Te Okiokinga Mutunga Kore – The Eternal Rest Investigating Māori Attitudes towards Death Courtney Leone Taumata Sullivan A thesis submitted for the degree of Master of Arts at the University of Otago, Dunedin New Zealand August 2012 Ki ōku tīpuna, tōku whānau, ōku hoa kua wehe atu ki te pō. He rangahau tēnei hei whakamaumahara i a koutou. Moe mai i roto i ō koutou okiokinga mutunga kore. Moe mai, moe mai rā. ii Abstract Te Aria Metaphorically entitled as ‘te okiokinga mutunga kore’, ‘the eternal rest’, this thesis addresses the research question ‘what are Māori attitudes to death?’, specifically experienced by three major cohorts of people; working professionals, those in education and Māori cultural practitioners, and explains how their environments have shaped their view of death. These attitudes are shaped through upbringing and belief, thus, this thesis re-tells Māori mythological beliefs of origins of death, discusses key tikanga Māori (Māori customary concepts) and their importance within traditional and contemporary Māori death rituals, which, in turn, forms the unique attitudes that Māori have towards death. iii Figure 1: Map of New Zealand outlining Māori tribal boundaries Map sourced from University of Auckland Library Website (Sullivan, 2009: Online). iv Acknowledgements He Mihi “He ora te whakapiri” “Strength in unity” (Brougham & Reed, 2003: 135) This whakataukī (proverb) shows that I could not have completed this research without the help of the many people that pulled me along the way to this finished product. They are my ‘strength’, my backbone, which enabled the submission of this thesis. Thank you all immensely. Firstly, I would like to thank my participants and their invaluable thoughts: anatomy students, widows, regular tangihanga attendees as well as the embalmer and funeral director. You form the flesh of this research and I am eternally grateful. Tēnā rawa atu koutou. Ki a koe te taniwha o ngā taniwha, te puna o te mātauranga, te poutokomanawa o tāku tuhi, ki a koe, Poia. Tēnā rawa atu koe mō tō manaakitanga, tō ārahitanga, tō aroha me tō āwhina i a au. Kāre he kupu e taea te whakapuaki i tāku mihi ki a koe. Tēnei te mihi mutunga kore ki a koe! A special mention goes out to my interim supervisor, Professor Michael Reilly, who got me through ethics and Karyn Paringatai (KP), my advisor, thank you so much for your guidance v and for always knowing exactly what I need and what to say to keep me going. He mihi nunui ki a kōrua. To all the staff and students at Te Tumu, thank you all very much. For your little words of wisdom, encouragement and everything else that made this research easier. A special shout out goes to Gianna and Levi for their proof-reading skills, as well as the Whakatāne girls, Nat and Carel, my comrades in this academic journey, without which I would not have even thought to pursue a Masters degree. Ka mihi, ka mihi, ka mihi! To all my friends (you know who you are), your aroha, patience and incentives to finish my mahi will never be forgotten. Thank you all! A special mention goes out to Kuga (Christina Hawkins) for her motivational whakataukī and pickups, a huge thanks for everything bro! A humungous thank you must also go out to Skruffere (Awhina Wakefield), for bringing me food, doing my chores, keeping me company, proof-reading, glossary fixing and being my on call taxi driver. Ko tēnei te mihi ki a koe e hine, tēnā rawa atu koe! Lastly and most importantly, I would like to acknowledge all my whānau: my mum, my dad, my cousins, my sister, my uncles, my aunties, my brothers, my nephews and my nieces. Thank you for all your support, love and patience, and making me proud to be who I am. vi Ko Pūtauaki me Taranaki ngā maunga Ko Ohinemataroa me Oakura ngā awa Ko Mātaatua me Kurahaupō ngā waka Ko Ngāti Awa me Taranaki ngā iwi Ko Courtney Sullivan tōku ingoa Nō Whakatāne ahau Nei rā he koha aroha ki a koutou. To everybody that I may have missed, I am truly grateful for those little and big things that you have done. It doesn’t go unnoticed. Thank you all enormously. vii Table of Contents Page Abstract iii Acknowledgements v Table of Contents viii List of Figures ix Methodology x Introduction 1 Chapter One: Tikanga Māori – Māori Customary Concepts 8 Chapter Two: Mai i te tīmatanga – From the Beginning 27 Chapter Three: Ko ngā ritenga o mua – Traditional Death Practices 48 Chapter Four: Ko ngā ritenga o nāianei – Contemporary Death Practices 78 Chapter Five: Ko ngā waiaro mō te Mate – Attitudes about Death 119 Conclusion 157 Glossary 166 Appendices 170 Bibliography 179 viii List of Figures Page Page Figure 1: Map of New Zealand outlining Māori tribal boundaries iv Figure 2: Māori creation genealogy 31 Figure 3: Genealogy of Hine-tītama 34 Figure 4: Map, North Island, New Zealand 1 41 Figure 5: Diagram showing the structure of the platform used in pre-European 59 times to view the deceased Figure 6: Map, North Island, New Zealand 2 69 ix Methodology Kaupapa Māori