title: Mana Wahine Geographies: Spiritual, Spatial and Embodied Understandings of Papatūānuku

authors: Simmonds, Naomi Beth

subjects: Mana wahine

abstract: This thesis is a theoretical and empirical exploration of Māori women's knowledges and understandings of Papatūānuku in contemporary Aotearoa. The primary focus of this research is on the complexities, connections, and contradictions of Māori women's embodied relationships with the spaces of Papatūānuku - spaces that are simultaneously material, discursive, symbolic, and spiritual. In doing so, I displace the boundaries between coloniser/colonised, self/other, rational/irrational and scientific/spiritual. I demonstrate that Māori women's colonised realities produce multiple, complex and hybrid understandings of Papatūānuku. 

This thesis has three main strands. The first is theoretical. I offer mana wahine (Māori feminist discourses) as another perspective for geography that engages with the complex intersections of colonisation, race and gender. A mana wahine geography framework is a useful lens through which to explore the complexities of Māori women's relationships to space and place. This framework contributes to, and draws together, feminist geographies and Māori and indigenous academic scholarship.

Autobiographical material is woven with joint and individual semi-structured in-depth interviews conducted with nine Māori women in the Waikato region. The second strand, woven into this thesis, is a critical examination of the colonisation of Māori women's spiritual and embodied relationships to Papatūānuku. The invisibility of Māori women's knowledges in dominant conceptualisations of mythology, tikanga and wairua discourses is not a harmless omission rather it contains a political imperative that maintains the hegemony of colonialism and patriarchy. I argue that to understand further Māori women's relationships to space and place an examination of wairua discourses is necessary.

The third strand reconfigures embodied and spatial conceptualisations of Papatūānuku. Māori women's maternal bodies are intimately tied to Papatūānuku in a way that challenges the oppositional distinctions between mind/body and biology/social inscription. Māori women's maternal bodies (and the representation of them in te reo Māori) are constructed by, and in turn, construct Papatūānuku. Furthermore, women's spatial relationship to tūrangawaewae, home space and wider environmental concerns demonstrates the co-constitution of subjectivities, bodies and space/place. 

My hope is that this thesis will add to geographical literature by addressing previously ignored knowledges and that it will contribute to indigenous scholarship by providing a spatial perspective.

text: Mana Wahine Geographies: Spiritual, Spatial and Embodied Understandings of Papatūānuku This thesis is a theoretical and empirical exploration of Māori women's knowledges and understandings of Papatūānuku in contemporary Aotearoa. The primary focus of this research is on the complexities, connections, and contradictions of Māori women's embodied relationships with the spaces of Papatūānuku - spaces that are simultaneously material, discursive, symbolic, and spiritual. In doing so, I displace the boundaries between coloniser/colonised, self/other, rational/irrational and scientific/spiritual. I demonstrate that Māori women's colonised realities produce multiple, complex and hybrid understandings of Papatūānuku. 

This thesis has three main strands. The first is theoretical. I offer mana wahine (Māori feminist discourses) as another perspective for geography that engages with the complex intersections of colonisation, race and gender. A mana wahine geography framework is a useful lens through which to explore the complexities of Māori women's relationships to space and place. This framework contributes to, and draws together, feminist geographies and Māori and indigenous academic scholarship.

Autobiographical material is woven with joint and individual semi-structured in-depth interviews conducted with nine Māori women in the Waikato region. The second strand, woven into this thesis, is a critical examination of the colonisation of Māori women's spiritual and embodied relationships to Papatūānuku. The invisibility of Māori women's knowledges in dominant conceptualisations of mythology, tikanga and wairua discourses is not a harmless omission rather it contains a political imperative that maintains the hegemony of colonialism and patriarchy. I argue that to understand further Māori women's relationships to space and place an examination of wairua discourses is necessary.

The third strand reconfigures embodied and spatial conceptualisations of Papatūānuku. Māori women's maternal bodies are intimately tied to Papatūānuku in a way that challenges the oppositional distinctions between mind/body and biology/social inscription. Māori women's maternal bodies (and the representation of them in te reo Māori) are constructed by, and in turn, construct Papatūānuku. Furthermore, women's spatial relationship to tūrangawaewae, home space and wider environmental concerns demonstrates the co-constitution of subjectivities, bodies and space/place. 

My hope is that this thesis will add to geographical literature by addressing previously ignored knowledges and that it will contribute to indigenous scholarship by providing a spatial perspective.

year: 2009

title: Editorial

authors: Bray, Peter

abstract: The Volume 43(1) editorial of the "New Zealand Journal of Counselling" reflects on the past year, highlighting local and global concerns such as COVID-19's impact, civil unrest, conflicts, and climate change. Looking ahead, the editorial stresses acknowledging climate change's reality and ongoing conflicts while seeking optimism.

