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      The Māori female - her body, spirituality, sacredness and mana : a space within spaces

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      August, W. (2004). The Māori female - her body, spirituality, sacredness and mana : a space within spaces (Thesis, Master of Social Sciences (MSocSc)). University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10289/10260
      Permanent Research Commons link: https://hdl.handle.net/10289/10260
      Abstract
      This thesis is an exploration of bodily rituals, practices and cultural spaces of the female Māori body. Critical social theories and Kaupapa Māori research paradigms are combined to disrupt and challenge hegemonic Western knowledges. Qualitative methods - interviews, focus groups and autobiographical experience - are used to understand bodily practices that pertain to being Māori and female. There are three points to my discussion. I argue first, that the embodied relationship between Māori women and urupā and food gathering spaces rests on notions of Papatūānuku and female reproduction. During menstruation or pregnancy most women are restricted from urupā. Many participants, however, view this tikanga positively and describe it as making them feel special. Second, I examine the ways in which Māori female bodies are colonised and positioned between Western patriarchal and traditional ways of being. Due to various reasons surrounding colonisation, there are gaps in younger generations' Māori knowledge and this has led to tensions about which space to occupy. Finally, I discuss mana and conclude by asserting that the Māori female body has not lost individual mana, despite the efforts of colonisation to take mana away from Māori women. Throughout this research I offer cultural perspectives in order to prompt new ways of thinking about the Māori female body.

      The views expressed in this thesis are not the views of all Māori. Practices, tikanga and knowledges vary between different iwi, hapū and rohe.
      Date
      2004
      Type
      Thesis
      Degree Name
      Master of Social Sciences (MSocSc)
      Supervisors
      Johnston, Lynda
      Publisher
      University of Waikato
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      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.
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