Ngā Kare-ā-Roto: Māori Cultural Understandings and Emotional Expression

Abstract

This article ‘Ngā Kare-ā-roto: The Ripples Within’ provides an overview of findings related to Māori views, understanding and expressions of emotions through a Māori cultural lens. One of the key findings from the research project ‘Ngā Kare-ā-roto’ highlighted that emotions are expressed through a range of cultural practices that have served to bring collective understandings to support emotional wellbeing for Māori. At the centre of this research is the revitalisation of ancestral knowledge and practices to support emotional expression. The social and cultural significance of this project is highlighted by Indigenous researchers who have noted the direct relationship of emotions such as grief and trauma to wellbeing. This article provides an outline of kaikōrero (speakers/participants) views on the place of whakataukī (proverbial sayings) in the expression of emotions and emotional states of being. We begin with an overview of the significance of this work to supporting wellbeing and healing. We then move to providing a range of examples that were shared throughout the project that give insights into the ways in which emotions for Māori are framed within our ancestral and cultural understandings, in particular in regards to collective expressions of tikanga (cultural practices) and whakataukī that have been handed down through te reo Māori (Māori language) as sources of knowledge, guidance and learning.

1. Introduction

‘Ngā Kare-ā-roto’ is a three year project that investigates Māori views, understanding and expressions of emotions through a Māori cultural lens. For Māori the ways that emotions are discussed has been connected to cultural connections both to our selves and to our environments. Within Te Ao Māori (the Māori world) collective ways of experiencing emotions have been framed within a wide range of cultural practices and frameworks. The research ‘Ngā Kare-ā-roto’ asked the broad question: ‘How are emotions understood and expressed within tikanga, te reo and mātauranga Māori?and how can these understandings inform and transform our wellbeing as Māori?’. The term ‘Ngā Kare-ā-roto’ is most broadly translated as ‘the ripples within’ and refers to the ways in which emotions are felt similarly to ‘ripples’ or ‘waves’. The term itself reflects an understanding that emotions for Māori are felt within the ngākau (the stomach area). This aligns to cultural understandings that our ways of knowing are also felt within our stomach area, which is also considered to be a site where Māori knowledge is received and comes to be fully known (Smith 2019). The ways in which this is understood as a process of understanding is explained by Opai (2024) as follows:

Everything is about the eyes in school, everything about Māori learning was experience, you went to the hui (gatherings), you did it in person, you listened to the whakapapa (ancestral lineage), oh they missed out a bit, did you catch that? All those sort] of things, that’s why those things were at three o’clock in the morning, nothing to distract your eyes that sort of thing. Then there is rongo-ā-ngākau, ā-wairua when you feel this is what’s happening, when you have a gut reaction, when you have instinct, ā-puku..

(Opai 2024 Pers Comm)

Furthermore, the term ‘kare’ refers to a rippling effect that is felt physically within the body which again emphasises, as Opai stated previously. The connection between the physical, cultural and emotional states. ‘Kare’ was described by one participant as follows:

Karekare is the same thing isn’t it, it’s about that rippling and it can either be forced so that it’s rushed, or it can be gently rippling and so therefore the response is quite different from the very big splashes and rushes to the very gentle rippling’s, and those emotions. Emotions are the things that spirit intelligence use, they’re our security alarm system.

(Interview)

In Māori terms these connections have also been discussed in relation to ‘tuakiritanga’. Tuakiritanga is most commonly referred to as the ‘inner being’ (Mataira 1989; Pohatu and Pohatu 2011; Lipsham 2016) and has been described by Marsden (2003) as being located within

“cultural tradition, lore, history, corpus of knowledge etc, with which the descendants can identify, and which provide them with their identity, self-esteem and dignity: that which provides them with psychological security”.

(Marsden 2003, p. 38)

What this stresses is the interconnected nature of notions of emotions, identity, culture and wellbeing. However, what we have found is that the place of Kare-ā-roto, emotions, has often been either overlooked or received a fleeting comment when discussing wellbeing for Māori. More recently in a study related to Māori cultural approaches to violence prevention and intervention it was noted that the need to engage more deeply with emotions as a key component of holistic Māori healing practices was noted (Pihama et al. 2023).

