Week 2 - Cultural Concepts

Question 1

How does the Māori concept of time vary from the Western view?

Answer 1

Western society sees time as linear (the future ahead and the past behind). Māori people view time as cyclical (or a spiral) and keep their eyes on the past to guide their present and future.

Question 2

How do Māori view the landscape of Aotearoa? How does this differ to the Western perception?

Answer 2

Māori view Wellington area as the top of New Zealand and Cape Reinga as the bottom. This is b/c the N. Island is seen as the fish of Maui (Te Ika a Maui), whereas the S. Island is Maui’s canoe a.k.a. greenstone and Stewart Island the canoe’s anchor.

Question 3

Mana

Answer 3

Authority, prestige, power, influence. Linked with tāpu.

Question 4

Whakapapa

Answer 4

Genealogy. The whakapapa includes people and places in one’s whakapapa.

Question 5

Te Taha Wairua

Answer 5

Spiritual Aspects

Question 6

Te Taha Kikokiko

Answer 6

Physical aspects

Question 7

Wharekura

Answer 7

Means “highly prized house”- a traditional place of learning. Sometimes called a “whare wānanga”.

Question 8

Rāhui

Answer 8

conservation. When a place breaks tapu, somtimes a rāhui is called for to be cleansed through time. This is preservation of an area of land.

Question 9

Tūrangawaewae

Answer 9

Place of origin; Where you will be buried. A person’s “roots” including their whānau, hapū, and iwi, whakapapa and kapahaka

Question 10

Runga

Answer 10

South, up

Question 11

Raro

Answer 11

North, down or below