to be found and understood.


We live and come from a beautiful place.

text: The Oral Transmission of Mātauranga Māori in regard to Traditional Hokianga Stories and the Revitalization of Significant Place Names. This thesis researched the oral transmission of mātauranga Māori from one generation to another with a particular focus on the significance of place names in the Hokianga area from Waimamaku through to Opononi. It also sought to understand the stories and history that accompany this area. Our oral traditions are critical in helping to define our identity as Māori, and our relationship with the land.

This thesis begins by looking at the ways in which we as Māori are connected to the land and some of our traditional values regarding cultural practices and the way our tūpuna lived.  It also shares an example of the way in which our oral traditions and histories were preserved and taught.  There is then a detailed section regarding the significance of Hokianga place names within the Waimamaku, Omapere and Opononi area of Hokianga.  This information has been provided orally from the generosity of kaumātua of our area.  Following this I have concluded by providing an overall statement about the significance of findings and outcomes of my research.

This kaupapa is important as more and more of these place names and their histories will continue to be lost if records are not kept and shared with future generations.  I also understand the importance of protecting this knowledge.  Through colonisation and over time the use of our traditional educational practices and our place names and their histories have been forgotten, watered down, and sometimes lost.  Our learning methods, histories and whakapapa constitute important elements of who we are as Māori. They recognise the past, help us to understand today and guide us into the future. 

The research strategy used in my thesis is collaborative storying co-constructed between myself the researcher and local kaumātua deemed to hold traditional knowledge of our area.  This has provided the opportunity to find out significant place names and our local histories. Prior to working on this thesis only a few names were known and understood.  However in the end we are able to get a more detailed picture of our history.  There are still plenty more place names to be found and understood.


We live and come from a beautiful place.

year: 2010

title: Measuring and characterising inbound sessions in residential DSL traffic

authors: Alcock, Shane

subjects: DSL

abstract: It has been assumed that the need for successful NAT traversal discourages residential DSL users from running services or applications that require them to accept connections from remote hosts. However, there are now numerous approaches for NAT traversal but there have been no studies measuring the prevalence of DSL users accepting inbound sessions. This paper presents an analysis of TCP and UDP flows initiated by remote clients to a group of residential DSL users, using packet traces captured from a New Zealand ISP between 2009 and 2011. Our analysis reveals that over half of all measured users accepted at least one inbound TCP or UDP session. There was no dominant port being used to accept sessions and port usage was spread over thousands of different ports. Skype and BitTorrent were the most popular application protocols observed and had increased in popularity over time. We also report on the use of dual SYNs to perform TCP NAT traversal in our data.

text: Measuring and characterising inbound sessions in residential DSL traffic It has been assumed that the need for successful NAT traversal discourages residential DSL users from running services or applications that require them to accept connections from remote hosts. However, there are now numerous approaches for NAT traversal but there have been no studies measuring the prevalence of DSL users accepting inbound sessions. This paper presents an analysis of TCP and UDP flows initiated by remote clients to a group of residential DSL users, using packet traces captured from a New Zealand ISP between 2009 and 2011. Our analysis reveals that over half of all measured users accepted at least one inbound TCP or UDP session. There was no dominant port being used to accept sessions and port usage was spread over thousands of different ports. Skype and BitTorrent were the most popular application protocols observed and had increased in popularity over time. We also report on the use of dual SYNs to perform TCP NAT traversal in our data.

year: 2011