The present research consists of an interdisciplinary approach which combines mainly sub-disciplines from the anthropological and psychological perspectives as theoretical background. Regarding the latter, from the cognitive anthropology perspective the research highlights Bradd Shore’s (1996) view on cognitive models, together with the theories put forward by the sociocultural approach in psychology based on Vygotsky’s school of thought. The main objective of the study is to achieve a broad view on the use of traditional korero paki and korero o nehera (Maori folktales/legends and myths) as pedagogical tools and as cognitive models. The latter includes a bibliographical review which covers the analysis of narratives and their usage from different areas, such as Maori epistemology and education, cultural psychology and cognitive anthropology. Being a research stemmed from an anthropological concern –how do people from different sociocultural backgrounds construct and transmit knowledge- it considered as a fundamental element an empirical or “fieldwork” approach to the matter. Therefore, the research analyses –based on semi-structured interviews- the perspectives and understanding of the usage of traditional Maori narratives as educational tools of scholars in the Maori studies/education field and of a sample of Maori teachers, most of them connected to a Kura Kaupapa Maori school, constituting a “study case” for this qualitative study. A period of complementary participant observation was also carried out, focusing on the pedagogical practises and styles of the participant teachers. Through this, the research aims to contextualise the bibliographical and theoretical findings, considering the contemporary applications, limitations and understandings encountered through concrete experience.

The present research consists of an interdisciplinary approach which combines mainly sub-disciplines from the anthropological and psychological perspectives as theoretical background. Regarding the latter, from the cognitive anthropology perspective the research highlights Bradd Shore’s (1996) view on cognitive models, together with the theories put forward by the sociocultural approach in psychology based on Vygotsky’s school of thought. The main objective of the study is to achieve a broad view on the use of traditional korero paki and korero o nehera (Maori folktales/legends and myths) as pedagogical tools and as cognitive models. The latter includes a bibliographical review which covers the analysis of narratives and their usage from different areas, such as Maori epistemology and education, cultural psychology and cognitive anthropology. Being a research stemmed from an anthropological concern –how do people from different sociocultural backgrounds construct and transmit knowledge- it considered as a fundamental element an empirical or “fieldwork” approach to the matter. Therefore, the research analyses –based on semi-structured interviews- the perspectives and understanding of the usage of traditional Maori narratives as educational tools of scholars in the Maori studies/education field and of a sample of Maori teachers, most of them connected to a Kura Kaupapa Maori school, constituting a “study case” for this qualitative study. A period of complementary participant observation was also carried out, focusing on the pedagogical practises and styles of the participant teachers. Through this, the research aims to contextualise the bibliographical and theoretical findings, considering the contemporary applications, limitations and understandings encountered through concrete experience.

The present research consists of an interdisciplinary approach which combines mainly sub-disciplines from the anthropological and psychological perspectives as theoretical background. Regarding the latter, from the cognitive anthropology perspective the research highlights Bradd Shore’s (1996) view on cognitive models, together with the theories put forward by the sociocultural approach in psychology based on Vygotsky’s school of thought. The main objective of the study is to achieve a broad view on the use of traditional korero paki and korero o nehera (Maori folktales/legends and myths) as pedagogical tools and as cognitive models. The latter includes a bibliographical review which covers the analysis of narratives and their usage from different areas, such as Maori epistemology and education, cultural psychology and cognitive anthropology. Being a research stemmed from an anthropological concern –how do people from different sociocultural backgrounds construct and transmit knowledge- it considered as a fundamental element an empirical or “fieldwork” approach to the matter. Therefore, the research analyses –based on semi-structured interviews- the perspectives and understanding of the usage of traditional Maori narratives as educational tools of scholars in the Maori studies/education field and of a sample of Maori teachers, most of them connected to a Kura Kaupapa Maori school, constituting a “study case” for this qualitative study. A period of complementary participant observation was also carried out, focusing on the pedagogical practises and styles of the participant teachers. Through this, the research aims to contextualise the bibliographical and theoretical findings, considering the contemporary applications, limitations and understandings encountered through concrete experience.