Framework Due to this research being founded on Māori attitudes to the body after death, interviews were undertaken to gain insight into these attitudes. With reference to the process of interviewing and using humans as research subjects, Te Tumu, the School of Māori, Pacific and Indigenous Studies, places strong emphasis on the ideology that research done with Indigenous communities, including Māori, should be conducted in a manner that is culturally appropriate and treats the participants with the utmost respect and dignity whilst interviewing. Reference to numerous literature regarding Kaupapa Māori Research and Māori Ethics, such as Mead (2003, Tīkanga Māori: Living by Māori Values), Smith (1999, Decolonising Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples) and Bishop (1996, Collaborative Research Stories: Whakawhanaungatanga) validated that Kaupapa Māori Research is research that is conducted by Māori for the benefit of Māori. This research therefore follows this philosophy and the framework used is now explained. Kaupapa Māori is described as being a “body of knowledge accumulated by the experiences through history, of the Māori” (Nepe, 1991: 4). The Kaupapa Māori framework is therefore, a method that ensures that the Māori knowledge gained, is obtained, researched and handled in a way that does not distort its meaning, ensures its safety, and ensures the safety of those generous enough to gift that knowledge. This framework is an independent one that does not align to Western methods of research, as it is Māori knowledge that is the focus, therefore an independently Māori framework should be used to better reflect the data obtained. In the x instance of this research, knowledge obtained was carried out by a Māori researcher, Māori participants were used, and the end product is aimed at benefitting Māori, therefore the Kaupapa Māori framework was essential (Walker, Eketone & Gibbs, 2006: 331). This framework is governed by the Māori language (te reo Māori), Maori custom (tikanga Māori) and based upon mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge) which affords a cultural framework determined and defined by Māori (Pihama, 2010: 5). Alongside the methodological approach outlined in the Te Tumu Post-Graduate Handbook (explained later), innate systems and methods were used to maintain the integrity of the research as well as those researched. These systems describe the collective and autonomous nature that Māori research is underpinned by, namely; tino rangatiratanga (sovereignty, self-determination, governance), recognition of the Māori world view, te reo Māori and whānau (Walker et al., 2006: 335). Tino rangatiratanga describes the research being owned and maintained by the collective rather than merely the researcher, thus, it is owned by all those who have contributed (large or small) to the finished product. This principle also ensures Māori cultural protocols and beliefs are kept in mind throughout the entire research process. Māori percieve knowledge as being highly specialised and tapu (restricted, sacred), and only a select few would have the ability to research, gain, and access knowledge. The participants are also entrusting the researcher with this knowledge, and therefore this knowledge must not be mis-used, but must be respected and protected. xi The principle of whānau enables Māori researchers to gain a more in-depth view into those researched. Participants and researchers that have an already established rapport, such as a link by family or friend, find themselves more comfortable in talking with the researcher as they know they can feel safe, their information will not be misrepresented, and they have the ability to be entirely truthful, resulting in a more rounded piece of research. The final value that is important within the Kaupapa Māori framework is te reo Māori. Te reo Māori has the ability to unlock doors to histories, values and beliefs that are often closed to those who do not understand the language (Walker et al., 2006: 334). With an understanding of te reo Māori there is less mis-interpretation of data, because, Māori terms are often not fully defined or understood with the use of the English language alone, such as mana (prestige, status, authority, rank), tapu and noa (unrestricted, free from tapu). Therefore te reo Māori is a very helpful tool into more meaningful research. Personally, the principles of this framework are already mentally and physically instilled into a Māori mindset, however, outlining these concepts identifies the level of connection and proper practice that are associated with Māori research. The principles of tino rangatiratanga, whānau and te reo Māori shape the Kaupapa Māori framework, and conforming to this framework ensures the ethically correct treatment and use of such knowledge. Furthermore, the relevance and appropriateness of the following guidelines provided in the Te Tumu Post-Graduate Handbook also proved worthy.