Mana in Māori society

Keywords

Below are examples of keywords related to mana in Māori society. Use this list when searching the collections and websites in this entry.

Hākari: Feast, banquet or celebratory meal.

Kaihaukai: A feast given by one iwi (tribal) group to another, with the expectation that the feast would be repaid. Food giving or food exchange was a common practice between iwi.

Mana atua (god, spirits): Sacred or spiritual power from the atua (gods or spirits).

Mana Māori Motuhake: Self-government, independence, and self-determination by Māori. Mana Motuhake was also the name of a political party.

Mana moana: Power or authority over the sea and lakes.

Mana o Te Tiriti: Power and authority of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Mana tūpuna (ancestors): Power, or authority inherited by descent.

Mana tangata (people): Authority of the people. It can also mean power or status gained by leadership, or strength of character.

Mana whenua: Refers to Māori as indigenous people of the land. It can also mean the power and authority of the people of the land.

Ngā reta Māori: Letters in te reo Māori.

Nunuku's Law: A famous Moriori chief established a law of peace, that banned war and killing of people.

Peaceful resistance: In the 1860s Te Whiti-o-Rongomai and Tohu Kākahi used non-violent resistance against the colonial government's move to occupy Māori land in the Taranaki.

Rangatira: Role of mana held by a Māori chief or leader.

Protest movements: Peaceful Māori protest movements at Bastion Point and Ihumātao.

Tohunga: Role of mana for an expert in a particular field. For example, an expert in tattooing (tā moko) was a 'tohunga tā moko'. Priests were also known as tohunga.

Whina Cooper: Leader of mana and Māori activist. Best known for leading the 1975 hīkoi (march) to Parliament.

Tips: Before searching it can be useful to come up with a list of words to use. These are sometimes called keywords or search words. They can be the name of a person, place, or event you are researching. You can leave out small words like ‘the’ and ‘of’ and just choose the main ones, eg 'mana whenua'. We can always change our keywords or add more if we need to.

Tips: Also keep in mind that there are different names or spellings for words. Or they could have changed over time.

Auckland resources

Here are some collections from Auckland Libraries and other reliable Auckland based museums and heritage websites. They will help you find books and information on mana in Māori society.

Auckland Libraries Catalogue

This catalogue from Auckland Libraries will help find books on Aotearoa New Zealand and Auckland's histories.

• Search the catalogue using keywords like ‘mana motuhake ’ or 'Māori peaceful resistance’.

• You can get fewer results by using the filters under Refine by.

• Select a book that interests you.

• Go down the page to Edition information to check if the book can be borrowed or if it’s for In library use only.

• Look further down the page to Related Resources to find other titles related to this search.

• If you have an Auckland Libraries library card you can request the item to be sent to your local library.

Tips: If the status of the book is 'In library use only', it means the book can only be used in the library and can't be taken home. In this case, you will need to fill out a form or speak to a librarian about reading the book in the library.

Tips: You will find lots of books that have been written over 50 years ago. While they are good sources of information, we need to remember the context and time when they were written.

Kura — Photographs

Browse photographs, illustrations and works of art from the 1800s to the present day.

• Use the search box to enter the search word 'Rangatira'.

• View the image Lindauer portrait of Wahanui Reihana Te Huatare.

• Try other keywords like 'koha' and 'tohunga'.

Tips: Always remember to check the copyright or usage rights of images. This will tell you if you need permission to use the image, and how to attribute the image.

Heritage et AL

The Heritage et AL blog is written by librarians and is a useful way to find information about Auckland Libraries heritage collections.

• Use the search bar to enter keywords like 'mana whenua'.

• Read the blogs Understanding historic Māori fluidity within Ngāti Te Ata Waiōhua and Pukekiwiriki Pā Historic Reserve.

• In the same way, use the keywords 'ngā reta Māori' to find Kīnaki: Ngā reta Māori, an exhibition of nineteenth century letters in te reo Māori.

Tips: Blogs can be good for looking at how things have continued or changed over time. Remember, stories can be told in different ways so it’s helpful to look at multiple information sources to find different perspectives.

Auckland Libraries - YouTube

The Auckland Libraries YouTube channel has many videos about Auckland’s heritage, recordings of library events, conversations with authors, talks, stories, activities, music and more. Some of the talks are delivered by historians on their specialist subjects.

