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Articles

Māori and the natural environment from an occupational justice perspective

Pages 19-28 | Accepted 03 Oct 2016, Published online: 27 Oct 2016
 

ABSTRACT

This paper posits a broader agenda for occupational science by exploring tribal ideology and practices in relation to the natural environment. Tapuika, a tribe located in the Bay of Plenty, Aotearoa New Zealand, share with other tribes and many other indigenous people, a traditional world-view that is holistic and all encompassing. The Māori world begins with the creation narratives. In traditional Māori thought, the entire universe is personified and both spiritually and physically defined. The progenitors of life, the primeval parents Ranginui (sky) and Papatūānuku (earth), are perceived to be ātua (gods). The spiritual and physical aspects of the natural environment can provide a platform to explore the concept of inclusion and participation from a Māori perspective. The mauri (life force) of this relationship is maintained through everyday occupations. While this suggests a positive engagement with the natural environment, the colonial experience alienated tribal people from their estates. However, recent Treaty Settlements have provided a means for tribes to access ancestral lands, much of which was previously alienated from tribal ownership or control. Tribes also are able to exercise a sense of traditional kaitiakitanga (guardianship) over these lands.

本文通过探索关于自然环境的部落思想和行为,提出了更广的休闲科学议程。 Tapuika是一个部落,位于新西兰奥特罗瓦的丰盛湾,与其他部落和许多其他土着人共有一个传统世界观,这个世界观是全方位的,包罗万象的。毛利人的世界从创世叙述开始。在传统的毛利思想中,整个宇宙都是拟人化的,在精神上和物质上均有定义。生命的祖先,原始的父母Ranginui(天空)和Papatūānuku(地球),被认为是ātua(神)。自然环境的精神和物质方面可以提供一个平台,从毛利人的角度探讨包容和参与的概念。这种关系中的mauri(生命力)通过日常休闲活动得以保持。虽然此点表明与自然环境的积极互动,殖民经历使得部落人民远离他们的土地。然而,最近的条约为部落获得祖传土地提供了一种方式,其中许多土地的部落所有权或控制权在以前被剥夺。部落也能够行使对这些土地的传统的kaitiakitanga(监护)感。

Este estudio plantea un programa más amplio para la ciencia ocupacional explorando la ideología trivial y las prácticas en relación al medio ambiente. Tapuika, es una tribu ubicada en Bahía de Plenty, Aotearoa en Nueva Zelanda, que comparte con otras tribus y muchos otros indígenas una visión tradicional del mundo holística e integral. El mundo Māori empieza con las narrativas de la creación. En el pensamiento Māori tradicional, el universo entero está personificado y definido espiritual y físicamente. Los progenitores de la vida, los padres primitivos Ranginui (cielo) y Papatūānuku (tierra), son percibidos como ātua (dioses). Los aspectos espirituales y físicos del medio ambiente pueden ofrecer una plataforma para explorar el concepto de inclusión y participación desde una perspectiva Māori. La mauri (fuerza vital) de esta relación se mantiene mediante las ocupaciones cuotidianas. Aunque que este hecho sugiere un compromiso positivo con el medio ambiente, la experiencia colonial alejó a las personas de las tribus de sus estados. Sin embargo, unos recientes tratados de asentamiento han proporcionado medios a las tribus para acceder a las tierras ancestrales, la mayoría de las cuales fueron alejadas de la propiedad o control tribal. Estas tribus también son capaces de practicar el kaitiakitanga tradicional (custodia) de estas tierras.

Glossary
Ātua=

 god, deity

Awa=

 river

Harakeke=

 flax

Inanga=

 whitebait, juvenile fish

Iwi=

 tribe

Kaitiaki=

 custodians

Kaitiakitanga=

 caring for the environment, custodianship, guardianship

Karakia=

 prayer, invocations

Kaupapa Māori=

 the Māori world view

Kina=

 sea urchin

Kōura=

 fresh water crayfish

Kuku=

 mussels

Mana=

 power, sovereign rights

Mana moana=

 sovereignty over the sea and waterways

Mana whenua=

 sovereignty over the land

Māori=

 indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand

Marae=

 ancestral meeting places

Maunga=

 mountain

Mauri=

 life force

Mokopuna=

 grandchildren

Noa=

 secular

Pākehā=

 non-Māori or European settlers

Pākeke=

 adults

Papatūānuku=

 earth, primeval mother

Pātiki=

 flounder

Pepeha=

 tribal proverb

Pīrau=

 festering/polluted

Pūrākau=

 storytelling)

Rāhui=

 temporary prohibition or restrictions

Ranginui=

 sky, one of the primeval father

Raupatu tribe=

 one whose land has been confiscated

Raupo=

 bulrush, a swamp plant

Rongoā=

 medicines

Takapū=

 tribal estate

Tamariki=

 children

Taniwhā=

 tribal mythical creatures

Tapu=

 sacred

Tapuika=

 a Māori tribe from the Bay of Plenty, Aotearoa New Zealand

Taro, kumara=

 root vegetables

Taumau=

 claim

Tī kōuka=

 cabbage tree

Tūpuna=

 ancestor

Waka=

 canoe

Wāhi tapu=

 sacred places

Whakapapa=

 kinship, genealogy

Whakatauki=

 proverb

Whānau=

 family

Notes

1. Te Puke is located in the Bay of Plenty region of the North Island, New Zealand.

2. The lands within the taumau (claim) of Tia are known as Te Takapū o Tapuika and the tribal estate of his descendants, the iwi Tapuika.

3. According to Māori traditions, Maui fished up the north island of New Zealand and it is known traditionally as te ika a Māui (the great fish of Maui).

4. Tapuika dialect to describe slashing motion as the land/fish was cut up creating the unique topographical details across the landscape.

5. Historical claims relate to claims for Crown breaches of the Treaty prior to 21st September 1992 and contemporary treaty claims relate to claims after 21st September 1992.

6. The Crown acknowledges that full compensation for breaches of the treaty are unattainable.

7. Ngata/Stout Reports for the Native Lands and Native Land Tenure Commission 1907–1909 attest to these losses: “The Tapuika hapu living at Te Puke and Rangiuru have very little land, and the provision made for them, even if their areas now under lease to Europeans are taken into consideration, is not too ample” (Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1908, G-1d, p. 1).

9. The Pakipaki River is a tributary of the Kaituna River.

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