RULES ADOPTED BY THE BOARD OF REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII NOV. 8, 1955 WITH REGARD TO THE REPRODUCTION OF GRADUATE THESES (a) No person or corporation may publish or reproduce in any manner, without the consent of the Graduate School Council, a graduate thesis which has been submitted to the University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for an advanced degree. (b) No individual or corporation or other organization may publish quotations or excerpts from a graduate thesis without the consent of the author and of the Graduate School Council. MAORI WOMEN IN TRADITIONAL FAMILY AND TRIBAL LIFE A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE DIVISION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN ANTHROPOLOGY JUNE 1966 By Berys N. Rose Heuer Thesis Committee: Katharine Luomala, Chairman Robert R. Jay Charles E. Osgood 677556 7? ,r*4 We certify that we have read this thesis and that in our opinion it is satisfactory in scope and quality as a thesis for the degree of Master of Arts in Anthro­ pology. THESIS COMMITTEE Q — € Chairman v V c-r // U- 13*^ CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION The Maori people about whom this thesis is written are xhe original Polynesian inhabitants of New Zealand, to which they Journeyed from a legendary tropical Hawaiki several cen­ turies ago. Canoe legends, at present being re-evaluated, and telling of Journeys from Hawaiki, have been utilized to date a major migration to the islands in the mid-fourteenth century, although its importance appears somewhat exaggerated. Transition climatically to a temperate zone necessitated con­ siderable adjustment in material culture; social organization, however, remained fundamentally unaltered and the Maori retained the customary Polynesian patterns of emphasis upon kinship ties, both unilineal and lateral, and upon primogeniture as a deter­ minant of rank. The economic basis of the society was one of mutual assistance and group activity. The considerable amount of ethnographic information on traditional Maori culture as it existed into the mid-nineteenth century makes the Maori '‘one of the most documented of the world's primitive peoples."^ However, this information is largely unsystematic and incoherent, with no endeavor to organize the data in terms of cultural universale, until recently. To make such data meaningful they must be extracted, collated, and then analyzed within the context of the whole society, so that the structure and function of the various institutions can be understood as working systems, and can be made intelligible in the light of modern anthropological concepts. 2. This thesis endeavors to reconstruct the role of women in traditional family and tribal life by collating and ana­ lyzing the many references scattered throughout the ethno­ graphic literature. As it follows the aims of recent mono- 2 graphs, one by Biggs focusing upon marriage, and a second 3 by ^ayda, upon warfare, in traditional culture, it will in­ corporate relevant data from these, particularly in regard to marriage. The period to which this thesis refers extends from 1769» when Captain James Cook rediscovered the islands, to approxi­ mately 1840, when New Zealand formally became a British colony. Maori life changed rapidly subsequent to this date with the introduction of a wide range of European goods, especially of clothing, weapons and tools of types previously unknown to the Maori. The more powerful weapons increased intertribal and interracial strife, resulting in substantial alterations in population, in the balance of tribal power, and eventually in the composition and customs of the society. The adoption of Christianity and the concomitant rejection of old beliefs no longer supported by an integral magico-religious system like­ wise contributed to such change. Available information falls under three headings. Firstly, there are reports based on observation of life as it existed in this period; oustanding observers include Captain James Cook, Samuel Marsden, and James Polack. My assessment of these reports will be according to customary anthropological 3. criteria of consistency, reliability, and directness of obser­ vation. Secondly, there is a wealth of data recorded later in order to preserve knowledge of the rapidly disappearing customs of the past. This was collected from tribal elders by people such as Tlsdon Best, James Cowan, and S. Percy Smith. The Maori texts they obtained will be used in this study wherever available. All these writings constitute an invaluable nucleus of reliable evidence from which to draw out systematically organized concepts. Thirdly, there is indirect evidence of the value system and attitudes as these are revealed by the narrators of myths, classical songs, proverbs and tribal histories recorded in the Maori language by Sir George Grey, Sir Apirana Ngata, and others. Land Court records, not available for present purposes, reveal additional information of practices and beliefs. Much of the evidence obtainable from these indirect sources is fragmentary and not to be accepted without corroboration} it can, however, serve in many instances to supply clarification and illustra­ tion, and to indicate further possibilities for investigation. In the evaluation of the collated material, consistency and frequency of mention will be used as basic criteria for including information. Employing such a procedure is not intended to devaluate the diversity apparent in different tribal areas, nor to exclude without consideration practices which have not received plentiful documentation. Methodological presentation follows closely the precepts 4 laid out by Biggs and Vayda in the monographs previously cited. My thesis will be confined primarily to the results of my research and to decisions reached after the final evaluation of evidence, with the exception of controversial topics where a more detailed presentation of the evidence is demanded. This procedure will avoid the badly-balanced account which would otherwise result from giving full documentation for each state­ ment, Sources and illustrations substantiating statements will be supplied in footnotes. Maori Social Organization As a background against which to view the position of women in traditional Maori life it is necessary to sketch briefly the nature of Maori social organization; it is not intended that this outline should be a detailed investigation. The subject of social organization is treated more effectively 5 fi 7 by Buck, Firth,' Best’ and others; their writings form the basis for the following summary. The smallest social unit in Maori society was the whanau. or family group, a unit with great social cohesion extending over three or four generations and bound togexher by extremely close kinship ties. For ordinary social and economic affairs the whanau functioned as the fundamental unit directed by the head man of the group. After a few generations when the whanau increased in numbers it became known as a hapu, or extended family group, which maintained a blood tie uniting the families for cooperation in activities and defense. This group was usually named after an ancestor of note, male or female, or after some special incident. Frinoiples of membership affilia­ tion have led to the hapu being described as ambilateral in nature. Numerically, the hapu would usually comprise several hundred members, and active membership depended upon maintaining residence claims in hapu territory. The largest Maori kinship group was the tribe, the iwi. This consisted of a number of related hapu having a common ancestor, recognizing common blood descent, and uniting when­ ever occasion arose. Throughout the whole of Maori sooiety the principle of descent from a common ancestor was important and its ramifications extended through economic, social, and political grouping. Kinship ties were recorded in genealogies preserved as "family registers"; recitation of these was used to determine the relationship between any two individuals and the behavior consequent on the connection. Accompanying the Polynesian emphasis upon kinship ties through common descent is an emphasis upon primogeniture, pre­ dominantly, but not exclusively, in the male line. As a rule a person preferred to have his main line of descent from his most important ancestor following through males alone; however, names of women occur in genealogies of persons even of highest rank, ibctreme deference was paid to the firstborn of a family, male or female; the firstborn male child sucoeeded his father in rank and power and this transmission of seniority continued in direct genealogical line unless physical or mental incapac­ ity overrode descent. The position of the female firstborn will be considered in greater detail later. Theoretically there may be said to have been three classes in Maori society: chiefs, commoners and slaves. These divisions were, however, never clearly defined and precise, and must be understood as being points upon a minutely shaded continuumof social differentiation. Since all members of a group trace their ancestry back to the same person, the main differences in rank reflect directly the position and order of birth. No exaggerated forms of respect marxed the social differentiation, although the chief was the leader of the society, and greater deference was paid to the opinion he expressed at tribal gatherings. Slaves were well treated, being thought inferior only for having lost tabu by capture. 7. FOOTNOTES 1. Biggs 1960:2$ Also Firth 1929:xx. 2. Biggs I960. 3.