A brief history of Whakapapa: Māori approaches to genealogy

Abstract

Whakapapa is the Māori term for genealogy. It has been described by some as the skeletal structure of Maori epistemology because all things have their own genealogies. In research, whakapapa has been presented in tribal histories, Maori Land Court records, and consistently as a framework for matauranga Māori (Māori knowledge) and Māori research methodologies. This essay offers a brief overview of the ways in which whakapapa has been understood and negotiated in research particularly after the arrival of Europeans. Some early ethnographers, for instance, applied their own genealogical methods of dating to whakapapa, which influenced various Māori approaches from the twentieth century. With the advent of literacy and print, Māori experimented with new ways to record genealogy, and yet the underlying oral, ethical, and cultural practices that are crucial to whakapapa have remained integral to how it still lives and operates in Maori communities today.