Tīhei mauri ora : honouring our voices : mana wahine as a kaupapa Māori : theoretical framework

Abstract

This thesis is a theoretical journey. Its primary focus is the honouring and affirmation of the voices of Māori women and the assertion of Mana Wahine as a Kaupapa Māori theoretical framework. It is argued that Western theories are inadequate in understanding and explaining Māori experiences and in particular the experiences of Maori women. Kaupapa Māori theory provides the framework within which this thesis is located. Kaupapa Māori theory is conceived of as being a distinct Māori framework that has its foundations in mātauranga Māori. It is argued that Kaupapa Māori is of ancient origins, which derive from within the many realms of the Māori world. Kaupapa Māori theory is a framework that both draws upon, and affirms, mātauranga Māori as fundamental to Māori understandings. Kaupapa Māori theory is also multiple in its articulation and rather than exalt theory this thesis contends that Kaupapa Māori theory provides openings into analysis that can more readily explain and transform current inequities that face Māori people. As such there is an active proposal for the exploration and development of Kaupapa Māori theory in ways that expand on existing theoretical developments. It is argued that colonial imposition of race, gender and class have culminated in the construction of the belief that Māori women hold an 'inferior' 'lesser' position in Māori society to that of Māori men. Through exploring the origins of the ideologies of race, gender and class it is further shown that these constructions manifested in how early ethnographers documented Māori society. Historical sources and Native Schools documentation are examined to provide an overview understanding of the ways in which colonial patriarchal supremacist ideas where entrenched into literature that has since provided the basis for much research related to Māori society. Those sources it is argued were fundamentally flawed in their approach and their disregard of the significance of the roles and status of Māori women. The often unproblematic use of early documentation is challenged and it is argued that the colonial constructions of Māori women mitigate against our interests and therefore the interests of all Māori people. This thesis is an opening discussion that asserts that Mana Wahine theory is an essential development for Māori women. In doing so it argues that there are elements that are fundamental to the articulation of Mana Wahine theory. These elements are not exclusive or definitive, but are seen to exist within the growing body of literature regarding Mana Wahine theory. Mana Wahine theory is a Kaupapa Māori theory that is dedicated to the affirmation of Māori women within Māori society, within whānau, hapū and iwi. It is a theoretical framework that, like Kaupapa Māori theory, is based within mātauranga Māori and is committed to the articulation of Māori women's ways of knowing the world. It is argued that asserting Mana Wahine is a recognition of the current inequitable context within which Māori women are located and therefore there is an inherent political project of engaging oppressive relations that impact upon Māori women. Mana Wahine theory is presented as a Māori women's theory that remembers our tūpuna wāhine, our atua wāhine and which affirms Māori women as critical actors for change.