1,720,972 research outputs found
Looking at the Works of Alice Tawhai: An Argument for Māori Literary Nationalism
No full textContemporary Māori writer Alice Tawhai has published two collections of short stories, Festival of Miracles (2005) and Luminous (2007). Tawhai's narratives portray Māori people living an array of diverse lifestyles and her collections include stories about isolation, gangs, substance abuse, identity, education, art and spirituality; her work has been reviewed in literary magazines and online as new fiction that reflected a contemporary society in Aotearoa and these literary reviews imply that Tawhai's stories are a reflection of Māori people. For Māori readers, Tawhai's narratives demand a different interpretation of the text, a different way of reading, in order to read these stories of their own merits. To this end, this thesis proposes a practice for reading called 'Māori literary nationalism' which is based on a book called, American Indian Literary Nationalism whose proposed literary practice can be suitably adapted for a Maori literary context. One of the most important components of Maori literary nationalism is the idea of keeping Māori as the central focus, analyzing Māori literature with an insider's view. Māori literary nationalism provides a space for Māori readers to discuss literature, exchange ideas and encourage dialogue amongst each other. More importantly Māori literary nationalism offer Māori readers an opportunity to read Alice Tawhai's work in a way that foregrounds the uniqueness of her short stories
Imagining futures through graphic storytelling : a Qazaq dystopia in Orda and an Indigenous utopia in kitaskinaw 2350
No full textImagining and visualizing futures through graphic storytelling, Indigenous comics writers and illustrators create alternative possibilities that inherently reject colonial narratives that do not envision Indigenous cultures surviving into the future. Deliberately centering Indigenous Peoples in the story in various ways, they represent utopian and dystopian scenarios that serve as not the destruction of Indigenous worlds but instead catalysts of decolonization. This thesis analyzes the futures imagined in a Qazaq comic series, Orda, written by Orazkhan Jakup and featuring different illustrators for each issue, and an Indigenous comic from Canada, kitaskinaw 2350, written by a Métis writer Chelsea Vowel, illustrated by a Wolastoqiyik artist Tara Audibert, and coloured by Donovan Yaciuk. Engaging the dynamic critical conversations about Indigenous Futurism and comics as a form, I draw on Chadwick Allen’s trans-Indigenous reading methodology and his arguments about “legitimiz[ing] our expanding archive for inclusion within formal scholarship.” I propose inviting Qazaq texts into a dialogue with diverse works to argue for the possibility of a productive conversation between the works of Indigenous artists from Central Asia and North America. This thesis positions the two comics in the contexts of Qazaqstan and Canada and engages close readings of the central texts to analyze the ways Orda creates a Qazaq dystopia and kitaskinaw 2350 creates an Indigenous utopia. I argue that even though the texts are from vastly different settings, and present seemingly opposing strategies for imagining Indigenous futures, Orda and kitaskinaw 2350 both challenge conventional colonial views about the central themes of many futurist writings such as language, apocalypse, progress, and time. Ultimately, these analyses suggest that Allen’s proposition is not only possible but also effective in expanding the conversation to Central Asian cultures and the discussion of graphic storytelling forms that often center children and young adult readers.Arts, Faculty ofInformation, School ofGraduat
He whare mātātuhi Tūhoe: A Tūhoe re-visioning of English language literary texts
Get PDFThis thesis urges more Māori to undertake iwi-based readings of English language literary texts. I have chosen to privilege my father’s iwi, Ngāi Tūhoe, and to examine what Tūhoetana means to me and how it might thus enrich my reading of texts. In our ancestral tongue, Ngāi Tūhoe have a rich and pronounced history of storytelling, literary composition, analysis and critique. Unfortunately, this richness is woefully underappreciated within the English language literary landscape. Yet, as the ranks of Māori writers swell, along with the diversity of literary forms that Māori create, so too must Māori – and more specifically iwi – literary scholarship flourish, for if we do not critique the texts that are written about, of, and on behalf of us, who will? Throughout this thesis, I use the terms ‘iwi literary scholars’ and ‘iwi literary scholarship’ to consciously and repeatedly remind the reader of the rich, literary legacies residing within iwi archives; I also hope to highlight the exciting and endless possiblitites for the English language literary landscape to be enriched by readings that are founded within these archives – including the histories, everyday experiences and understandings from our tīpuna.
