The Usage of Traditional Maori Narratives As Cognitive Models And
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Copyright is owned by the Author of the thesis. Permission is given for a copy to be downloaded by an individual for the purpose of research and private study only. The thesis may not be reproduced elsewhere without the permission of the Author. The usage of traditional Māori narratives as cognitive models and educational tools A thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Social Anthropology at Massey University, Albany Campus, New Zealand. Sebastian Pelayo Benavides 2009 i Abstract The present research consists of an interdisciplinary approach which combines mainly sub-disciplines from the anthropological and psychological perspectives as theoretical background. Regarding the latter, from the cognitive anthropology perspective the research highlights Bradd Shore’s (1996) view on cognitive models, together with the theories put forward by the sociocultural approach in psychology based on Vygotsky’s school of thought. The main objective of the study is to achieve a broad view on the use of traditional kōrero paki and kōrero o neherā (Māori folktales/legends and myths) as pedagogical tools and as cognitive models. The latter includes a bibliographical review which covers the analysis of narratives and their usage from different areas, such as Māori epistemology and education, cultural psychology and cognitive anthropology. Being a research stemmed from an anthropological concern –how do people from different sociocultural backgrounds construct and transmit knowledge- it considered as a fundamental element an empirical or “fieldwork” approach to the matter. Therefore, the research analyses –based on semi-structured interviews- the perspectives and understanding of the usage of traditional Māori narratives as educational tools of scholars in the Māori studies/education field and of a sample of Māori teachers, most of them connected to a Kura Kaupapa Māori school, constituting a “study case” for this qualitative study. A period of complementary participant observation was also carried out, focusing on the pedagogical practises and styles of the participant teachers. Through this, the research aims to contextualise the bibliographical and theoretical findings, considering the contemporary applications, limitations and understandings encountered through concrete experience. ii Acknowledgements: It would not have been possible for me to conduct this research without the help and support of all the Māori participants and friends that in one way or another were involved in it. Therefore, first and foremost, it is to them who I feel indebted: Me te mihi nui mō ō manaakitanga, tēnā rāwā atu koe (In appreciation of your kindness, many thanks). The possibility of studying and conducting a research in Aotearoa/New Zealand was given to me by the New Zealand Agency for International Development (NZAID) through one of its scholarships. With the latter, the support of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile was also crucial for the development of my studies. I am deeply thankful for the help and assistance provided by these two institutions during all the process. I would also like to acknowledge the support given by many other friends from Aotearoa/New Zealand and different parts of the world, who were always ready to share with us and enrich our life during our stay. With the aforementioned, special thanks to my fellow postgraduate students and lecturers, and particularly to my supervisor Dr. Eleanor Rimoldi, who was a constant guidance through this challenging process; their experience and academic work constitute an important part of the necessary background for a study like the present one. Finally, I would like to thank our extended family and my wife Marcela, without whom all this project would have been unattainable. “Nāu te rourou, nāku te rourou ka ora te manuwhiri ” (With your food basket and my food basket the guests will have enough) iii Table of Contents: - Title p.i -Abstract p.ii -Acknowledgements p.iii - List of figures p.vii - Chapter 1: Introduction p.1 - Chapter 2: Methodology p.8 - Chapter 3: I) Traditional Narratives and Mythology p.17 I.I) The concept of “traditional” p.17 I.II) The concept of “Narrative” p.19 I.III) Distinction among narratives p.20 II) Māori Epistemology and Education p.25 II.I) Epistemology p.25 II.Ia) Māori epistemological models p.31 II.II) Māori education and traditional narratives p.38 II.IIa) Traditional Māori education p.39 II.IIb) Modern initiatives in Māori education p.41 II.IIc) A Māori model of the educational process p.49 III) The Approach of Cognitive Anthropology and Cultural Psychology p.52 III.I) The perspective of cognitive anthropology p.52 III.Ia) Instituted models p.58 