Within international literature the significance of emotions and emotional wellbeing is documented across a range of research contexts such as health, education, justice and identity (Ortony et al. 1988; Boler 1999; Mayer 2006; Blackmore 2011). It is argued that emotions and emotional expression are tied in complex ways to family, culture, and societal dynamics (Briggs 1970; Bhugra and McKenzie 2003; Musharbash 2010). It has been highlighted by Indigenous scholars and researchers that emotions are also linked to both the experience and healing of intergenerational and historical trauma (Duran and Duran 1995; Heart and Horse 2000; Walters et al. 2011). Research in the field of trauma and epigenetics has argued that emotions can be held within the cells of the body, independent of cognitive thought and can be passed intergenerationally (Kellerman 2001; Duran 2006). Furthermore it is contended that emotions are relational, contextual, and vary with culture in a multitude of ways (Boler 1999; Blackmore 2011) and that rather than being driven by cognitive activity, emotions are constructed through context, experience and perception (Barrett 2017). Ortony et al. (1988) argue that emotions are multifaceted and involve a complex, set of relationships that connect feelings, experiences, physiology, behaviour, cognitions and conceptualisations. Within such a structure, emotions are viewed as interconnected with aspects of wellbeing. Ortony et al. (1988) state that their work has been grounded within the definition of western characterisation of emotions, which in turn creates a “theory based on culturally universal principles” (p. 175).

Further to this, Mayer (2006) highlights that emotional knowledge can be learned and that increasing one’s awareness of emotions results in people living more socially connected lives. Personal and social competencies, such as self- awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills, can be acquired, and individuals who possess all of these characteristics are thought to be socially intelligent leaders (Blackmore 2011). However, Boler (1999) and Blackmore (2011) challenge the claim that dimensions of Emotional Intelligence such as empathy and care are classed as universal skills that can be attained without regard to cultural or social context. Boler (1999) suggests the analysis of Emotional Intelligence completely disregards historical context, social, and cultural differences that attribute to and account for emotional responses. In line with this view, Gangopadhyay and Mandal (2008) refer to the importance of considering cultural differences when considering emotional intelligence and note that the idea of a universal approach to emotions has its “genesis in the empiricist-positivist practice of knowledge and the notion of an independent individual” (Misra et al. cited in Gangopadhyay and Mandal 2008, p. 126). This is further noted in research, in the Netherlands, comparing emotions in collectivist and individualist contexts which found that “emotions in collectivist contexts have been characterized as relational and contextualized phenomena, whereas emotions in individualist contexts are intrapersonal and subjective” (Mesquita 2001, p. 69). These collective ways of coming to understand emotions was noted in this research as follows:

How the individual grows up in a community and how they, when you are thinking about our tamarikiv(children) what is it in our practices that shaping every child’s sense of self, sense of being and how do we do that in the families and in Kōhanga (Immersion earlychildhood centre) that makes it sort of, the child eventually comes to be aware that these sorts of expressions are seen as normal and therefore acceptable and these ones are seen as needing self management or self governance or needing others to monitor because ultimately it’s about understanding a Māori view of human development, a Māori view of us as humans and as a collective how we kind of understand that.

(Interview)

As such, a key focus of ‘Ngā Kare-ā-roto has been the examination of mātauranga Māori, cultural forms of knowledge and ways of knowing, to highlight how our tūpuna (ancestors) shared knowledge related specifically to emotional expression. These cultural notions and understandings were discussed by those interviewed in this study. This article provides a discussion of key results within the study that highlighted the critical role of tikanga and whakataukī in providing cultural understandings of how Māori collectively understand and locate emotions and emotional expressions.