The editorial notes the privilege of witnessing innovative research by counseling students and colleagues that addresses global crises' effects. It underscores the importance of informed practitioners backed by robust research and theory.

The issue presents five research pieces showcasing diverse counseling methodologies. These include Māori approaches to trauma, Pākehā exploration through pepeha, clients' spirituality in adversity, mind-body interactions in counseling, and supervision amid events like pandemics.

One article discusses Māori trauma approaches, reconnecting wairua (spirit) and whakapapa (ancestral lineage) to address trauma. Another explores how Pākehā can confront colonization roles using pepeha.

Clients' spiritual experiences during challenging events are analyzed in another article, employing Māori and Celtic metaphors.

Mind-body interactions in counseling education and practice are investigated, emphasizing integrating body-oriented psychotherapies and nutrition.

Lastly, supervision during COVID-19 is studied, exploring its impact on relationships and suggesting growth opportunities.

The editorial concludes by noting the New Zealand Association of Counselling's website improvements, aiming to enhance journal access. It acknowledges Dr. Jan Wilson's passing, a significant contributor to New Zealand's counseling research, and encourages engagement with research and journal contributions.

text: Editorial The Volume 43(1) editorial of the "New Zealand Journal of Counselling" reflects on the past year, highlighting local and global concerns such as COVID-19's impact, civil unrest, conflicts, and climate change. Looking ahead, the editorial stresses acknowledging climate change's reality and ongoing conflicts while seeking optimism.

The editorial notes the privilege of witnessing innovative research by counseling students and colleagues that addresses global crises' effects. It underscores the importance of informed practitioners backed by robust research and theory.

The issue presents five research pieces showcasing diverse counseling methodologies. These include Māori approaches to trauma, Pākehā exploration through pepeha, clients' spirituality in adversity, mind-body interactions in counseling, and supervision amid events like pandemics.

One article discusses Māori trauma approaches, reconnecting wairua (spirit) and whakapapa (ancestral lineage) to address trauma. Another explores how Pākehā can confront colonization roles using pepeha.

Clients' spiritual experiences during challenging events are analyzed in another article, employing Māori and Celtic metaphors.

Mind-body interactions in counseling education and practice are investigated, emphasizing integrating body-oriented psychotherapies and nutrition.

Lastly, supervision during COVID-19 is studied, exploring its impact on relationships and suggesting growth opportunities.

The editorial concludes by noting the New Zealand Association of Counselling's website improvements, aiming to enhance journal access. It acknowledges Dr. Jan Wilson's passing, a significant contributor to New Zealand's counseling research, and encourages engagement with research and journal contributions.

year: 2023

title: Postcards from the outside: European-contact rock art imagery and occupation on the southern Arnhem Land plateau, Jawoyn lands

authors: Gunn, Robert

abstract: The northwestern region of the Arnhem Land plateau has long been relatively well-documented and is renowned worldwide for its wealth of rock art, including numerous paintings referencing items of material culture, people and events of contact between local Aboriginal peoples, Macassans, Chinese and Europeans (e.g. Chaloupka 1993:190–206; Edwards 1979:32; May et al. 2010, 2013; Mountford 1956:162, 179; Wesley 2013). Many of these contact motifs depict Macassan and 19th- to early 20th-century European ships (Chaloupka 1993:190–205; Taçon et al. 2010); some are of newly acquired artefacts, such as rifles, knives and Macassan kris, and horses (May et al. 2013; Wesley 2013); others depict events from the 1880 gold rush in Pine Creek to the west of the plateau (Chinese miners; e.g. Edwards 1979); still others show themes relating to the Second World War (aeroplanes, Darwin wharf; Chaloupka 1993).

text: Postcards from the outside: European-contact rock art imagery and occupation on the southern Arnhem Land plateau, Jawoyn lands The northwestern region of the Arnhem Land plateau has long been relatively well-documented and is renowned worldwide for its wealth of rock art, including numerous paintings referencing items of material culture, people and events of contact between local Aboriginal peoples, Macassans, Chinese and Europeans (e.g. Chaloupka 1993:190–206; Edwards 1979:32; May et al. 2010, 2013; Mountford 1956:162, 179; Wesley 2013). Many of these contact motifs depict Macassan and 19th- to early 20th-century European ships (Chaloupka 1993:190–205; Taçon et al. 2010); some are of newly acquired artefacts, such as rifles, knives and Macassan kris, and horses (May et al. 2013; Wesley 2013); others depict events from the 1880 gold rush in Pine Creek to the west of the plateau (Chinese miners; e.g. Edwards 1979); still others show themes relating to the Second World War (aeroplanes, Darwin wharf; Chaloupka 1993).

year: 2017