Ko te wahine he whare tangata, he waka tangata = Within the female is the nurturing home of humankind and the channel from the spiritual to the physical : a study of Maori women’s experiences of violence as depicted through the definition of whakarite

Abstract

This thesis examines the nature of violence as perpetrated on Maori women as a result of colonisation. Violence as an outcome of colonisation includes physical, emotional, spiritual, and psychological layers, and as a consequence affected Maori women and whanau in a multitude of ways, and, by association, Maori society. For Maori society, colonisation and the subsequent effects of colonisation brought about an imbalance in their natural world and society. Colonisation as a causative of violence is defined as that imbalance. This thesis begins with a discussion of the role of Maori women according to the definitions of whakarite evident in Maori society. It argues that whakarite or balance was a necessary imperative of Maori society and Maori tikanga, and its customary practices and law. In seeking definitions of whakarite, Williams offers the following: balance by an equivalent, make like, compare liken fulfil, perform, put in order, arrange' The argument presented in this thesis as it applies to whakarite includes William's definitions, however, it goes further and states that the embodiment of whakarite originates from the early cosmogenic accounts and narratives. These cosmogenic accounts are reflected throughout the iwi, the tribes of Aotearoa.