2. Tikanga Rangahau: Kaupapa Māori Methodology

Kaupapa Māori provided the methodological and theoretical framework for this project ensuring that all aspects of the research are informed by tikanga Māori (Smith 1997, 2003; Smith 1999; Pihama 2001; Pihama et al. 2015). Kaupapa Māori methodology contributes to a wider decolonising intent within research and interrupts the assumed ‘superiority’ of western research approaches (Smith 2012). The research aligned with the key principles of Kaupapa Māori theory and methodology, these being: tino rangatiratanga (the self-determination principle; taonga tuku iho (the cultural aspirations principle); Ako Māori (the ‘culturally preferred pedagogy); Kia piki ake i ngā raruraru o te Kainga (the ‘socio-economic’ mediation principle); Whānau (the ‘extended family structure ‘principle); Kaupapa (the ‘collective philosophy’ principle) (Smith 1997, 1999; Pihama 2001; Pihama et al. 2015). The principle of tino rangatiratanga is often referred to in the phrase ‘by Māori, for Māori’ which highlights the need for Māori to take critical leads within research that directly relates to, and impacts upon, Māori. These principles add to the understanding of research ‘by Māori, for Māori’ is the additional emphasis that the research is to be undertaken ‘in a Māori way’ or in line with the fundamental ethics and expectations of tikanga Māori.

A key element of Kaupapa Māori methodology involves drawing upon a range of sources of mātauranga Māori in order to explore Māori worldviews in relation to the cultural construct of emotions and emotional wellbeing (IRI 2000; Smith 2012). Exploring tikanga and mātauranga Māori to understand Māori views and understandings is a particular focus in this research. Within wider discussions of wellbeing in our communities, there is a strong school of thought about drawing from Te Ao Māori as a source of knowledge and understanding in contemporary times (Pere 1982; Irwin 1992; Grennell and Pivac 2006). Grennell and Pivac (2006) emphasises that drawing upon the knowledge and wisdom of our tūpuna (ancestors) enables an understanding and guidance that is framed by our values, principles, and symbols. Kaupapa Māori cannot be understood without an understanding of mātauranga Māori and the ways in which we as Māori engage knowledge and forms of knowing (Nepe 1991; Pihama 2001; Mead 2003; Smith et al. 2016). Exploring Māori concepts through te reo Māori were key within the research. A range of sources such as pūrākau (storytelling), mōteatea (chants), whakataukī (proverbial sayings), and other forms of oral traditions, enabled the research team access to mātauranga Māori that highlighted Māori cultural knowledge related to emotions and wellbeing (Irwin 1992; Mead 2003).

Ngā Mahi Rangahau: Methods

The key methods used to gather this information included: whakawhiti kōrero (interviews and discussions); wānanga (gatherings within which Māori knowledge is shared, learnt, and discussed); and Thought Space Wānanga (Smith et al. 2019). The whakawhiti kōrero included 60 interviews and discussions with a wide range of Māori across Aotearoa. Those that accepted the invitation to participate have involvement in areas of hauora (health and wellbeing); te reo Māori revitalisation; educational contexts; whānau ora (extended family wellbeing); education; and social service related areas; Mātanga reo (Māori language experts); and those actively involved in the reclamation of the māramataka (Māori calendar); traditional healers and rongoā (Māori medicines). Some of the whānau interviewed spoke to their experiences of healing their own trauma and the centrality of coming to know how emotions are expressed in healthy ways through tikanga Māori.

Six Wānanga were held around Aotearoa as a means by which to engage with collectives and organisations around the country that have an interest in how Kare-ā-roto are expressed through tikanga. Within each wānanga we invited a speaker from that region to share ideas and thoughts as means by which to initiate conversations. Topics such as whakataukī, māramataka, mōteatea (chants) and kupu Māori (Māori words and notions) were shared. Wānanga are in essence specific forms of Māori cultural gatherings where all manner of issues are explored, debated, unpacked, and discussed. This collective approach to research is an embodiment of the principle of ‘whanau’ and in particular of the acknowledgement and recognition of whanaungatanga (relationality) what is practiced within all such gatherings. Wānanga provided opportunities both to gather information and to deliberate over a particular issue or area of knowledge. Within Kaupapa Māori research the principle of ‘Kaupapa’ refers to both the research focus or topic and to the collective purpose of the research being undertaken, this includes how it is applied to the activities and methods within the work. The process of wānanga enables for collective engagement and brings to the fore a tikanga driven co-production of knowledge around particular areas of interest or importance. Thought Space Wānanga have been described as a “Kaupapa Māori decolonizing approach to knowledge translation” (Smith et al. 2019) where the process is guided by Kaupapa Māori and has a focus of ensuring the translation of research findings is done in ways that contribute directly to transformative outcomes for Māori. This is central to what Smith (1997) framed as ‘Kia piki ake i ngā raruraru o te Kainga’ and the critical expectation that Kaupapa Māori research is both transformative in intent and in outcomes.

