Yates-Smith, Aroha2026-03-032026-03-032003Yates-Smith, G. R. (2003). 'Reclaiming the Ancient Feminine in Māori Society.' 'Kei wareware i a tātou te Ūkaipō!'. Journal of Maori and Pacific Development, 4(1), 10-19.1175-3099https://hdl.handle.net/10289/18000With our constant interface with the threat of globalisation, it is timely that we reflect on the words of an ancient god who advised his brother, Tāne, to return to their mother, Papatūānuku (Best, 1923, p. 111). His words, which translate loosely as ‘lest we forget the Mother who nurtured us at her breast,’ remind us of the importance of considering the feminine, respecting our Earth Mother, and not taking either for granted. This paper addresses several issues pertaining to the Māori feminine. The discussion of these will begin with a brief reflection on the importance of balance between the male and female in Māori cosmogony and the marginalisation of the feminine as a result of two hundred years of colonisation. The principal focus of the article as a whole will be the last two decades and the efforts made to address some of the negative effects brought about by colonisation, which could be described as forming the first waves in the tide of globalisation. The key for the ordering of Māori society lay within our cosmogonic beginnings. Recent studies of Māori cosmology reveal that both male and female deities held prominent positions in the pantheon of gods (Yates-Smith, 1998). There was a strong presence of the feminine at the embryonic stage of Māori society.enAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internationalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Atua wāhineMāori deitiesMana wahineMāori feminismsMāori ecologyJournal Article10.15663/K10.140523021-5668