Structurally, this thesis is divided into three broad strands. Chapters 1-3 focus on whakawhanaunatana and background information to my research. Because this thesis also represents the singular piece of writing that I wish I had read prior to enrolling in the thesis paper for this Master’s degree, my academic hīkoi – frustrations and all – is a necessary component and is covered in chapter 2. Chapters 4-6 then examine three different types of literary texts created by wāhine. These texts include the short story “Birth Rights” by Ngāi Tahu science fiction and fantasy writer, J.C. Hart (2010), the Instagram post Te Kuharere tapes by Ngāti Kahungungu and Ngāti Tuwharetoa songwriter and storyteller @tekahureremoa (2019) – also known as the performer Ladyfruit – and the young adult novel Dark Souls by Ngāti Wai, Ngāti Manuhiri, and Ngāti Whatua writer, Paula Morris (2011). While 21st century texts published on platforms such as Instagram may not sit easily within a traditional English literary curriculum, and indeed the novelty of these specific forms may well prove fleeting, the ‘everydayness’ of online texts yields rewarding analysis opportunities and is currently amiss within mainstream English literary studies. Each of these analysis chapters contains a focused introduction and conclusion, since chapter 7, the concluding chapter of this thesis, is a letter to future iwi literary scholars.
Woven throughout this rangahau is a call for iwi scholars to consciously: engage with the literary traditions of their own iwi; identify the colonial thoughts and motives that they bring to the reading of literary texts; bring their tīpuna to the reading, but let the text itself breathe life into the critique and; consider the genres and types of texts that they critique. Ultimately, this thesis considers how engaging with the literary legacies of our tīpuna might broaden the English language literary landscape and thus enhance the body of iwi literary scholarship in Oceania and beyond
A study of iwi communication between Te Tau Ihu iwi and intergenerational diasporic whānau
Get PDFThis study looks at the online communication methods used between Te Tau Ihu iwi and intergenerational uri who live in the diaspora. Preferences and perceptions of methods of communication utilized by both iwi, and tāngata who live in the overseas diaspora were explored. Most important are the implications for uri living away from Aotearoa, and their desire to remain connected to iwi in New Zealand. This is a mixed methods study, comprising of a survey of fifty-eight emigrant respondents living abroad, and interviews with one member of the first, second, and third generations of emigrants to the United States, with affiliation to at least one of the eight tribes who claim tāngata whenua status of Te Tau Ihu.
The implications of the findings from the study provide both iwi and tāngata the opportunity to create a synergistic relationship of communicating. Assisting iwi to develop and implement a strategy for relevant communication, and iwi members engaging in a dialogue with iwi about relevance of communication is critical in strengthening ties between iwi and future generations regardless of location. “He aha te mea nui, he tangata, he tangata.
Nā Wai Koe? Our tūpuna call us home: Maremare whānau thinking about connections to whenua tupuna
Get PDFThis research focuses on the Maremare whānau from Tiniwaitara Marae, Turakina, in order to explore the importance of our relationship with our whenua tupuna and the related concept of returning home.
Although many academics have carefully attended to the concept of ‘disconnection’ from whenua tupuna in order to describe the effects of Māori mobility, this term unfortunately reinforces the colonial attempt to detach our people from the things that provide us with our sense of belonging. I argue that thinking about relationship with whenua tupuna through terms like ‘disconnection’ and ‘reconnection’ are unhelpful and problematic; instead, when we understand this relationship in Māori terms, our connection to our whenua tupuna is an everlasting relationship that is woven into the fabric of our whakapapa.
The research combines interviews with three generations of the Maremare whānau, including people with diverse experiences of relationships with Turakina, with critical reflection on relevant concepts from Te Ao Māori. Specifically, mobilising a Kaupapa Māori Theory approach, the thesis draws on an oriori, ‘He Oriori mō Wharaurangi’ as the methodology and foundation of this thesis. In this way, the thesis both argues and demonstrates the value of researchers, and in particular kairangahau Māori, look to mātauranga Māori to guide us in our research about Māori topics. This oriori is iwi specific, it holds kōrero tuku iho that pertains to my whakapapa as an uri of Ngā Wairiki Ngāti Apa and it is very relevant to both my kaupapa and the people participating in the rangahau.