The discussion of the whakataukī was centred within the whakawhiti kōrero and wānanga processes where an opportunity for participants to share whakataukī that are of significance to them in relation to emotional expression for Māori.

3. Results

Key findings within this study highlighted that emotions are collectively understood for Māori through a broad range of tikanga (cultural traditions and practices); te reo (language expressions) and mātauranga (knowledge forms). At the core of coming to understand Māori cultural understandings and expressions of emotions is the need to revitalize Māori language and cultural practices that are grounded within our own knowledge forms and ways of knowing (Smith et al. 2016) The key results we are reporting in this article are: (i) The place of te reo (language) in understanding emotions; (ii) Revitalizing tikanga Māori; (iii) Whakataukī (proverbial sayings) as emotional expression and (iv) Relational ways of understanding emotions.

3.1. The Place of Te Reo (Language) in Understanding Emotions

Throughout the research kaikōrero (participants) reflected upon the impact of the colonial denial of te reo Māori and the impact of that upon how we come to express ourselves. At the centre of these discussions was the severe impact of the denial of te reo Māori to generations of our people. Historically, the marginalisation of te reo Māori began systematically through the instigation of an English only policy within colonial schooling (Smith 1986; Smith and Smith 1990). The impact of the imposition of English and the denial of te reo Māori has been significant for generations of Māori people who have not had access to their Indigenous language, and as such have been disconnected from the knowledge and understandings that are embedded within the language. This point was made clear within the research in regards to emotions as it was emphasised that in order to fully understand our cultural ways to expressing emotions the ability to name and to language those is critical.

The culture, the expression, everything is within the language and its huger than what we have now, it was huge, they attacked the language, in the end. Everything else is a side issue, even the confiscations of our whenua, in the end it comes back to what holds a culture together. To me, I mean I could be wrong, a linguist might say something different, to me it’s held within the language.

(Interview)

We are an emotional people, that’s apparent in our reo, its apparent in our pūrākau its apparent in our whakairo, it’s in every aspect of our ao Māori, increasingly it’s nowhere in our ao Pākehā. Almost as if in the colonisation process, we are removed from, in order for us to be colonized, to be assimilated, to be impacted and inducted into the western world everything must be removed that is Māori.

(Interview)

Te reo Māori is littered with emotional expression such as ‘te whetuki o te manawa’ (causes the heart to flutter), and ‘te whakatō waiwai o ngā kamo’ (brings tears to the eyes). Kaikōrero emphasised that it is important that these forms of cultural understandings are shared more broadlys so that we can strengthen our emotional selves. Both of these examples illustrate our ancestral knowledge connected to the embodiment of emotions. In other instances, they are displayed in physical reactions, hence the saying te hinga o ngā tukemata, te whakanapu o te karu (causing eyebrows to lift and eyes to flash in admiration), or described in direct relation to a specific part of the body. For example, whakataukī such as ‘te tau o taku ate’ is used to refer to a partner, lover or someone deeply loved. It is translated as (a) heart-strings, deep emotion (Williams 1971, p. 395). ‘Ate’ is the liver and this whakataukī is considered as a term of endearment (Mead 2003). What this saying indicates is the ways in which emotions are often relayed through a reference to the ways in which emotions are embodied and in this case in regards to affectionate relationships or love is expressed through a reference to one’s liver (ate).

