Lecture 19 - Maori and Technology Flashcards
What is technology?
Māori technology course definition: Tools, devices and machines that have been developed by the application of Māori knowledge.
Can be argued against though -> not just tangible things but can be ideas e.g. purako, maori forms of knowledge
Why do we care about technology?
◦ Displays a strong, vibrant and healthy body of people.
◦ Provides insight to ingenuity and innovation and allow clues to the future, by using the past
◦ We can utilize ancient methods of innovation to incorporate these into finding a solution for modern
problems.
◦ Think Climate (use prinicples of kaitanga), food shortages, warfare or negotiation
Examples of Early Technology
◦ Kete (basket)
◦ Waka modifications:
- Double shouldered adze
- Triangular sail versus a square rig
-Modern applications
◦ Technology in narratives:
- Maui and his grandmother’s jawbone.
Astronomy and Navigation
Techniques as maori technology
◦ Night sky and ocean voyaging
◦ Waka were utilized as compasses,
but more specific Māori star compasses were developed
◦ Any technique utilizing innovation or
art might be argued as a technology
Extensions: adoption of a flag
the united tries of New Zealand Flag allowed protection for maori -> associated them with Britain
Weapons
◦ He mere patu pounamu, he wahaika and spears
◦ Introduction of muskets
◦ Revolutionizing warfare
◦ Diminishment of oral negotiation and altered power dynamics (those who could obtain muskets became more powerful)
Māori literacy advancements
◦ Te reo Māori was an oral language - there wasn’t the emphasis placed on literacy as there was with Western cultures.
◦ While there was a disadvantage for Māori initially in terms of literacy, they rapidly adapted to this new form of communication and began writing letters.
Archived Māori letters
With the development of literacy in
terms of reading and writing, onwards
came legible documents that provide
us with insight into a time of the past
◦ Inform the Waitangi Tribunal on past histories
◦ Inform the whakapapa of an individual
◦ Think of them as a portal to another time
◦ Scrutinized on their validity (e.g. biased by the the emotions of the person at the time)
Niupepa Māori (maori newspaper)
Now that there was inclusion of literacy among Māori we saw the quick uptake of this technology.
◦ Te Karere o Niu Tireni
◦ Media is considered to be something between a creator and its intended audience.
◦ Allowed perception for Māori about ongoings in the world and nationwide in te reo and consistent with te ao
Māori.
◦ Estimated their decline is correlated to the decline of native te reo Māori speakers.
◦ Contents in
-Political concerns for Māori
-Māori activities
-International news and accounts
Radio
Broadcasting rights were perceived as being a method for revitalization of te reo Māori so under Waitangi tribunal report 11 we saw resources
allocated to Māori to protect their taonga.
◦ Radio New Zealand was obliged as a treaty partner to set aside 21 radio stations (frequencies and
resources) for use of iwi-based promotion of the language.
◦ Wiremu Parker first Māori voice during 1940s
◦ Te Upoko o Te Ika FM (First)
Te Karere
◦ News and Current Events television
◦ Enables a Māori world-view modern
news source
◦ A Television programme dedicated to
Māori centric worldview (Te ao Māori).
◦ Became a regular news segment in 1983 (important date!)
◦ Gave Māori an opportunity to get a
modern approach to implementing te
ao Māori into news
◦ Development of Whakaata Māori (Māori
TV) in 2004.
Digital Equity
◦ Digital equity exists when everyone can access and use digital technologies so as to participate fully in our society,
democracy and economy.
◦ 10% of people in Aotearoa are digitally
excluded
◦ 20% struggle to access necessary
services that technology provides
Responsibilities under Kaupapa
Māori research
◦ Respecting the mana (authority), tikanga (protocols, customs) and
whakapapa (lineage) of the tissue/cells.
◦ Understanding my position as Pākehā. Consultation with Māori to provide a te
ao Māori lens.
◦ Incorporation of tikanga into lab protocols.
◦ Whakataukī (proverbs), karakia (prayer, incantation).
◦ Use of mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge) to navigate methods.
-> Through pūrākau (stories), waiata (songs), haka
-> Contributing to a larger body of knowledge (creating a space where people who whakapapa to maori can get invovled in research)
Social Media and Māori society
Social media has often been considered one of the greatest and dangerous influences in society today.
Better access to networks such as fiber optics means more Māori using the internet
◦ Positive effects
->Communication between people.
-> Can communicate tikanga and te reo Māori
—–> Influencers, resources.
◦ Negative Effects
-> Cyber-bullying
-> Time consumption
What is diaspora?
◦ The dispersal of indigenous populations beyond their home
territories.
Two types
-> Hau kainga = Those who remain at the home territory
-> Taura here = Those who are separated or removed from their home territories.
Formation of taura here groups via technology