Ultimately, whakapapa rests at the core of connection to whenua tupuna. It is the foundation in which we stand and it connects us as a people to the land that birthed us. This thesis looks at the different ways that our tūpuna call us home, the different ‘returning home’ experiences within the Maremare whānau and how people within the whānau view their connection with our whenua tupuna in Turakina. Nā wai koe? Our tūpuna call us home
Calling the Taniwha: Mana Wahine Maori and the Poetry of Roma Potiki
No full textThis thesis aims to explore the implications of reading the poetry of Roma Potiki with some of the critical writing about Mana Wahine Maori. At the intersections between the creative and the critical writings, I produce a grouping of literature that I name 'Mana Wahine Maori poetry in English'. Specifically, I contend that combining the kaupapa of Mana Wahine Maori scholarship with the poetry of Roma Potiki, and other Maori women poets, results in new readings of all the texts involved that are rich in complexities and multiplicities. In Chapter One I explain the choice of Roma Potiki's poetry as poutokomanawa for this thesis and briefly introduce some of the issues surrounding genre, canon-making and naming for Mana Wahine Maori poetry in English. Chapter Two illustrates the whakapapa of Mana Wahine Maori critical writings and explores the implications of the 'Mana' in Mana Wahine Maori poetry in English. Chapter Three considers the 'Wahine Maori' of Mana Wahine Maori poetry in English, both by examination of 'Wahine' in its New Zealand context, and by reference to a selection of Black American, Native American and First Nations, Australian Aboriginal and feminist literary critical writings. Chapter Four supports the pluralist nature of Mana Wahine Maori poetry in English by specific reference to Iwi/Hapu/Whanau contexts, urban wahine Maori contexts and wahine takatapui contexts. Finally, Chapter Five examines whether Mana Wahine Maori poetry in English is still a productive grouping when reading the works of not only other wahine Maori poets, but other wahine Maori writers generally, and I use the writings of Keri Hulme to investigate this. Therefore, I argue that naming this diverse collection of writing 'Mana Wahine Maori poetry in English' enables new kinds of readings that admit and debate the multiplicities inherent in all of these works
Māori diaspora: Being Māori on the Gold Coast
Get PDFAn estimated one in five Māori now live in Australia with the largest concentration on the Gold Coast. My research gives voice to the lived realities of the Māori diaspora and is informed by my own reflections as a first-generation Australian-born Māori and those of my whānau. Through discussion with whānau who either emigrated over to Australia as adults or were born and raised in Australia because of their parents’ emigration, in my thesis I shed light on constructions of identity and notions of belonging for Māori on the Gold Coast living on the traditional land of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.
With an understanding of the entangled complexities on undertaking research on Māori living on the land of another Indigenous Peoples, I utilise both Kaupapa Māori and Indigenous Research paradigms as the foundation for this thesis. Using pūrākau as method, with a storytelling approach, I had expected to be sitting with my whānau kanohi ki te kanohi, sharing food and laughs in the home. However, Covid-19 put a halt to my desired research approach. Despite this hurdle, I was able to collate and combine our shared stories to express what it is to be Māori on the Gold Coast through the utilisation of online spaces. Through my findings, I demonstrate that Māori on the Gold Coast articulate a range of ways to be Māori with diverse and hopeful views for the future. This challenges dominant Māori scholarship which often excludes and invisibilizes Māori experiences outside of Aotearoa, as if people cease to be Māori once they have left.
This thesis adds to Indigenous diasporic discussions in communicating the fluidity of Māori identity. I argue that Māori have a connection to Aotearoa that is not necessarily tied physically to the whenua, nor bound to preconceptions and measures of history. Understanding our diaspora is essential for considering future implications for Indigenous solidarity, and for cultural growth and retention
"There is Always the Other Side, Always": An Exploration of Re-Writing in Witi Ihimaera's Dear Miss Mansfield.
No full textIn Witi Ihimaera's 1989 short story collection Dear Miss Mansfield, Ihimaera addresses a number of stories written by New Zealand literary icon Katherine Mansfield, and provides Maori responses to the stories. Although Ihimaera's collection is written in homage to Mansfield, it is also an effort to decentralise her work and to contest her prominence within New Zealand's national literature, as well as the prominence of European literature in general. Through this collection, Ihimaera responds to works which speak from a fundamentally European perspective and thereby creates a space for Maori voice. In doing this, Ihimaera writes Maori into the canon of literature which is represented by Mansfield. I argue that Ihimaera utilises the very specific and powerful technique of re-writing to illustrate that representation of Maori in New Zealand literature has been unsatisfactory. Through his stories, Ihimaera shows that this European dominance in literature, and also society, has been at the expense of Maori, but resolves that the best way for Maori to confront this is to retain their own sense of culture and Maoritanga at all costs
He tangi mai i te puehu: He whakatewhatewha i te mahi whakamāori me te reo ā-tuhi a ngā tūpuna
Get PDFKei te pūtahi o tēnei tuhinga whakapae ko te whakatewhatewha i te whakapapa o te whakaaro Māori (Māori intellectual history) mā ēnei pātai e rua: He aha ā te Māori i tuhituhi ai i te tōmuatanga o te rautau rua tekau? Ā, he pēhea tāna wetewete i ngā huatau whakawairua nō waho i te ao Māori?
