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

August, Wikitoria

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

dc.contributor.advisor	Johnston, Lynda
dc.contributor.author	August, Wikitoria
dc.date.accessioned	2016-05-25T21:03:47Z
dc.date.available	2016-05-25T21:03:47Z
dc.date.issued	2004
dc.date.updated	2016-05-25T20:57:49Z
dc.description.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.
dc.format.mimetype	application/pdf
dc.identifier.citation	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	en
dc.identifier.uri	https://hdl.handle.net/10289/10260
dc.language.iso	en
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	Body image in women
dc.subject	Maori women
dc.subject	self-esteem in women
dc.subject	Maori European influences
dc.subject	Women's rights
dc.subject	Maori culture
dc.title	The Māori female - her body, spirituality, sacredness and mana : a space within spaces
dc.type	Thesis
pubs.place-of-publication	Hamilton, New Zealand	en_NZ
thesis.degree.grantor	University of Waikato
thesis.degree.level	Masters
thesis.degree.name	Master of Social Sciences (MSocSc)