Over the past forty years there has been a powerful movement for the revitalisation and regeneration of te reo Māori and to reconnect us to our tikanga and ways of being that will support wellbeing and thrivance for Māori. This was emphasised in the research with the revitalisation of te reo Māori being considered key to coming to know the many layers and forms of emotions and how we can name those in ways that indicate the strength of a particular emotion and the multiple ways that emotions can be described and explained. Throughout the research kaikōrero spoke of the power of te reo Māori in articulating emotions. To highlight the complex ways through which emotions can be understood in te reo Māori one participant described layers of pain and the terms for how pain is inflicted as follows:

Pēhitanga, mamae, ngoikore, to inflict pain would be to be kūare, no hauarea rather than kūare. Kūare insinuates that you are blissfully unknowing, and it lets you off the hook a little bit, somehow. Hauarea is not benevolent, malevolent, and it’s sneaky and it’s dark. I remember my grandmother using that kupu and she would call people hauarea, and hauarea was worse than koretake in the way that she used it. To use that is to inflict pain, but to highlight, and I believe that the way she used hauarea on some of her nephews was about alerting them, they weren’t taking notice of their emotional alert system so she’s alerting them that sorts yourself out, so it had a particular connotation, hauarea. The kupu for pain that I would use, pēhitanga that’s painful, mamaetanga, and to inflict pain would be to use the word hauarea. That is a tauira to use that word, because that’s how she used that word.

(Interview)

3.2. Revitalizing Tikanga Māori

Tikanga Māori is considered to be critical to understanding emotions for Māori. The term tikanga is defined as “method, plan, reason, custom, the right way of doing things” (Marsden 2003, p. 66) and as a cultural framework for social control that provides guidance and provides us with cultural practices that frame how we interact with each other both personally and collectively (Mead 2003). Pihama et al. (2023) state that “Tikanga provides us with notions of correct ways of being in the world and also provides us with the process and protocols through which to enact that” (p. 84). Furthermore, tikanga is according to Marsden (2003) are customs and traditions that have been transmitted intergenerationally to guide us. The centrality of tikanga in regards to emotions is referred to within the research in relation to what is ‘tika’, or correct. As one participant summarised that this can guide us in terms of understanding emotions:

I would say in terms of the emotional state is about what is tika for me? Then he aha kē taku tikanga kia tae atu ki te taumata mō te tika? Then me pēhea i whakapono au ki taku tikanga kia eke ki te taumata mō taku tika? It is a real process, that process of tikanga is about ensuring everything is sitting right, 1) that tikanga is giving yourself permission to always be happy, to always have that responsibility to you first, to be emotionally stable is to be emotionally intelligent. The only place you can arrive at that, or the only way you can arrive at that is not from making an intellectual decision but making a spiritually intelligent decision.

(Interview)

Tikanga in this context then provides us with guidance as to how to reflect upon feelings and emotional states. In wider terms tikanga is considered to provide practices and traditions through which emotions can be freely understood and expressed. For example, Tangihanga (death and funeral processes) are framed within tikanga and provide ways through which grieving, celebrating life and healing all converge to enable those in grief to openly share that in collectively understood practices. This was noted consistently throughout the research, and is highlighted in the following two quotes from kaikōrero.

It’s lovely to have a three-day tangi, it’s beautiful, and it’s a lovely time to come together. We remember the person when they were alive, we talk about that, and we grieve. Again, it’s not about the individual, we’re grieving for ourselves, grieving for the fact that we didn’t get there in time to see them, or that we’d taken so long to make contact and didn’t get an opportunity … Every individual has their own mission to accomplish in the process of tangi. Just like weddings, it’s not about the individuals that are getting married, it’s about the reconnection of all people who were part of them and their growth. Tangi is the same thing, it’s about bringing together people, it’s about people reconnecting, it’s about celebrating that individual, and they’re the kaupapa by which all these other people have come together to either celebrate, or to get something off their chest, or to come to be together because there is happiness and joy in those.

(Interview)

You know that there are different levels of being able to grieve at tangi, and karanga (ceremonial call), and waiata (song/chant), to help at different times to trigger that ability to cry on those certain levels, on those different levels…. What I do know, and I do understand is, and I think I’ve said about this before around our tūpuna had a healing mechanism embedded in the culture, and that is our ability to tangi, our ability to cry. The crying is not about being hurt, the weeping is about the release of the hurt. The more we get that out, the stronger we become.

(Interview)

A key point raised was that as a result of colonization for many Māori tangihanga has become one of the few places where we are able to legitimately and fully able to grieve the losses we have experienced, as such it is critical that we retain the knowledge that is associated with this process in order to maintain the spaces and ceremonies that enable emotional expression.

