Short answer Maori terms Flashcards
(12 cards)
Mana
A sense of integrity; honour; respect; power; spiritual power and authority.
Mana tupuna - the mana a person is born with, comes from whakapapa.
Mana tangata - personal mana received from others in response to the way one conducts themselves. Humbleness is valued.
Mana atua - mana from direct contact with the supernatural, wairua.
Collectivism - members of whanau are often prepared to make personal sacrifices to uphold the mana of the group. Mana and aroha are a complimentary pair. Mana may cause jealousy and competition (disapproved of by Maori), but aroha motivates whanau to work together for the good of all.
Tohatoha
Sharing material resources.
A Maori cultural value that governs and can shape expectations of relationships and behaviour. An underlying value in kaupapa Maori research. Sharing of resources may be important in building equal relationships and also means research benefits all involved, not just the researcher. Tohatoha may be applicable to ones worldview, but they may not have the capacity to enact it. (collectivist/collectivism)
Sharing the material resources helps to level the playing field so to speak. Access to facilities/services which enable Maori to find/improve the balance in their lives and improve well-being.
Wairua
Spirituality - the central way of life which guides peoples conduct and is the essence of individuals existence that integrates and transcends the physical, emotional, intellectual, volitional, and social dimension.
An important starting point for health.
Focuses on spiritual rather than somatic.
Links the human experience to the environment.
Maori believe without spiritual awareness and Mauri (life-force) and individual cannot be healthy.
Relevant to psychology because these experiences are deeply valued by Maori and considered a major foundation for Maori culture as it can influence thoughts, feelings and behaviour. This is often contradictory to western psychological principles and highlights the importance of indigenous psychology in understanding and interpreting culture from the inside. Necessary for reducing assumptions and misinterpretations.
Whanau
Family - not restricted to nuclear or kin family - wider extended family and people like family even though not related.
Family are the primary support system for Maori - care and nurturance - physical, cultural and emotional.
Ill health is a reflection on the family.
- inextricably linked to identity and purpose.
- self-realisation and potential only achieved within the context of healthy whanau relationships.
It may be important to include whanau in treatment, or need to be considered/advised by in order for successful outcomes.
Whakapapa
Geneology - establishes identity.
Reciting whakapapa places an individual in a wider context, linking themselves to the land, tribal group and the mana of those.
(not restricted to people, implies deep connection to land and ones ancestors)
All people in a community are expected to know who their immediate ancestors are, and to pass this information on to their children so that they too may develop pride and a sense of belonging through understanding the roots of their heritage.
Collectivistic nature - by knowing your whakapapa you can always find the in-group (and avoid marrying your cousin)
Some aspects of whakapapa are considered private and Tapu so asking directly at a first meeting could be considered inappropriate. It is better to wait until this information is offered.
Can offer important insight into lineage due to choice of kinship terms and patterns of behaviour between whanau members and provide a basis for deciding issues of precedence and leadership.
Tikanga
The right way of doing things; the Maori way/customs.
Traditional rules for conducting life, custom, method, rule and law.
Tikanga can be complex - there may be many tikanga in any given context) and they sometimes contradict each other.
SEEK ADVICE!
Maori customs matter deeply to the Maori. Respect for Maori customs and providing for their utilisation helps to reduce discrimination. It is necessary to have more Maori psychologists to increase the tikanga in the practice of psychology.
Incompatibilities between local moral order vs psychological practices may cause misunderstandings or damage from assessments or therapeutic processes.
Kotahitanga
Oneness or a sense of becoming one. Unity
To achieve this whanau members must be prepared to invest time and energy in getting to know each other, to work through differences in lengthy discussions aimed at achieving consensus, to keep whanau matters confidential from outsiders and stand loyally by each other in disputes with outsiders.
Also means accepting responsibility for each others actions, acting to prevent or control damage if need be to make reparation to outsiders in order to restore the whanaus mana.
The concept of discussing matters considered private and sensitive to the whanau may present a barrier to utilising social services.
One cannot be healthy in isolation and therapy cannot be successful if these relationships are not being restored.
Important to build trust be reciprocating the sharing of personal information, however this goes against the psychological ethic not to have dual relationships…
Matauranga Maori
A body of knowledge that encompasses various epistemologies, ontologies and cosmologies - includes all branches of knowledge, has no beginning and no end, is continually being added to, is inclusive of a range of subjects.
This is relevant to psychology because it includes clues to values/beliefs inherent to Maori culture and how these play a part in determining the way Maori think, feel, behave and their expectations of others behaviours.
Complete knowledge can only be obtained or recognised in the context of relationships - familiarity with social and cultural context is important, so is the practitioners relationship to the client and their context.
Tapu
A sense of something sacred or exposure to risk.
A state of being deriving from close contact with beings or forces from the spiritual realm, especially the indwelling of mana.
Restricted by ritual - ignorance of or deliberate disrespect of taps may lead to ill-being.
Closely related to danger, anxiety and restrictions on freedom of action.
Some areas of the body are considered taps - e.g.. head and genitals.
Many restrictions have been abandoned in modern culture - which is considered unfortunate as they helped maintain social distance and respect between persons living in close quarters - especially the opposite sex.
There may be concepts/contexts which are considered inappropriate for a non-Maori psychologist to be involved with.
SEEK ADVICE - progress slowly and be guided by the pace of the client.
Sickness may be a manifestation of breaching tapu, therefore amends/resolution of tapu needs to be made before full recovery/healing can occur.
Noa
A sense of neutrality or providing safety. A state of being which is removed from close contact with spiritual beings or forces and hence free from ritual restriction.
Attracts little or no public respect and attention, but allows relaxation and freedom of action, within the limits of tikanga.
An antidote to tapu.
Hinengaro
The psychological side of the Whare Tapa Wha model of health - relates to thoughts and feelings and mental and emotional well-being.
Unlike usual psychological methods of reducing aspects to smaller constituents the conceptual systems are explored for similarities based on comparisons at a higher level of organisation. Health is viewed as an interrelated phenomenon - not intra-personal.
Poor health is regarded as a manifestation of a breakdown in harmony between the individual and the wider environment.
Ill-health occurs when thoughts and emotions cannot/are not expressed in a healthy way. Sometimes expressing emotion is more important than words - this would be important for consulting with Maori and interpreting their inner experience.
Tinana
The bodily health/physical health side of the Whare tapa wha model.
The capacity for physical growth and development.
Has associations with tapu and noa e.g.. certain areas of the body are considered tapu. As are some biological processes.
The Maori value a healthy active body - saying up and doing is full of life; lying around is sickly. Looking after the physical body is part of balancing well-being, but physical symptoms may represent imbalance in another dimension (e.g.. spirituality) so the focus may not be on treating physical ailments.
Work which sustains bodily well-being of others is not put down as menial, but honoured as the finest expression of aroha.
