View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Research Commons@Waikato http://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/ Research Commons at the University of Waikato Copyright Statement: The digital copy of this thesis is protected by the Copyright Act 1994 (New Zealand). The thesis may be consulted by you, provided you comply with the provisions of the Act and the following conditions of use: Any use you make of these documents or images must be for research or private study purposes only, and you may not make them available to any other person. Authors control the copyright of their thesis. You will recognise the author’s right to be identified as the author of the thesis, and due acknowledgement will be made to the author where appropriate. You will obtain the author’s permission before publishing any material from the thesis. I Muri i Te Ārai: Ko Ngā Mōrehu Ka Toe: Healing Processes in Tangihanga for Wāhine Māori. A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Māori Studies and Psychology at The University of Waikato by Keriata Paterson 2015 i Abstract I Muri i Te Ārai: Ko Nga Mōrehu Ka Toe: Healing Processes Inherent in Tangihanga for Wāhine Māori. This study involved a qualitative examination of the healing elements of tangihanga as described by eight female Māori respondents whose loss was not spousal but was dearly loved. Few substantive contemporary works on the subject of tangihanga experiences and processes existed (Nikora & Te Awekōtuku, 2013). To contextualise, western society’s cultural death practices were explored from an interdisciplinary perspective. Literature on death and bereavement, the western contemporary funeral industry, the medicalisation of death, western gender roles in death and bereavement, hygiene and contamination issues, ethnicity and cross cultural studies were discussed. These provided an international background against which this study made explicit the cultural differences of death practice and grief in tangihanga for Māori. Cultural issues for Māori were then discussed in terms of grief, literature on tangihanga, research about Māori women, women and death, issues for Māori women researching Māori women, and where colonization placed Māori women in society. I then described the traditional procedural processes which were sequentially carried out upon the death of a person. I noted the existence of modern variations in death practice, particularly among urban-based Māori. The diverse situations in which we as modern Māori have found ourselves were discussed with some historical context, however it was noted that despite change and diversity, we continued to share many experiences. The perpetuation of tangihanga has been important to the resilience and survival of Māori culture. Preparation for field work was outlined, including interview development and recruitment of respondents. The interview experiences, analysis of information provided, the development of theory and identifying themes were described. The rationale for exploring the backgrounds of the respondents in terms of whānau upbringing, cultural values, and cultural identification over time were discussed. Specific tangihanga were explored in depth as case studies, with analysis and ii discussion throughout each korero. Key themes in the respondents’ accounts were identified, of the grief and healing processes, examining culturally defined gender contributors to recovery. Social structures and support, ritual, spiritual beliefs and grief practices were described. Aspects of modern life or even tradition which hindered the healing process were identified, as was the impact of grief on the life respondents lead subsequently. The findings of the research were next discussed. The narratives supported existing literature that the tangihanga was an effective forum for sharing and expression of grief, honouring and farewelling the deceased, and ensuring that members of whānau pani were supported, protected and nurtured by others. Attending tangihanga from childhood allowed respondents to enjoy a sense of belonging and comfort. Two respondents whose childhoods had featured acculturation, felt confusion about their roles and expectations but overcame these feelings when they later learned more about their culture. By adulthood each of the respondents was in a position to control and influence choices made for the tangihanga, thus enabling them to grieve fully. In the final discussion my theoretical model was presented, limitations of the research discussed, and future research recommendations made. iii Acknowledgements The Tangi Research Programme: Associate Professor Linda Waimarie Nikora, Professor Ngāhuia Te Awekōtuku, you offered me a place in the study at a time when I really needed and appreciated it. You both provided me with an extended period of inspired academic and cultural supervision. Tēnā korua. Dr Neville Robertson, who came in to assist with supervision in the latter phases, tēnā koe Neville. The programme was funded by Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga, the Marsden Fund of New Zealand and the Health Research Council of New Zealand. Other financial support was given to me by The Māori Excellence Awards from the SMPD, MPRU, a University Fees Scholarship, and the Hauraki Iwi Trust Board Fisheries Scholarships. Ihaka (Chas) Te Whetu, thanks for giving me the kupu Māori for the title. My little group of fellow Māori PhD friends, you know who you are. Saburo Omura, thank you for your friendship and technical advice. My Tamatērā whanaunga, thanks for the support and for your rising anxiety about my finishing this thesis. Tēnā koutou. To my best friend Jos – I owe you big time. Thanks for everything and my gratitude to you will never be forgotten. Finally, and most importantly, to the participants – who were generous and kind in sharing stories of their most painful times, their most healing times, and all that happened between. I am so grateful for your sharing. Your contribution to understanding of tangihanga is unique to you, and valuable to us all. Dedication This thesis is dedicated to my Grandparents: Naki Makareta (Royal) and Matia Parkes Swainson And Esme Constance and Albert Victor Paterson And to my parents: Ataneta Keriata and William Alexander Paterson iv v Personal Statement My name is Keriata Paterson. I am a mature woman and identify as Māori. My maternal grandfather, Matia Parkes Swainson, was of Ngāti Toa Rangatira and Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga whakapapa. My maternal grandmother Naki Makareta Swainson (nee Royal), was of Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga and Ngāti Tamatērā (Hauraki) whakapapa. On my father’s side my descent is Scottish‐ Australian, Dad’s grandfather being a true “hellfire and brimstone” Scottish Presbyterian Minister, who served at St Andrews Presbyterian Church, Parrammatta in Sydney, for forty years. I know little about my great grandmother, other than that as the wife of a Scottish Presbyterian minister, their lives were deliberately austere. Both my Scottish Australian Grandfather and my Māori Grandfather were accountants. I joke that they used all the mathematical genes for a couple of generations to come. Education was highly valued by both sides of my entire family. My mother Ataneta qualified as a Physiotherapist at a time when there were few if any other Māori in that field, and my Grandmother Naki qualified as a dental Nurse even earlier which must have been a very lonely road. My grandfather Matia was the head accountant of the Union Steamship Company and as such my Grandparents at times travelled internationally, after the war during which my grandfather fought in the Māori Battalion while my Nanny Naki supported the family. Naki was a founding member of the Māori Womens’ Welfare League with her sister in law, the wife of Rangi Royal, and the family were active members of Ngāti Pōneke as they lived in Eastbourne, Wellington at a time when this was an exciting and stimulating time for Māori leaders and academics. I have spent much of my life attempting to reconcile within myself the vast differences between my parents’ cultures, particularly when my experience was that my mother relinquished her culture for that enjoyed as the mother of four children, and wife of my father, together a socially active couple in Hamilton where my father was a General Practitioner for many years. vi My own identity as a child sent to Pākehā schools which had no Kaupapa Māori element and no Reo was taught (the fifties and sixties), was confusing. I was bereft of affirming experiences of being Māori and yet did experience racism. As such I was forced to work very hard at finding, feeling, grieving and healing my Māori identity, which took many years. My university studies were always in the direction of facing this challenge and trying to learn about my people and my culture. Thus my undergraduate degree was a Psychology Major with a first supporting subject of Māori Studies. My Masters thesis “Wāhine Maia me te Ngāwari Hoki: Māori women at Periodic Detention in Kirikiriroa, their life difficulties and the system”, was an in depth examination of the lives of Māori women embroiled in recidivist offending, conviction and sentencing. My participants’ many social disadvantages were viewed in a context of wonderful personal resilience and the womens’ support of each other. I regret not publishing papers at the time I completed my Master’s thesis, as I was focused on training and becoming a Clinical Psychologist, and I was under obligation to a Corrections Psychological Services Bursary, to carry on this path. I should perhaps have pursued a PHD while still comfortable in the university system, which is much harder to return to as a more mature student. Apart from the altruistic motivation of “helping people”, throughout my clinical training and career I brought, along with my then few Māori colleagues, a bi‐cultural focus to a predominantly mono‐cultural field. This was a big motivator for the twelve years I worked as a clinician.