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He kopu puta tahi, he taura whiri tātou; whiringa a nuku, whiringa a rangi, te whatia e Issue of one womb, we are a rope woven of many strands; woven on earth, woven in heaven, it will not break (Rev Māori Marsden, 1992) Ngati Te Takinga is a hapū (sub-tribe) belonging to the Iwi (tribe) Ngati Pikiao. An affiliated member of the Te Arawa confederation of tribes, Ngati Pikiao occupies the Okere and Rotoiti Lakes district of Rotorua in the central North Island of Aotearoa New Zealand. This thesis seeks to acknowledge and address the concerns that Ngati Te Takinga has regarding impending cultural discontinuity. The concerns arise due to the hapū's limited human capability and capacity being the result of three things. Firstly, the ongoing demise of tribal elders (and leaders) and the subsequent loss to the hapū of cultural knowledge, skills, leadership and expertise. Secondly, the low numbers of adept, culturally proficient successors 'coming through' (to replace the elders) and finally, the detribalised and diasporic (dispersed) nature of our people. The hapū and the marae Te Takinga (a last outwardly discernible bastion of Ngati Te Takinga cultural identity and distinction) are jeopardised as a result of these phenomenon. This thesis is part of a hapū strategy that attempts to address these problems. Positing the reconnection of our dispersed Ngati Te Takinga 'away-dwellers' as a beginning solution, the central questions raised by this thesis are how [does] Ngati Te Takinga 'home-dweller' discourse impact on the 'coming home' experiences and 'reconnection' of Ngati Te Takinga away-dwellers? and what are the [are there] implications for Ngati Te Takinga cultural continuity? The maintenance of Ngati Te Takinga cultural continuity forms the aho mātua or main thread of this work. Using narrative enquiry as a broad methodological framework,stories were gathered from four different groups of Ngati Te Takinga peoples. The groups were home-dwellers (mana whenua or ahi kaa), te ahi tere (away-dwellers who have returned home to live); te ahi tere (away-dwellers who intend returning in the future) and te ahi tere (away-dwellers who have no intention of returning home to live). The stories (narratives) investigated notions of home, belongingness and Māori identity in relation to the trichotomy of the connection, disconnection and the reconnection of Ngati Te Takinga peoples; the stories were analysed and co-constructed with participants for meaning. The stories showed that while the hapū aspires to gather up the strengths of a dispersed people to reinvigorate our culture and the marae, existing and competing discourses around authenticity, authority and Ngati Te Takinga identity create a tension between the home (mana whenua/ahi kaa) and away-dwelling Ngati Te Takinga people; including those away-dwellers who have returned. As a basic requirement, this tension must be diminished in order to build the relationships necessary to improve hapū allegiance (whānaungatanga), to build hapū strength and to maintain hapū culture and identity. As a priority, decolonising strategies that facilitate an understanding of diversity, promote participation, maintain tikanga and include our away-dwellers, our 'returnees' and/or our disconnected people in our hapū-marae interactions, must be considered, developed, promoted and practiced.

This research is comprised of two narrative interview studies of Māori in two different settings, New Zealand (n=20) and Hawai'i (n=30). The data was gathered over the 1994-1996 period. The two settings have some commonalities and differences. In both settings Māori are required to make decisions about the continuity of their ethnic Māori identities and hereditary cultural identities of iwi, hapu and whanau, and the part that they wish these identities to play in their daily lives. The focus of this research was about how Māori create meaning in their lives and maintain their social identities across and within those contexts they move through. The findings of this research suggest that Māori in New Zealand continue to value and gain meaning and satisfaction from their cultural collectivities and the social identities derived from them. However, the results tend to suggest that there are changes in the ways that individuals conceptualise these identities and concomitantly, how they see of themselves. For New Zealand participants, conceptions of hapu and iwi appear to be converging with an increasing focus on the physicality of marae, its environment and symbolism, and the social events and relationships negotiated in that space. New Zealand participants saw some hapu and iwi maintenance activities as more legitimate than others. More value was placed on returning to hapu and iwi homelands however irregular these returns were. In contrast, conceptions of hapu and iwi held by participants in Hawai'i seemed less intense. There were few opportunities to engage with other hapu or iwi members. Being Māori had greater meaning and was understood, probed and valued by others in the culturally plural context of Hawai'i. For New Zealand participants, being Māori was enacted in the context of being a discriminated, negatively constructed minority. All were aware of the defining effect that the presence of a dominant majority could have and countered these effects by engaging in social justice and in-group solidarity activities. The changing identity conceptions held by members of Māori social groups will have implications for a sense of community and social cohesion, for tribal asset management, service delivery and crown settlement processes. If Māori are redefining and renegotiating their social identities to achieve greater meaning and satisfaction then these changes are important to respond to and recognise.