The present research consists of an interdisciplinary approach which combines mainly sub-disciplines from the anthropological and psychological perspectives as theoretical background. Regarding the latter, from the cognitive anthropology perspective the research highlights Bradd Shore’s (1996) view on cognitive models, together with the theories put forward by the sociocultural approach in psychology based on Vygotsky’s school of thought. The main objective of the study is to achieve a broad view on the use of traditional korero paki and korero o nehera (Maori folktales/legends and myths) as pedagogical tools and as cognitive models. The latter includes a bibliographical review which covers the analysis of narratives and their usage from different areas, such as Maori epistemology and education, cultural psychology and cognitive anthropology. Being a research stemmed from an anthropological concern –how do people from different sociocultural backgrounds construct and transmit knowledge- it considered as a fundamental element an empirical or “fieldwork” approach to the matter. Therefore, the research analyses –based on semi-structured interviews- the perspectives and understanding of the usage of traditional Maori narratives as educational tools of scholars in the Maori studies/education field and of a sample of Maori teachers, most of them connected to a Kura Kaupapa Maori school, constituting a “study case” for this qualitative study. A period of complementary participant observation was also carried out, focusing on the pedagogical practises and styles of the participant teachers. Through this, the research aims to contextualise the bibliographical and theoretical findings, considering the contemporary applications, limitations and understandings encountered through concrete experience.

The present research consists of an interdisciplinary approach which combines mainly sub-disciplines from the anthropological and psychological perspectives as theoretical background. Regarding the latter, from the cognitive anthropology perspective the research highlights Bradd Shore’s (1996) view on cognitive models, together with the theories put forward by the sociocultural approach in psychology based on Vygotsky’s school of thought. The main objective of the study is to achieve a broad view on the use of traditional korero paki and korero o nehera (Maori folktales/legends and myths) as pedagogical tools and as cognitive models. The latter includes a bibliographical review which covers the analysis of narratives and their usage from different areas, such as Maori epistemology and education, cultural psychology and cognitive anthropology. Being a research stemmed from an anthropological concern –how do people from different sociocultural backgrounds construct and transmit knowledge- it considered as a fundamental element an empirical or “fieldwork” approach to the matter. Therefore, the research analyses –based on semi-structured interviews- the perspectives and understanding of the usage of traditional Maori narratives as educational tools of scholars in the Maori studies/education field and of a sample of Maori teachers, most of them connected to a Kura Kaupapa Maori school, constituting a “study case” for this qualitative study. A period of complementary participant observation was also carried out, focusing on the pedagogical practises and styles of the participant teachers. Through this, the research aims to contextualise the bibliographical and theoretical findings, considering the contemporary applications, limitations and understandings encountered through concrete experience.

The main objective of this thesis was to understand the function, design and distribution of New Zealand adzes, aspects little studied in Polynesia as a whole. Methodology involved functional and manufacturing replication experiments and comparisons of these results with statistics derived from the analysis of almost 12,000 archaeological adzes. Methodology was guided by technological organization theory which states that technological strategies reflect human behaviours and that artefacts like adzes are physical manifestations of the strategies employed by people to overcome problems posed by environmental and resource conditions. Variability in adze morphology was discovered to be the outcome of ongoing technological adjustments to a range of conditions that were constrained by a set of functionally defined parameters. The nature of the raw material, both for the adzes themselves and to make them, had a major influence on adze technology and morphology within these functional parameters. Four basic functional adze types were identified fi-om distinct and consistent combinations of design attributes not previously recognized explicitly in previous adze typologies. It was found that design attributes previously considered significant like crosssection shape and butt reduction were more heavily influenced by raw material quality than functional specifications. It was also important to recognize that form and function changed over time with use, and because adzes were so valuable due to manufacturing costs, they were intensively curated. The majority of archaeological specimens studied for this thesis had seen major morphological and functional change. This dynamic was included ,in a typology based on 'adze state7 as findings suggested (1) that extending adze use-life and optimizing reworking potential was incorporated in initial design strategies, (2) that intensive curation may have played a major role in changes in adze morphology over time, and (3). that it had a major influence on distribution and discard patterns in the archaeological record. Having identified these influences on adze discard and distribution, two complex production and distribution networks were observed for the North Island based around Tahanga basalt and Nelson~Marlborough argillite. Each was complimentary to the other and involved other major and minor products and materials. Influential factors in the roles different settlements played in distribution included where people and raw materials were in relation to one another and the mode of transportation. The coastal location of early period settlements and important stone sources was an important aspect of these networks.