It’s almost like the only place that’s accepted that you’re allowed to cry is at a tangi when somebody has died, it’s the only place which has been left to us as a legitimate place where we can express any range of emotion.

(Interview)

The reclamation of ceremonies and rituals such as Matariki (often referred to as the Māori New Year) as spaces for emotional expression is considered essential. Matariki has been actively revived over the past five years on a national level and during this time there are a range of tikanga and ceremonial practices that support the farewelling of those who have passed away and to call in and celebrate the beginning of a new year in line with the Maramataka Māori (Māori calendar year. For more information refer: Mātāmua 2017; Tāwhai 2019; Hoterene 2021). Kaikōrero related the significance of this as follows:

I think it gives whānau positive places to release emotions through those and an understanding of why they are happening. It is a good example, especially through maramataka how energy is high, or energy is low. To maybe be aware of things on at this particular time, or don’t do things at this particular time where energy is low, or high. I think through those doorways, through the mātauranga of those places it can help guide whānau into these places and have a bit more of an understanding of why I feel like this, what can I do to balance myself. I think they tautoko our state of being, supports our states of being, personally it would be more of a guide for me.

(Interview)

I think anything that we are bringing back, because this has been on the cards for a long time. It’s like Matariki and the maramataka, the time has come, this has been the right time, and this is the right time. The thing about the maramataka is that it does have emotions attached to it, it’s clear about it, and it’s clear that it’s connected to Hina (Deity of the moon).

3.3. Whakataukī (Proverbial Sayings) as Emotional Expression

Whakataukī are Māori proverbial sayings that have been handed down through the generations that serve to provide knowledge and guidance (Mead 2003). Pihama et al. (2021) state that whakataukī are succinct forms of knowledge transmission which “advise, inform and give directions on customary practices in a concise way that remains relevant to contemporary times” (p. 8). Whakataukī are often poetic in form and often draw on environmental symbolisms to highlight behaviours and ways of being. In regards to emotions there are many whakataukī that provide environmental and physical symbolism to highlight a particular way of being. For example, pōuri (sadness and sorrow) derives from the term ‘te pōuriuri’ meaning ‘the nothingness’ (Williams 1971). In the whakataukī (proverbial saying) Tiwhatiwha te pō, tiwhatiwha te ao—Gloom and sorrow prevail, day and night, reflects on the sorrow and pain that one feels after the loss of a loved one, ‘tiwhatiwha’ is the word used to describe ‘black’, but is also a metaphor of gloom and sorrow (Williams 1971). This is commonly heard on the marae (cultural gathering places) in whaikōrero (formal speeches) and it illustrates how Māori use cultural symbolism that relates directly to the environment and landscape to display emotions and feelings, which is part of a larger and unique cultural form of emotional expression. The place of whakataukī was a key theme within the research, including comments in regards to the significance of whakataukī as a Māori knowledge form. The importance of whakataukī was noted througout the research as follows:

I know as well that many people study whakataukī because it provides a perspective and a guidance in life. For me, when I reflect on my mahi over the years there are a couple that come to mind, the most obvious being the one that ends with he tangata, he tangata, he tangata. The one that refers to ka pū te ruhā, that the one that recognizes ahakoa he iti, he pounamu, ahakoa he iti te huruhuru, ka rere tonu te manu. All of these kōrero, all of these pūrākau, all of these, like whakataukī, and so on, and so forth they are the result of generations, and generations of recognition of human behaviour… I’m no master of that sort of thing, I’ve read through writings on whakataukī and some of them blow me away I think ‘woah’, and yet they all in their own ways, they make complete sense.

(Interview)

I think lots of our whakataukī speak to particularly that taiao, that relationality between ourselves and taiao and I think if we can unpack a lot of those whakataukī with a view to thinking about emotions.

(Interview)

Examples of whakataukī were given across all components of the study. The following whakataukī provide insights into the ways in which emotions and emotional states are shared through these proverbial sayings as a mechanism through which to express emotions.

Me he rau i peke i te haupapa

Lke a leaf shirvelled by frost

This whakataukī relays the pain felt with the loss of a child and provides a means through which to express the depth of grief through associating that with the impact of frost upon a leaf.

