Missing in translation: Maori language and oral tradition in scientific analyses of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK)

Recent conceptual shifts in ecology towards integration of humans into ecosystems requires all possible sources of ecological knowledge available (Berkes 2004, 2009 this issue). Māori traditional ecological knowledge of natural systems (TEK) can add valuable ecological data to more conventional scientific studies as the former tends to be diachronic, based on a cumulative system of understanding the environment founded on observations and experience (Gadgil et al. 1993; Berkes 2008), while the latter is frequently synchronic, with experiments that may explore causal effects in ecological patterns (Newman & Moller 2005; Moller et al. 2009a). However accessing TEK can be both difficult and time-consuming, as demonstrated by the 14-year research project Kia Mau Te Tītī Mo Ake Tonu Atu (the ‘Keep the Tītī Forever’ research project; Moller et al. 2009a). We argue that oral traditions offer a wealth of information that is frequently overlooked, in part because of a lack of knowledge of te reo Māori (the Māori language) and, further, a lack of recognition of the inextricable link between biological and cultural diversity (Maffi 2005)

Māori language resources and Māori initiatives for teaching and learning te reo Māori

As the most southerly member of the Polynesian languages, a sub-group of the widespread Austronesian language family (Harlow, 2007), te reo Māori has been the subject of substantial analysis, documentation, and analyses of its structure since first contact with Captain Cook in 1769 (Whaanga & Greensill, 2014). The history, trials and tribulations of te reo Māori in Aotearoa have been well documented (see, for example, Reedy, 2000; Spolsky, 2005; Waitangi Tribunal, 1986, 2011). The various reasons for the language’s decline has been an area of ongoing debate and critique by academics, researchers, linguists, language activists, parliamentarians and Māori in recent times (see, for example, Bauer, 2008; Benton, 2015; Higgins, Rewi, & Olsen-Reeder, 2014; Rata, 2007; Winitana, 2011)

Using the stars to indigenize the public sphere: Matariki over New Zealand

As the rate of affiliation to Christian identity continues to decline in Aotearoa New Zealand (only 49 percent of the population said they were Christian in the last census), public space has become more receptive to other forms of religiosity. In particular, community rituals around the winter movements of the Matariki (Pleiades) constellation have gained support since the year 2000. For instance, the capital city, Wellington, has replaced a centuries’ old British fireworks festival, Guy Fawkes, with an enlarged version of its Matariki celebrations: an action seen as a tipping point in the incorporation of Māori spiritual values into public life. Interactions between European colonisers and Māori have been characterised for more than 250 years by tensions between the relational thinking of Māori who see human beings as both participating in and constrained by an environment resonant with divine energies, and the quantitative, hierarchical, ‘Great Chain of Being’ model that had long been dominant among Europeans. Now, when the natural environment worldwide is under strain from population and economic pressures, it seems to some both appropriate and vital to look to epistemological and spiritual models that are intimately responsive to the specificities of location

The science and practice of Māori astronomy and Matariki

Ki te iwi Mäori me öna tüpuna, ko ngä hua o te noho tahi, o te äta pänui, o te körero anö hoki me ngä whetü, he mea äta tuitui ki te pütaiao, ki te ahureatanga, ki ngä tikanga aho atua, ki te taiao anö hoki. Ko ngä nekehanga o ngä kähui whetü he mea äta pänui, ka mutu he whakapono, he mätauranga atu anö hoki tö ia iwi, tö ia takiwä puta noa i a Aotearoa nei mö te ao tukupü. Ko te mätauranga whänui mö te kökörangi he mea äta whakatö ki ngä ähuatanga o te päpori Mäori o mua, he mea äta whakaora anö hoki ki ngä körero tuku iho, ki ngä tikanga hauhake whenua, ka mutu i äta whakaurua ki roto i ngä tikanga whakatü whare tupuna. Tau atu, tau mai, whakanuia ai te rewanga ake me te tönga iho o ngä whetü hiahira, ka mutu i kaha whakaatuahia ngä kaupapa katoa o te tuarangi ahakoa pëhea. Mä roto mai i tënei pepa ka körerohia te mätauranga me te pütaiao mätai arorangi e whai iho nei ki a Matariki, ka tahi, ka rua ka wänangahia te whakarauora haeretanga i ngä tikanga tuku iho e hängai nei ki taua kähui whetü me tana pänga nuitanga ki te ahurea o te whenua o näianei, o Aotearoa.For Mäori and their ancestors, the results of living with, studying and talking about the stars were woven into science, language, culture, religious practice and environment. The movements of the celestial bodies were studied in great detail, and all tribal groups and regions throughout Aotearoa maintained their own unique beliefs and understandings of the universe. The extensive knowledge of the night sky was embedded into traditional Mäori society, preserved in oral tradition, planting and harvesting practices, and incorporated into the building of ancestral houses. Every year, the rising and setting of important stars were celebrated, and all manner of cosmological events were worshipped. In this paper we will discuss the astronomical knowledge and science associated with Matariki (Pleiades) and discuss how the regeneration of the traditional practice associated with this celestial cluster is playing a significant role in the modern cultural landscape of Aotearoa

