Lecture 2- Tikanga: How Not To Get Told Off! Part 1

Question 1

What are cultural concepts?

Answer 1

The core values and principles upon which a community exists

Māori cultural concepts are principles of tikanaga Māori in origin

Question 2

What is Tikanga Māori?

Answer 2

-Tiki= correct

-Māori follow certain rules about how certain actions might be done (guidelines for correct cultural practises- like etiquette)

-Can change depending on situation/ where you are (follow the hosts). Kawa = locally specific tikanga.

-Therefore, Broad definitions

-From outside perspective = the cultural practises/ customs/ traditions we might not be familiar with

• Not entirely correct though —> You don’t have to wait for a specific occasion to practice tikanga - it impacts everyday life

-Also subject to change (tikanga is not static) in relation to environment/ social context (e.g. cannibalism)

Question 3

Where does tikanga originate?

Answer 3

-Matauranga Māori (knowledge environment, development, contact)

-Parakau (precedents, understanding, examples) = narratives

Question 4

Is the knowledge (Matauranga Māori) that contributes to tikanga limited to that pre-colonisation?

Answer 4

No, Past, present knowledge (just pre-colonisation is a very narrow view of matauranga Māori)
—> All knowledge developed by Māori people in relation to surrounding (social, cultural environmental)

Question 5

What role do younger people play in tikanga?

Answer 5

-Tikanga is meant to broken in order to be learnt e.g. by young Māori.

-Younger members of community meant to push boundaries of tikanga and show the older people whether it still relevant to the time (links with tikanga as fluid).

Question 6

Whakapapa and link to tikanga?

Answer 6

-Everything in relation to everything else. Layers. Links the spiritual and physical world. We exist in layers.

-This means no one is an individual- we all have connections to the people and places which they belong (layers in ancestors). In other words Māori have a collectivists identity.

—> links to Tikanga in introduction= relate to where they came from instead of just introducing themselves as an individual.

–> also maybe that you have a duty to everyone and everything around you so important to uphold standards of behaviour that have been collectively decided and benefit everyone !

Question 7

Overarching principles of Māori society (big 3) that tikanga are made of

Answer 7

-Whanaungatanga
-Manaakitanga
-Aroha

Question 8

Whanaungatanga

Answer 8

-Whanau (give birth, be born, family = broad sense not nuclear)

-Hapu (pregnant, sub-clan/ sub-tribe)

-Iwi (bones, people, tribe)

-Purpose of Whanaungatanga about strengthening of relationships (relationships underpin the rest of the practises in Māori society).

Question 9

Manaakitanga

Answer 9

-Care and Support

-Much more than just hospitality

-Encourages people to make decisions and behaviour that shows the most care, is generous of spirit and ultimately aims to provide the best outcomes for all concerned

-Described as a guiding principle for everyone

-Might not always seem ‘nice’ from the outside e.g. correcting/ scowling children for breaking tikanaga so that they are not corrected by someone they don’t know (harsh in the short-term but better in the long-term).

Question 10

Aroha

Answer 10

-Love
-Compassion
-Empathy
-Sympathy
-Concern for others

• Whanaungatanga and Mannakitanga often brought underneath broader category of Aroha
  -Aroha can be given out in a way that may not generally be considered as fuzzy (i.e. corrective- like manaakitanga).

-Aroha is always important no matter the circumstance. It is overarching and underpins everything else.

Question 11

Importance of tikanga in Māori society

Answer 11

-Precedents (set by the narratives and gods)
-Behaviour
-Process
-Protocols
-Evolving (tikanga prone to being misinterpreted in today’s climate)