He pai nō tāku noho i patu mai ai ia

Someone wants to attack because of my excellent situaton

This whakataukī refers to the feeling of jealousy, and expresses notions of envy that underpins the emotion of jealousy that lead often to personal attacks.

Ko Hina i te marama, me kore au e ngaro i te hinapōuri

I will never be lost as Hina will provide me with clarity and guidance.

This whakataukī refers to Hina who is the embodiment of energy of the moon, providiing us wth clarity and light. It reminds us that when we feel overwhelmed by the circumstances we find ourselves in we can look to Hina as an anchor in these moments—a reminder that even in the darkest moments, there is always light and there is always a way out.

Tukuna ngā roimata kia eke

Express your emotions, let tears flow and mucus run

References to roimata (tears) brings to the fore the physical expression of emotions through the falling of tears and mucus. This is noted by many in the research, that there is a collective way of showing grief and hurt that is accepted as a cultural expression of our emotional responses to the deep pain that comes with grieving loss. This is seen to be in direct contrast with colonial views of holding in emotions and not showing pain. This is also highlighted below in the discussion of relational ways of understanding emotions.

3.4. Relational Ways of Understanding Emotions

Collective cultural understandings are for Māori grounded upon the concept of whanaungatanga. Whanaungatanga refers to relationships both in terms of our relationships to each other as people; human relationships to our enviroment; and to all relationships within our world. Relationships and collective cultural understandings and practices are clearly highlighted as providing contexts where emotions are expressed in line with Māori cultural expectations. This research highlighted that it is through our relationships that we are socialised both individually and collectively to share emotions in culturally specific ways.

In my mind whanaungatanga underpins it all, the exchange of our interactions underpinned by the emotional connection that they create in whatever the context might be. I guess as well is that it brings forth from everybody the connection, those emotions, everybody connects to them, if they tangi, people connect, if they’re hari (happy), people connect. They are the wairua (spirit), emotion is like the wairua that everybody refers to, that is what they are referring to is actually connections to the world, to the universe, and to each other, that’s our emotions aye.

(Interview)

I’ve seen that collective emotion. We had the tohi ceremony for our babies, for our Raukawa babies. That ritual, that process of being in the awa, again I keep coming back to taiao (environment), but being in the awa (river), being surrounded collectively together there was a hononga there through that ritual where no one needed to speak anything, but you could feel that you were affected, collectively. I think we also, we get it. As simply as things like marae meetings, you know when there’s laughter, and there’s humour that resonates, you can all feel it, Māori laughter. It’s a puku (stomach), it’s a collective feeling, even if you don’t find what’s being seen particularly funny, there’s a collective laugh that happens in those moments. There are lots of moments, I think we do that well actually as Māori.

(Interview)

The practices of publicly expressing emotions such as grief is also noted in early literature where is was noted that the open expression of grief for Māori is a way through which we acknowledge and recognise the significant relationships that we have with each other as relations. To not do so was considered to be a reflection of the impact of colonised beliefs and practices. In an early Māori newspaper this was clearly articulated:

Ka pa ana te pouri ki te Maori ka tangi, ka heke te roimata, ka heke te hupe, na konei hoki i whakataukitia ai ka heke te roimata me te hupe ka ea te mate. Ma te heke o te roimata, ma te ngunguru o te waha ka mariri te pouri, tena ko te pakeha ka kutia ia te ngakau pouri te ngakau aroha ki roto ki te manawa hotu ai. I te pehi o te pakeha i tona ngakau pouri ka kiia e te Maori kahore he aroha o te pakeha, ko to te Maori hiahia hoki kia kite tonu ona kanohi, kia whaawha tonu ona ringaringa, kia rongo tonu ona taringa. Na runga i tenei ahuatanga o te Maori ara i tona whai kia kite rawa ona kanohi ka whakapono ai ia.

