A Māori Perspective - Te Ao Māori

On this page

• Tribal areas
  Nga rohe potae o nga Mana Whenua
• Protecting our environment
  Atawhaingia nga tamariki o Rangi raua ko Papa
• Important concepts
  He pou tikanga whakaaro
• Heritage
  Nga taonga tuku iho
• What EW is doing
• Glossary
  He rarangi kupu

Tribal areas
Nga rohe potae o nga Mana Whenua

Click here to view a directory of iwi and Maori organisations. 

The natural world provides identity for Māori. Māori people introduce themselves in relation to their tribal boundaries and their turangawaewae, with reference to:

• their mountain
• the lands adjacent to the mountain
• their river and its flow
• the coastline, or for inland tribes, often a large lake.

The following iwi have tribal areas (rohe) within the Waikato region:

• Tuwharetoa
• Te Arawa
  • Ngati Tahu - Ngati Whaoa
  • Ngati Kearoa - Ngati Tuara
  • Tuhourangi - Ngati Wahiao
• Ngati Raukawa
• Ngati Maniapoto
• Waikato
• Hauraki

Protecting our environment Atawhaingia nga tamariki o Rangi raua ko Papa

Maori are concerned about the effects of resource use on land, air, water, coasts, geothermal resources and the plants and animals which live there. They are concerned about the changes made to these resources and development on tapu areas. Maori feel there needs to be more protection for the customary uses of plants and animals and more monitoring to get a better picture of the environment's health.

View past and current resource consent activity in your rohe.

Find out more about Maori use and perspectives on management of the Waikato region's resources in:

• Maori and the air
• Maori and the coast
• Maori and geothermal resources
• Maori and the land
• Maori and wetlands
• Waikato Te Awa – A Taonga (the Waikato River).

Important concepts
He pou tikanga whakaaro

Maori have comprehensive customs to manage and protect their resources, for example whakapapa, kaitiakitanga, rahui and the significance of mauri.

All things in the Maori world can be traced and explained through whakapapa. The whakapapa of the natural world – animals, plants, mountains, rivers, lakes, air, coasts - is linked to that of Maori. Maori have an ancestral obligation to ensure that these taonga are protected and managed when passed on to the next generation.

Mauri is the life force that generates, regenerates, and binds the physical and spiritual elements of resources together. For Maori eye kai, maintaining and enhancing the mauri of the taonga is the focus of environmental management.

Kaitiakitanga implies an obligation and responsibility for tangata whenua to be custodians, protectors and guardians of tribal interests, its taonga and the resources it owns.

When a rahui is placed upon a river, lake, forest or harbour, this bans people from using some resources. For example, a rahui might ban people from gathering shellfish at a beach. Many Maori tribes use the practice of rahui to conserve or replenish a resource.

Heritage
Nga taonga tuku iho

Waahi tapu and waahi tupuna are spiritually and culturally important places for Maori. Most waahi tapu sites are linked to past battles or historic events. For Maori, these places help to give meaning to their lives and tribal society, providing ‘windows to the past’. Waahi tapu sites are often located on:

• rivers
• lakes
• harbours, estuaries and coastlines.

This means they are more likely to be disturbed by developments such as:

• flood protection works
• pastoral farming activities
• residential subdivision
• government developments
• private industrial developments
• other construction.

Maori believe local tangata whenua should have unrestricted access to waahi tapu sites, but that public access should be restricted.

What EW is doing

Environment Waikato is working with tangata whenua, supporting resource management workshops, contracts with iwi, joint research projects, and Maori-based Care Groups.

It’s important that we consult tangata whenua during planning and consent processes so that existing and newly discovered waahi tapu sites are identified and protected from desecration.

Maori participate in the management of the region’s resources by developing resource management plans and having tribal representatives in resource management activities. Maori are contributing to council policies and consultation on resource consent applications.

Glossary
He rarangi kupu

Footnotes

1. Greeting – respect to the creator and acknowledging Maoridom's supreme leadership in unity and peace, remembering and farewelling the spirits of the departed, greetings and welcome to all.