This thesis consists of two sections. The intention of Section One, 'Biographical Texts: Theoretical Underpinning', is to explore and discuss the theoretical underpinnings of Maori feminism and Kaupapa Maori as they relate to biography as a research method into the lives of Maori women. Biography, as a literary genre is also examined with particular reference to feminist, women of colour and Maori biography. Section One is a wideranging section, encompassing a broad sweep of the literature in these areas. It both draws from existing literature and contributes to the discourse regarding Maori feminism, Maori biography and Maori research. It is relevant to but unconstrained by the content of Section Two. The intention of Section Two, 'Locating the Story of Betty Wark; A Biographical Narrative with Reflective Annotations', is to provide an example of the biographical method and what might constitute Maori biography. The subject of the biographical narrative, Betty Wark, was a Maori woman who was actively involved with community-based organisations from the 1950s until her death in May 2001. Several major themes which emerged from Betty's biographical history occur throughout her narrative and provide a framework in which her story is located. One of the most significant themes was the notion of 'home'; both literal and metaphorical. This theme is reflected in the title of the thesis, Writing Ourselves 'Home'.

This thesis is made up of three parts; the first is an outline and discussion of the various approaches taken in the description of Polynesian languages in the last 30 years. It provides background discussion of the model of description used in the rest of the thesis. The second deals with the phonology of the 'Ua Pou dialect, concentrating in particular on two areas; the phonetics of the glottal stop phoneme, and penultimate vowel extension. The latter is a feature which has received no mention in any literature to date but is the most noticeable suprasegmental phonetic difference between the Marquesan dialects and the other Eastern Polynesian languages. The last four chapters describe the structure of phrases in the 'Ua Pou dialect. The first two of these deals with the centripetal particles of the noun and verb phrase respectively, that is, the particles within phrases which modify the base of that phrase. Particles which relate phrases to other phrases, that is, the prepositions and ai, are dealt with separately in the last two chapters since their description requires some comments on the syntax of the language. / Thesis now published as a book. Margaret Mutu with Ben Teʻikitutoua (2002). Ùa Pou : aspects of a Marquesan dialect. Canberra, ACT: Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies. ISBN 0858835266.

Biculturalism is a relationship in government between the British Crown and the indigenous [Māori] people of New Zealand. I show that this relationship permeated some Māori healing practitioners’ healing knowledge and perception. A key way in which this occurred was through the practitioners recognizing biological and social boundaries between Māori and Pākehā [New Zealanders of European descent]. A second was through the practitioners’ embodiment of connections with social groups including the nation, a history and present shared between Māori and Pākehā and an idealized pre-contact past. A fundamental principle of Te Oo Mai Reia was that for the practitioners to harness the power of the various forces that sustained life they had to be in touch with their whakapapa [genealogy] for it was through their ancestors that they could commune with the Ultimate Deity, Io, the source of the most potent of all forces of life. A further key principle was that spiritually inspired and traditional Māori culture heightened the wellbeing of Māori, not modern, Pākehā culture. Spiritual and ancient knowledge was supra-conscious and made knowable through an embodied awareness of self and other. To make my argument I draw on literature inspired by Foucault that shows how states govern by implementing their operations and securing their penetration into the citizenry by drawing and building upon pre-existing bodies of knowledge and relations of power. I also draw on literature that shows how the human body bears the effects of such practices of government. To this literature I integrate perception by showing how, in this Māori healing context, the government of the bicultural nation-state worked through the ways the practitioners made sense with the body (especially through feeling, seeing and touching).

Whole document restricted, see Access Instructions file below for details of how to access the print copy. / This thesis may be regarded as both a history of the present and a signifier for the future. Developed during a time of dramatic global upheavals and transformations, it is concerned with the political economy of world order and the ontologies of being upon which world order is predicated. As the framework for the world order of nation states, international law was the means whereby indigenous peoples within colonised territories reconstructed from sovereign nations to dependent populations. Undperpinning this body of law and the political formations of world order were sets of social and political ontologies which continue to be contested. These ontologies are frequently at variance with those of indigenous peoples and shape the arena within which the struggle for self-determination and the validation of indigenous knowledge, values and subjectivities is played out. Contextualised within the international political and juridical framework, the thesis utilises critical theoretical traditions to examine the participation of indigenous peoples in the construction of world order and new global formations. Positioned from a Maori perspective, the thesis also tracks the historical role of education in the development of world order and considers the role and form of Maori educational resistance. In engaging with these issues across macro and micro levels, the thesis identifies the international arena, the national state and forms of regionalism as sites for the reshaping of the global politico/economic order and the emergence of Empire. Allied to this are the reconstruction of hierarchies of knowledge and subjectivities within new Manichean divides. Key questions raised in the thesis concern the positioning of indigenous ontologies and epistemologies within the emergent global order, and the nature of resistance or response. Calls for a new ontology of world order are increasingly being articulated in response to the multiple and increasing crises of globalisation. This thesis argues that, far from irrelevant, traditional indigenous social, political and cosmological ontologies are profoundly important to the development of transformative alternative frameworks for global order.