(Pipiwharauroa 1907, p. 1)

(Translation: When Māori experience grief, tears and mucus flow freely. The saying “when tears and mucus fall death is avenged” was thus coined. Through the shedding of tears and reverberating vocal expression, sadness is alleviated. Pākehā, on the other hand, suppress their emotions and any outward expression of grief and love. The repression of sadness by Pakeha has led Māori to exclaim that Pākehā have no aroha. For Māori, it is important to see it with one’s eyes, to feel it with one’s hands, to hear it with one’s ears. It is this characteristic, that is, the witnessing of something with one’s own eyes, that causes Māori to believe).

Alongside these discussions was the role of certain people, often kuia (elder women) to provide a context within which people could collectively express grief.

I always remember, I asked my kuia, why do you tangi so much, cause sometimes you go on for ages, and she said, I’m giving the ope that is coming with me, or coming on permission to let their emotions go, that is my role, she said so yes, it’s my grief. I think I said something to her like, oh you must get tired at a tangi to hold that, and she said yeah, it’s exhausting, but it’s also my role to give others permission to let their emotions free.

(Interview)

I au e tamariki ana āe rawa atu, kei te maumahara rawa atu ahau i tērā āhuatanga i a mātou hoki atu ki te kāinga mō ngā tangihanga. Ko ngā kuia i aua wā, āe, auē. I tamariki ahau engari i te nuinga o te wā kāore au i te mōhio i te tūpāpaku e takoto mai nei heoi i tangi hotuhotu ahau, ko tērā tā rātou mahi kia tangi hotuhotu te katoa.

(Interview)

(Translation: When I was young, yes, I remember that kind of thing well when we went home for tangihanga. The kuia in those days, yes, auē. I was only young but most of the time I didn’t know the deceased person and yet I would weep uncontrollably. That was what they did, they all lamented and wailed).

Relationships are not solely those between people. For Māori there is a clearly expressed link between the environment and land and Māori wellbeing (Durie 2001). Kaikōrero highlighted waiata tangi (songs of mourning) and mōteatea (traditional laments/chants) where imagery is drawn upon to reflect emotions. The relationships that we have with our ancestral connections to land, mountains, rivers etc are embedded within our cultural knowledge forms. This is highlighted when Māori emotions are expressed through environmental features such as animals, landmarks, and even stars. As one participant noted, the connection to our taiao (environment) is key to emotional wellbeing.

We also have this emotional wisdom and tools inside of ourselves to be able to reclaim an emotional wellbeing that those external things we go to for support, they are not our point of healing. Our point of healing can’t be outside of ourselves, and I say that as an individual, but also as a collective, as Māori, as indigenous can’t be outside of ourselves. Our taiao, the point of our healing can’t be outside of our relationship to our taiao which is part of ourselves.

(Interview)

4. Discussion

This article has provided an overview of some of the key findings from the project ‘Ngā Kare-ā-roto: The Ripples Within’ as they pertain to mātauranga Māori forms of emotional expression, in particular in relation to ancestral practices and proverbial sayings. As noted previously the research has highlighted that the individual and collective understandings of emotions and emotional expression are inter-connected within a Māori world view. What we also know is that colonization, the dispossession of our lands and the oppression of our language, culture and knowledge forms has had a serious impact on the overall wellbeing of Māori including our access to cultural understandings and practices that related to emotions and emotional expression. At the core of these findings is the view from kaikōrero, and corroborated by the literature, is that the revitalization of te reo, tikanga and mātauranga Māori is essential to facilitating access to the knowledge and practices that will support and enhance emotional wellbeing. This article conveys some insights into the role and significance of cultural knowledge forms such as whakataukī, the collective expression through cultural processes such as tangihanga, and the renaissance of Maramataka and Matariki ceremonies in ways that will enrich our capacity to more fully express emotions in ways that are collectively understood and received. The whakataukī shared here are only but a few small examples. There are a multitude of whakataukī retained by hapū (subtribe/clan) and iwi (tribal groups) throughout Aotearoa (known in colonial terms as New Zealand) that are being utilized in the reclaiming of Māori knowledge (Mead 2003; Seed-Pihama 2004; Elder 2020; Opai et al. 2023). Key findings emphasise the rejuvenation of key ancestral knowledge and practices can assist us in the regeneration and sharing of practices that will, and do, provide ways of Māori understanding and expressing of emotions and that this is a critical act of radical transformation that will enhance our overall wellbeing both individually and collectively.