Abstract
Moeke-Pickering, T.(1996). Māori Identity: Whanau Identity. Unpublished Master of Social Science Thesis. Hamilton: University of Waikato.
Māori identity is embedded in an ecology that is predominantly influenced by the dominant culture defining group, which is Pakeha. In many respects the existence of a Pakeha ecology has played a major role in weakening Māori identity.Yet, in another respect, it has instilled a passion and desire amongst Māori to defend, protect and assert their Māori identity.The initial chapter in this thesis discusses the ecological threats and supports that have influenced Māori and whanau identity.The author suggests that a significant factor weakening Māori identity was the reduction in the primacy of those characteristics that Māori defined as meaningful.The political climate coupled with the mobilisation of Māori people to take charge of their destination contributes to the continuity of Māori identity in the 1990s.
Qualitative questions were posed to two generations of whanau members of the Kamureti and Merania Moeke whanau.Seven key processes were found to contribute to the formation and maintenance of whanau identity.These were; continuing specific customs and values, attachment to location, regular participation in whanau events, knowledge of whakapapa, telling of stories about whanau, support from whanau members and naming children after ancestors. The primary pathways that contributed to the formation and maintenance of their whanau identity were keeping continuous those cultural practices that were meaningful, and organising and maintaining themselves primarily around their whanau and hapu.Exposure to the dominant society through school, migration to cities and work contributed to the formation of coping strategies in which the whanau became somewhat competent at keeping continuous those cultural practices that were meaningful to them.To some extent, the ecology weakened those cultural practices that were not tolerated by the dominant culture such as te reo Māori.
It is hoped that the whanau under study will be able to explicitly recognise those characteristics that form Māori identity within their whanau and affirm that the cultural practices that they have maintained have contributed to maintaining Māori identity in the 1990s.It is intended that the information in this study will assist in preserving cultural teachings for future generations of Māori whanau.
The findings from this study should not be generalised to define all Māori or all whanau. It is suggested that future studies on Māori and whanau identity should be understood from the cultural context in which it is embedded rather than solely from a Pakeha ecology. |
Community Psychology