title: Waiata anthems: How Aotearoa (New Zealand) popular and contemporary music is addressing generational trauma and revitalising te reo Māori (the Māori language)

authors: Walker, Alroy

abstract: Waiata is translated as song or chant from te reo Māori (the Māori language), yet it has many forms and important functions in te ao Māori (the Māori world). Waiata is most commonly experienced publicly in Aotearoa in support of whaikõrero (oration, formal speech-making), but it also serves to reinforce Māori interconnectedness to others, the natural world and to the supernatural world. Enduring from pre-encounter oral culture, waiata serve as vessels and a mode of transmission for mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge), histories (whanau, iwi) and culture. This presentation focuses on emergent and contemporary modes of waiata (punk, hardcore and indie) in a post-colonial context, examining musician motivations, the role that music plays in the revitalisation of te reo Māori, and how it honours the purpose of waiata tawhito (traditional waiata). The project is part of ongoing research supported by the partnership agreement between Prifysgol Caerdydd and University of Waikato.

text: Waiata anthems: How Aotearoa (New Zealand) popular and contemporary music is addressing generational trauma and revitalising te reo Māori (the Māori language) Waiata is translated as song or chant from te reo Māori (the Māori language), yet it has many forms and important functions in te ao Māori (the Māori world). Waiata is most commonly experienced publicly in Aotearoa in support of whaikõrero (oration, formal speech-making), but it also serves to reinforce Māori interconnectedness to others, the natural world and to the supernatural world. Enduring from pre-encounter oral culture, waiata serve as vessels and a mode of transmission for mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge), histories (whanau, iwi) and culture. This presentation focuses on emergent and contemporary modes of waiata (punk, hardcore and indie) in a post-colonial context, examining musician motivations, the role that music plays in the revitalisation of te reo Māori, and how it honours the purpose of waiata tawhito (traditional waiata). The project is part of ongoing research supported by the partnership agreement between Prifysgol Caerdydd and University of Waikato.

year: 2023-11-22

title: Māori men, relationships, and everyday practices: towards broadening domestic violence research

authors: King, Pita

subjects: Māori

abstract: Relationships are central to the health and wellbeing of Māori (indigenous people of New Zealand). Through processes of colonisation, cultural ways of relatedness embedded within Māori social structures experienced disruption and were reshaped over decades of assimilation. Māori knowledge and everyday practices that assisted in protecting Māori from societal problems, such as domestic violence, began to dwindle. In contemporary New Zealand, Māori are over-represented in domestic violence statistics. Utilising an auto-ethnographic approach and case studies, our research focuses on five Māori men’s experiences within intimate relationships and whānau (extended family) life. A significant feature of this research is that it provides insights into the ways Māori men draw on their cultural ways-of-being to enhance intimate relationships and maintain bonds within whānau and community life to forge new ways-of-being. Such insights have the potential to inform preventative measures against domestic violence within Māori communities.

text: Māori men, relationships, and everyday practices: towards broadening domestic violence research Relationships are central to the health and wellbeing of Māori (indigenous people of New Zealand). Through processes of colonisation, cultural ways of relatedness embedded within Māori social structures experienced disruption and were reshaped over decades of assimilation. Māori knowledge and everyday practices that assisted in protecting Māori from societal problems, such as domestic violence, began to dwindle. In contemporary New Zealand, Māori are over-represented in domestic violence statistics. Utilising an auto-ethnographic approach and case studies, our research focuses on five Māori men’s experiences within intimate relationships and whānau (extended family) life. A significant feature of this research is that it provides insights into the ways Māori men draw on their cultural ways-of-being to enhance intimate relationships and maintain bonds within whānau and community life to forge new ways-of-being. Such insights have the potential to inform preventative measures against domestic violence within Māori communities.

year: 2017

title: The Chthonomonas calidirosea genome is highly conserved across geographic locations and distinct chemical and microbial environments in New Zealand's Taupo Volcanic Zone

authors: Lee, Kevin C.

abstract: Chthonomonas calidirosea T49T is a low-abundance, carbohydrate-scavenging, and thermophilic soil bacterium with a seemingly disorganized genome. We hypothesized that the C. calidirosea genome would be highly responsive to local selection pressure, resulting in the divergence of its genomic content, genome organization, and carbohydrate utilization phenotype across environments. We tested this hypothesis by sequencing the genomes of four C. calidirosea isolates obtained from four separate geothermal fields in the Taupō Volcanic Zone, New Zealand. For each isolation site, we measured physicochemical attributes and defined the associated microbial community by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Despite their ecological and geographical isolation, the genome sequences showed low divergence (maximum, 1.17%). Isolate-specific variations included single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), restriction-modification systems, and mobile elements but few major deletions and no major rearrangements. The 50-fold variation in C. calidirosea relative abundance among the four sites correlated with site environmental characteristics but not with differences in genomic content. Conversely, the carbohydrate utilization profiles of the C. calidirosea isolates corresponded to the inferred isolate phylogenies, which only partially paralleled the geographical relationships among the sample sites. Genomic sequence conservation does not entirely parallel geographic distance, suggesting that stochastic dispersal and localized extinction, which allow for rapid population homogenization with little restriction by geographical barriers, are possible mechanisms of C. calidirosea distribution. This dispersal and extinction mechanism is likely not limited to C. calidirosea but may shape the populations and genomes of many other low-abundance free-living taxa.

text: The Chthonomonas calidirosea genome is highly conserved across geographic locations and distinct chemical and microbial environments in New Zealand's Taupo Volcanic Zone Chthonomonas calidirosea T49T is a low-abundance, carbohydrate-scavenging, and thermophilic soil bacterium with a seemingly disorganized genome. We hypothesized that the C. calidirosea genome would be highly responsive to local selection pressure, resulting in the divergence of its genomic content, genome organization, and carbohydrate utilization phenotype across environments. We tested this hypothesis by sequencing the genomes of four C. calidirosea isolates obtained from four separate geothermal fields in the Taupō Volcanic Zone, New Zealand. For each isolation site, we measured physicochemical attributes and defined the associated microbial community by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Despite their ecological and geographical isolation, the genome sequences showed low divergence (maximum, 1.17%). Isolate-specific variations included single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), restriction-modification systems, and mobile elements but few major deletions and no major rearrangements. The 50-fold variation in C. calidirosea relative abundance among the four sites correlated with site environmental characteristics but not with differences in genomic content. Conversely, the carbohydrate utilization profiles of the C. calidirosea isolates corresponded to the inferred isolate phylogenies, which only partially paralleled the geographical relationships among the sample sites. Genomic sequence conservation does not entirely parallel geographic distance, suggesting that stochastic dispersal and localized extinction, which allow for rapid population homogenization with little restriction by geographical barriers, are possible mechanisms of C. calidirosea distribution. This dispersal and extinction mechanism is likely not limited to C. calidirosea but may shape the populations and genomes of many other low-abundance free-living taxa.

year: 2016