Abstract:
The focus of this thesis is the theological impact of 'word changes' that are in Te Pīhopatanga ō Aotearoa (abbreviated as Te Pīhopatanga) te reo Māori / Māori language liturgical texts. This research is contextual because it has a specific Māori Aotearoa/New Zealand focus. It is liturgical because it focuses on te reo Māori liturgical texts. It is theological as well for te reo Māori 'word changes' are interpreted and evaluated for their theological impact. I develop an analytical framework to identify, interpret and evaluate the word changes and their theologies. The framework is made relevant to the Māori and Christian context of Te Pīhopatanga. In the process of identifying the word changes I note the existence of a complex relationship between Te Pīhopatanga liturgists and the wider Māori community. This relationship is explored and aspects from this exploration are considered in the theological interpretation and evaluation of the word changes. In that interpretation and evaluation several theological tensions are identified in some of the experimental texts. The outcome of such tensions is a number of 'questionable theologies' that inadvertently receive a form of Te Pīhopatanga validation. This research then proposes that theological tensions should be addressed by Te Pīhopatanga community at the liturgical experimentation stage. I propose strategies and tools to further develop the management of liturgical experimentation. I envisage this as a Te Pīhopatanga community engagement in theological self-empowerment. The proposals are drawn from a Te Pīhopatanga context. Liturgical theological insights are aligned to Te Pīhopatanga context. An outcome that emerges from the process of concentrating on 'word changes' in a te reo Māori liturgical text is a Te Pīhopatanga liturgical theological method of identifying and evaluating Te Pīhopatanga liturgical theologies.