Ina koa, ko tā te tuhinga whakapae nei he whakaaranga, he whakaatu hoki i ētahi huarahi e toru hei rangahau i ngā whakapapa o te whakaaro taketake: ko te ketuketu rua mahara (archival research); ko te tātari ariā (conceptual analysis); me te reo e whakamahia ana kia wetewete i te kaupapa. Mā te mahi ketuketu rua mahara e āhei ai ki te wānanga i ngā whakaputanga a Wiremu Takana, he kaituhi, he kaiwhakamāori nō Ngāti Kahungunu. Ka whakaputaina tāna tuhinga tuatahi i te tau 1915. Ā, e rua anō i whakaputaina e ia i te tau whai muri mai i 1916. Ko ēnei tuhinga āna e whakatewhatewha ana i te whakamāoritanga o te rongopai me te āheinga o ngā pūrākau Māori kia whakamārama i ngā whakaakoranga Moromona. Kāore anō kia āta tātaritia, kia āta rangahaua āna pukapuka e tētahi atu o mua. Ko te huarahi rangahau tuarua ko te tātari i te whakamāoritanga o ētahi ariā whakawairua e kitea ana i roto i ngā karaipiture o te Hāhi o Ihu Karaiti o te Hunga Tapu o ngā Rā o Muri nei. E toru ngā ariā kua tīpakongia hei tirotiro, arā, ko heaven, hell me baptism. Ā, hei whakawhānui atu i te titiro ki tēnei kaupapa, ka huritaongia ngā hua o te tuhinga reo Māori, arā, ka matapakina ngā take kia tuhituhi i te mahi rangahau i roto i te reo Māori.
I te mutunga iho, mā te āta wānanga i ngā whakaputanga reo Māori a te Hāhi o Ihu Karaiti (LDS) e whakawhānuitia ai tō tātou māramatanga ki te hītori o te mahi whakaputa pukapuka i roto i te Hāhi, te mahi punenga a te Māori, te whakareretanga o ngā tuhituhinga reo Māori, me te hītori o te Hāhi o Ihu Karaiti i Aotearoa nei
E Kore Te Tōtara e Tū Noa i Te Pārae, Engari Me Tū i Roto i Te Wao-Nui-a-Tāne: The Symbolism of Rākau and Ngahere in the Huia Short Story Collections
No full textThis thesis is a literary critical exploration of rākau/ngahere symbolism as it appears in the biennial short story collections, published by Huia Publishers, that have resulted from the Pikihuia competition for Māori writers. These stories are examples of modern Māori language fiction written for an adult readership, a section of the Māori literary world that has had limited critical attention. The methodology of this thesis is founded on the close reading process and combines the approaches of both Māori Studies and Literary Studies, looking to provide an example of what “Māori Language Literary Studies” might look like as a discipline. The chapters of the thesis are divided into discussions of the rākau/ngahere motif as it functions with regard to three broad themes that can be identified in the Huia collections. Chapter One explores the theme: “points of origin”. This chapter includes close readings of four of the Huia short stories, especially focusing on the rākau/ngahere symbolism they employ and on how that symbolism and the general narrative content of each text relates to the “points of origin” theme. Chapter Two responds to the (post)colonial context in which these works were written and explores “Māori and Pākehā interaction” as a theme within two of the Huia texts. This chapter also raises questions about who the Huia authors are writing for and posits that a key feature of Māori language literature is that it is written for an almost exclusively Māori readership. Finally, Chapter Three discusses the theme of “different worlds” in three of the Huia texts. This critical exploration includes close readings of how different worlds are related to rākau imagery in the texts and shows how, rather than being “othered”, they are presented as layer upon layer of intersecting and interconnecting Māori worlds. This chapter also highlights the role of fiction as a conduit through which the reader can access new “worlds”. Ultimately, it is hoped that this thesis will create new space for the critical discussion of Māori language literature in a broad sense. The thesis is rooted in rākau/ngahere symbolism, but the lines of questioning that arise from his tight focus can potentially be expanded and applied to other Māori language texts, now and in the future
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