Ko te kookoomuka te raakau i tunua ai te moa. (There is a proper use for everything and only by means of correct useage can the optimum result be obtained)
This thesis proposes a model for research into traditional Maori kaupapa.
Maori Studies is interdisciplinary in that it combines aspects of a considerable number of other disciplines and adds a further perspective of its own. However, despite the cross-overs with, for example, Anthropology, History, Linguistics, Art History, etc., Maori Studies provides its own unique, emic prespective which adds both depth and breadth to the study. Accordingly, research into kaupapa Maori requires a Maori model which draws from associated disciplines, forms interpretations according to the Maori world view and integrates all the various forms of evidence so that gaps in one area may be filled from another.
Some steps towards resolution are proposed where the different forms of evidence seem to contradict, rather than complement each other. In particular the etic versus emic approach is examined with a view. Accordingly, the thesis will include an approach to the analysis and incorporation of traditional information available from: interviews; art; waiata; whakataukii; placenames; whakapapa; manuscripts and early census figures as well as the publised sources which are available. All must be compared with the contemporary oral record of past events, especially since much Maori tradition is political in nature, and the political perspective can change over time ("The Maori Camel"-paper presented to Pouhere Korero/NZHA Conference February 1996).
(One of the particular strengths of Maori language material such as placenames, waiata, whakapapa, and whakatauki is that they have usually been repeated verbatim, often by people who hadn�t the language ability to change them. Therefore, like manuscripts they are frozen in time; unlike contemporary oral evidence where stories are retold in each generation.)
The case studies look at the traditional Maori perspective on each of the topics and compares it with any research which has been done in Non-Maori ways. (For example, in Case Study 1., Maori knowledge which has been gathered by following the model proposed in this thesis is compared with botanical knowledge about cabbage trees.)
Maori language material is not translated but handled in the original and discussed in Maori when a more productive discussion is thus facilitated, therefore resulting in a bi-lingual thesis. For Maori Studies to be fully accepted as having the same mana as other academic disciplines requires full acceptance of the bilingual nature of Maori Studies. However, in the iterests [sic] of wider accessibility, the majority of the discussion will be in English.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/266579 |
| Date | January 1997 |
| Creators | Williams, Jim, n/a |
| Publisher | University of Otago. Te Tumu - School of Maori, Pacific and Indigenous Studies |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | http://policy01.otago.ac.nz/policies/FMPro?-db=policies.fm&-format=viewpolicy.html&-lay=viewpolicy&-sortfield=Title&Type=Academic&-recid=33025&-find), Copyright Jim Williams |
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