Lecture 22- The Imagined criteria of Maori Identity

Question 1

Māori identity before European arrival

Answer 1

-No one in Aotearoa New Zealand identified as ‘Māori’

-maori (with a little m) means normal/ usual people this place to distinguish from pakeha (foreigns).

-In reality maori do not exist as a homogenous group -> there are differences between iwi, hapu, tribes etc.

Question 2

Impact of Colonisation on identity

Answer 2

-Loss of land

• Loss of culture (adoption of european lifestyle as moved into urban pakeha dominated areas -> with this came loss of language driven by legalisation)
• Disconnect from tūrangawaewae (place to stand)

Question 3

‘Imagined’ Māori identity (by others)

Answer 3

Imagined identity of Māori by others:
* Uncivilised
* Heathens
* Noble savage
* Child like

Driven from a culture clash and not understanding different ways of living and being

Question 4

Today’s imagined maori identity

Answer 4

-What people who are not maori think about maori

e.g. turangawaewae = people may think that all maori have grown up and/ or live on their Tūrangawaewae. Those who have not are not maori. Whereas in reality thirty percent of maori do not know their whakapapa. Many maori do not live near their tribal area. Some have never been because they feel disconnected.

The textbook outlines assumptions and differences in opinion pertaining to different subheadings e.g. lifestyle, physical appearance, te reo maori, maori performing arts, maori privilege (just to bring maori up to an equal footing recognises the disadvantages they face from colonisation)

As a general trend people who are not maori believe you have to be connected to traditional practices, ancestral land, language etc. in reality things like colonisation have meant that many maori are disconnected from these things -> it doesn’t make them any less maori. Also maori come in all shapes and forms the stereotype of brown skin, flat nose etc. doesn’t make someone anymore maori.

Question 5

Theory of maori identity

Answer 5

many people have come up with criteria of who can identify as maori

Common themes:
-whakapapa (even if you don’t know it)
-Self identification (if you don’t have the whakapapa to go with it can be controversial to claim)
-Growing up in a community and learning tribal traditions (in reality not all maori have had the ability to do this)
-Marae participation -> same thing may be disconnected through no fault of own

Don’t have blood quantum as a criteria -> can be damaging
Always a bit controversial having criteria for these things - excludes people

Question 6

Theory of maori identity: Jackson, 1999

Answer 6

“If we are to reclaim the truth of what is us, if we are to bequeath to our mokopuna a world in which they can stand tall as Māori, then we have to reclaim the right to
define for ourselves who we are, and what our rights are. We have to challenge definitions that are not our own, especially those which confine us to a subordinate
place.”