Ko wai tō ingoa? The transformative potential of Māori names

Seed-Pihama, Joeliee Elizabeth

Ko wai tō ingoa? The transformative potential of Māori names

dc.contributor.advisor	Smith, Linda Tuhiwai
dc.contributor.advisor	Whaanga, Hēmi
dc.contributor.author	Seed-Pihama, Joeliee Elizabeth
dc.date.accessioned	2017-09-07T00:36:21Z
dc.date.available	2017-09-07T00:36:21Z
dc.date.issued	2017
dc.date.updated	2017-08-17T23:55:35Z
dc.description.abstract	Ingoa tangata (personal names) are an expression of te reo Māori, Māori identity, and tino rangatiratanga (self-determination). Nevertheless, our names are still mispronounced, marginalised and demeaned by individuals and institutions, such as schools, the health system, politics and media. This thesis argues that the gift of a Māori name and the assertion of that name over one’s lifetime is simultaneously a political act of resistance and an act of normalisation – an act of just being Māori. In particular, the thesis reveals how whānau naming practices endure and are important for whānau identity and belonging. A Kaupapa Māori theoretical approach is used to highlight the mana of our ingoa tangata within te ao Māori (the Māori world). I analyse the experiences of six generations of one whānau and the ways in which they have resisted, reclaimed and regenerated our ingoa tangata and associated practices. Kaupapa Māori theory provides a much-needed theoretical framework that privileges te reo Māori and mātauranga Māori throughout this research. This theory also supports Māori researchers to critique and disrupt Western power dynamics within research as well as maintaining the political imperative of decolonisation and resurgence agendas within the research of Indigenous communities. This thesis foregrounds Pūrākau as a research method to tell the kōrero ingoa (naming stories) of six generations of one whānau, totalling twenty-six different stories. I explore the possibilities of pūrākau as a method and ako (to teach/ learn) as a powerful component in the building and sharing of stories, as writing tools for the (re)presentation of that material and in expressing the researcher’s positionality. Pūrākau as method also enables the utilisation of our cosmogonies as important sources of mātauranga Māori and therefore as crucial to an analysis of our naming motivations and notions of belonging. Furthermore, I critically analyse the disruptions and interruptions to ingoa tangata caused by institutions of colonialism such as religion, law and education. This research argues for the transformative potential of our ingoa tangata and their associated kōrero ingoa in terms of enhancing identity, embedding whakapapa kōrero and keeping Māori values alive within whānau, and beyond.
dc.format.mimetype	application/pdf
dc.identifier.citation	Seed-Pihama, J. E. (2017). Ko wai tō ingoa? The transformative potential of Māori names (Thesis, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)). University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10289/11310	en
dc.identifier.uri	https://hdl.handle.net/10289/11310
dc.language.iso	en
dc.language.iso	mi
dc.publisher	University of Waikato
dc.rights	All items in Research Commons are provided for private study and research purposes and are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated.
dc.subject	Māori names
dc.subject	te reo Māori
dc.subject	Kaupapa Māori
dc.subject	Taranaki
dc.subject	Mātauranga Māori
dc.subject	Pūrākau
dc.subject	Ingoa tangata
dc.title	Ko wai tō ingoa? The transformative potential of Māori names
dc.type	Thesis
pubs.place-of-publication	Hamilton, New Zealand	en_NZ
thesis.degree.grantor	University of Waikato
thesis.degree.level	Doctoral
thesis.degree.name	Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
uow.author.twitter	@joelieesp1386