Tribal traditions and practices are integral to iwi identity. From the past to the present, the biggest impact on iwi identity was colonisation and subsequent urbanisation. Urbanisation changed the foundation of identity largely due to the demographic rural-urban shift, effectively creating a distance physically and spiritually for Māori between their place of residence and their traditional tribal turangawaewae. Today a larger proportion of tribal members reside in the main urban centres of New Zealand and Australia. This phenomenon provides an ideal opportunity to explore how iwi identity is maintained in an urban setting – away from the traditional sites of cultural practice. The study, which focuses on Ngāti Awa members residing in Auckland, provided evidence that the foundation of an iwi identity is still heavily reliant on strong iwi-based whānau. The corollary is that, strengthening the tribal knowledge base of whānau residing in urban centres may require new or increased active participation in the customs and practices of their iwi. Regrettably, only three of the ten research participants had an in-depth knowledge of their whakapapa, histories and traditions. However, all the participants indicated the need to become more pro-active in creating and expanding on their knowledge base of iwitanga (including te reo). There was also acknowledgement that urban-based iwi marae and whānau wānanga can provide individuals with the opportunities to learn more about their iwi traditions (and thereby reinforce their sense of tribal identity). Encouragingly, each participant confirmed that identifying as Ngāti Awa was important to them, largely due to the sense of belonging and identity. The study concluded that the sustainability of iwi is reliant on iwi members supporting their iwi regardless of the location of their upbringing.

Stead argues that Hulme, with only one Maori great-grandparent, is not Maori enough to win a literary prize for Maori writing. The paper examines various means for dealing with the vexed question of how to judge whether someone of mixed ancestry can identify with the part of that ancestry that is a minority without risking appropriation of that culture. Hulme and the controversies surrounding her identity and her novel provide a useful focus.

People telling stories of national identity, land and spirituality contribute to the local formation of the nation. I explore this view of nationhood in Aotearoa/New Zealand from Māori and Pākehā perspectives. Theorising this exploration, I form my own national identity concept for guiding analysis, that of locally narrated roots. Locally narrated roots is, essentially, a way of looking at national identity through the everyday narration of land, spirituality and history/ancestry by individuals. Supporting the production of this term is Smith’s (2003) theory of revised ethno-symbolism, which links religion, nationalism, land and history/ancestry, and Thompson’s (2001) grounded, everyday approach summed up as local production of national identity. Research methods draw upon Thompson’s people-focussed approach in conjunction with a narrative approach inspired by life story and Kaupapa Māori Research practices, which informed the conducting of twelve semi-structured interviews. From these interviews, six Māori and six Pākehā stories of history, ancestry, spirituality, land and identity were generated. These narratives revealed that colonial settler society, romanticism and whakapapa (genealogy) are central to this research and vital for further exploration on national identity. I close with the suggestion that participants’ stories enact a process of locally authenticating one’s national identity. I also suggest this local authentication is a secular spirituality, an idea that combines both patent secularism and spirituality, and is expressed through land, history and ancestry in Aotearoa/New Zealand.

Tribal traditions and practices are integral to iwi identity. From the past to the present, the biggest impact on iwi identity was colonisation and subsequent urbanisation. Urbanisation changed the foundation of identity largely due to the demographic rural-urban shift, effectively creating a distance physically and spiritually for Māori between their place of residence and their traditional tribal turangawaewae. Today a larger proportion of tribal members reside in the main urban centres of New Zealand and Australia. This phenomenon provides an ideal opportunity to explore how iwi identity is maintained in an urban setting – away from the traditional sites of cultural practice. The study, which focuses on Ngāti Awa members residing in Auckland, provided evidence that the foundation of an iwi identity is still heavily reliant on strong iwi-based whānau. The corollary is that, strengthening the tribal knowledge base of whānau residing in urban centres may require new or increased active participation in the customs and practices of their iwi. Regrettably, only three of the ten research participants had an in-depth knowledge of their whakapapa, histories and traditions. However, all the participants indicated the need to become more pro-active in creating and expanding on their knowledge base of iwitanga (including te reo). There was also acknowledgement that urban-based iwi marae and whānau wānanga can provide individuals with the opportunities to learn more about their iwi traditions (and thereby reinforce their sense of tribal identity). Encouragingly, each participant confirmed that identifying as Ngāti Awa was important to them, largely due to the sense of belonging and identity. The study concluded that the sustainability of iwi is reliant on iwi members supporting their iwi regardless of the location of their upbringing.