III.Ib) General classification of models p.61 III.II) Traditional narratives, cultural psychology and education p.66 iv III.IIa) The Vygotskyan and Neo-Vygotskyan perspectives p.69 - Chapter 4: Data Analysis A) Importance: functions, benefits and effects p.76 B) Usage in the Institution: 'concrete' use and objectives of their usage p.85 B.1) Settings and procedures p.90 C) Perceived differences with the “ancient” usage p.99 D) Most popular stories p.102 E) Possible improvements p.107 F) Social axis: personal experience with stories p.111 G) Connection with whakataukī and other cultural expressions p.114 - Chapter 5: Discussion p.116 The multiple functions of traditional narratives p.118 The case of whakapapa p.121 The power of narrative and its influence p.124 The interplay between the “ideal” and the “material” p.129 Modifications and adaptations in the usage of traditional narratives p.132 Māori stories and “History” p.134 An alternative “Cognitive style” p.137 Final remarks p.140 -Appendices Appendix 1: Interview schedules p.145 Appendix 2: Glossary p.147 Appendix 3: A) Māori Mythology and other Traditional Narratives p.150 A.1) Polynesian mythology background p.150 A.2) The Māori traditional narrative corpus p.151 A.3) The main Māori mythological accounts p.154 A.4) Māori proverbs and traditional sayings p.168 A.5) Final remarks p.169 v B) Anthropology and the academic development of Mythology p.171 - Bibliography p.180 vi List of Figures: Figure 1: Cultural expressions diagram p.131 Figure 2: Māori concepts table p.136 Figure 3: Venn diagram p.137 Figure 4: Central aspects in the usage of stories p.142 Figure 5: Spider web configuration p.143 vii Chapter 1 Introduction The present research stems, to a certain extent, from the natural connection -in my very personal view- between two academic fields that have been awkwardly separated for a long time. The two fields are Psychology and Anthropology, and somehow this uneasy relationship has greatly influenced my own personal and almost existential position regarding the study of human nature. I am referring here to the fact that I have as undergraduate formation a psychology degree, and as a postgraduate student I have been immersed in the field of anthropology. Inevitably, the tensions between the perspectives and methodologies implied have generated some problems when trying to focus on certain angles of a phenomenon. Consequently, the latter has transpired to my writing and to some discussions with my lecturers, which in turn has given me a subtle feedback of the friction present between these approaches. Despite my personal convictions regarding the approach to cultural phenomena, I cannot deny that there are several aspects which the two fields have faced differently, often claiming a distinct basis and methodology. In fact, some decades ago, Cole and Scribner (1975:251) affirmed that psychologists and anthropologists “assumed” that they shared a common topic of inquiry -the link between social experiences and cognition- and a common terminology to tackle its study. However, in their perspective it would be an unfounded assumption, considering that “anthropologists and psychologists do not mean the same thing when they speak of cognitive “consequences”; they do not agree on the characteristics of culture that are potential “antecedents”; and they distrust each other's method for discovering the links between the two” (Cole and Scribner 1975:251). At that time, Cole and Scribner (1975:252) proposed that the disagreements between anthropologists and psychologists on the nature of cognition and how it was to be studied could be considered in terms of three dichotomies: 1) emphasis on content or process in defining cognition; 2) choice of naturally occurring or contrived situations as contexts for data collection; and 3) reliance on observational or manipulative research techniques. In Cole and Scribner's (1975:252) view, generally anthropologists 1 emphasized contents, natural occurrences, and observation, while psychologists stressed processes, contrived situations, and experimental control. Therefore, far from recognising their connections in historical terms (Cole 1998:7-37), or in regards to the fact that both disciplines “want to extend the power and range of their theories about the intellectual consequences of differing sociocultural experiences” (Cole and Scribner 1975:260), they have seemed to identify themselves with the old separation between “natural” and “cultural-historical” sciences (Cole 1998:19). The latter would bring me to a well known image used by Isaiah Berlin (1998:436) There is a line among the fragments of the Greek poet Archilochus which says: 'The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing'. Scholars have differed about the correct interpretation of these dark