Iwi, institutes, societies & community led initiatives

With the rapid evolution, innovation and incredible growth of ICT, the avenues to exchange, access, manage, create, disseminate, display and research Indigenous data and Mātauranga Māori have increased at astounding rates. This generation, often referred to as ‘digital natives', ‘homo zappiëns’, ‘Net generation’, ‘millennials’, ‘i-generation’ (see, for example Akçayır, Dündar, & Akçayır, 2016; Kirschner & De Bruyckere, 2017; Prensky, 2001; Yong & Gates, 2014), have been raised, immersed and exposed to a myriad of digital technologies, video games, computers, digital music players and cellular phones during their brief lifetimes. Technologies have dramatically transformed how each generation access, communicate, share knowledge, distribute and view information. Social networks like Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Reddit, Pinterest, Tumblr and social networking apps such as Messenger, WhatsApp, WeChat, QQ Chat, QZone, Viber, LINE, and Snapchat, with billons of active users per month, are as familiar to this generation as was the radio, television and landline telephones to the Baby Boomers who grew up with pre-cellphone mobile technology

The use of Māori words in National Science Challenge online discourse

New Zealand English is well-known for its heavy borrowing of words from Māori. This lexical component, unique to New Zealand English alone has been studied intensely over the last 50 years, particularly in newspaper media. Current research suggests the use is still increasing today, primarily in Māori-related contexts. Here, we analyse a surprising and unexpected use of Māori loanwords in science digital discourse (neither genre being previously investigated), where we discover a strong presence of Māori borrowings in National Science Challenge website and Twitter content. Using corpus linguistics methods, we argue that the use of Māori loanwords in this genre functions as a national identity building tool, used by various authors to signal that the ‘challenges’ the country faces are uniquely New Zealand’s ‘challenges’

"He Matapihi ki te Mana Raraunga” - Conceptualising Big Data through a Māori lens

Advances in computer technology and analytical processes create an environment where data becomes the raw material mined to create valuable information and insights. The idea of Big Data emerges from the collation of increasing vast amounts of data enabled by the shift towards an increasingly open data environment. How this changing context alters the relationship between Iwi/Māori collectives and their mātauranga, cultural information and data has yet to be fully explored. However, the concept of Māori Data Sovereignty, which anticipates Māori governance over Māori data, has a natural appeal. This chapter outlines some of the Māori concepts and presents a framework which may be used to inform how data and data use may be conceptualised through a Māori cultural lens

He Matapihi Mā Mua, Mō Muri: The Ethics, Processes, and Procedures Associated with the Digitization of Indigenous Knowledge—The Pei Jones Collection

The digital era has transformed how people live their lives and interact with the world and knowledge systems around them. In Aotearoa/New Zealand a range of initiatives incorporating Indigenous knowledge have been implemented to collect, catalog, maintain, and organize digital objects. In this article, we report on the ethics, processes, and procedures associated with the digitization of the manuscripts, works, and collected taonga (treasures) of the late Dr. Pei Te Hurinui Jones—and describe how it was transformed into a digital library. It discusses the decision-making processes and the various roles and responsibilities of the researchers, family members, and institute in this process

Promoting social and environmental justice to support Indigenous partnerships in urban ecosystem restoration

Urban ecological restoration typically employs western science approaches to restore degraded ecosystems. As yet, few restoration groups acknowledge the history of these degraded urban sites, despite connections, past and present, that root Indigenous Peoples (and others) in these lands. Here, we promote partnership with Indigenous communities from project inception and present two successful case studies from Aotearoa New Zealand. We specifically note that partnering and building relationships with Indigenous communities in restoration efforts require recognition of power inequalities and injustices. We consider success to include both restoration of ecological function and biodiversity and reconnection of all communities to urban ecosystems