• Search within the YouTube channel by using the search feature under the channel name.

• Try the keywords 'rangatira' to find the video Apihai Te Kawau, about the Ngāti Whātua rangatira.

• The keywords 'mana atua' will help you find the video Matariki [Ngā mata o te ariki, o Tāwhirimātea: The eyes of the god, Tāwhirimātea].

Tips: You will find a huge selection of videos on YouTube. We recommend you view videos from reliable sources like National Geographic, History Channel, BBC etc. These are official channels from organisations.

Tāmaki Paenga Hira - Auckland War Memorial Museum

This is one of New Zealand's significant heritage libraries. It has pictorial and art, Māori and Pacific, natural, social, and history collections. It is a great place to visit and check out exhibitions and galleries about topics involving Aotearoa New Zealand's histories.

• Go to the top of the page then enter the keyword 'mana whenua'.

• From under the tab Web, select Stories.

• Read the story A Personal Story of Sandi Ringham, descendant of Ngāti Kuri, and her whānau.

• Then, try another keyword like 'protest movement' to find the story Bastion Point / Takaparawhau.

Tips: Museums preserve and exhibit important cultural, artistic, historical or scientific artefacts. Some store personal collections. A lot of them have online collections and articles based on these collections.

Auckland War Memorial Museum - YouTube

This is the official YouTube channel of the Auckland War Memorial Museum, one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s finest heritage museums.

• Start searching the channel with the words 'mana whenua'.

• Watch the videos Margaret Kawharu of Ngāti Whātua and Morehu Wilson of Ngāti Paoa.

Tips: Lots of Museums (Te Papa Tongarewa and Auckland War Memorial Museum) have their channels on YouTube. The videos are put together by experts and are a great way of learning first-hand about history, culture and special collections held in a museum.

Remuera Heritage

The Remuera Heritage was established in 2007 to recognise, protect, and preserve Remuera's natural and cultural heritage.

• Go to the tab called Exhibitions from the top of the page.

• Look down the page for The Great Māori Feast at Remuera.

• Use the link to the StoryMap to find more images and read more about the hākari hosted by tangata whenua Ngāti Whātua and the reason for the event.

Tips: Local heritage sites are a great way of learning about the local history and culture of a particular area as they have stories that connect the past with the present.

General New Zealand resources

The websites below belong to government agencies, national museums, archives, libraries, and other reliable sources. They will help you find information on the importance of mana to Māori in their political, social and economic relationships.

Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

Te Ara is an excellent starting point for all questions about New Zealand Aotearoa. If we look down to the bottom of the page, we can see that the website belongs to the Ministry for Culture & Heritage, so the information is well-researched and reliable.

• Use the word 'mana' in the search box.

• Check out the links Roles and mana and Mana, tapu and mauri.

• You will find lots of information on mana and the daily life of Māori.

• The link Moko and status explains the relationship between moko and mana.

• Again use the search words 'Nunuku's Law' to find the page Moriori that explains Nunuku's Law and how it came about.

NZHistory

NZHistory is a great website for information about New Zealand Aotearoa. If we go all the way down the page we can see that the website belongs to the Ministry for Culture & Heritage, so the information is well-researched and reliable.

• Use the search box at the top of the page to enter the keyword 'mana'.

• You will find a link called Māori values and practices.

• It has information on how mana, tapu and utu are connected.

Tips: We like sites like this because they’re reliable. You can tell because of their web address – they have either .govt or .ac, meaning they are from government or educational organisations. They’re also New Zealand sites, so relevant for us.

Science Learning Hub

This website is great for science topics for New Zealand students. It has articles, activities and videos and was put together by the University of Waikato and Curious Minds (NZ).

• Enter the word 'mana' into the search box.

• Explore the article Kaitiakitanga and mana whakahaere.

• Read about the meaning of mana whakahaere and the rights of local iwi.

• Then explore Te mana o te awa to understand the mana of a river.

Tips: Not sure what Māori word means? You can use the Te Aka Māori Dictionary or Paekupu to search for the meaning.

Aotearoa History Show

This video podcast from Radio New Zealand tells the story of Aotearoa New Zealand from when the land was formed to today.

• Look through the episodes for Season 2 Ep 7: Moriori.

• You can either listen to the podcast or watch it as a video.

• You will hear about Nunuku's law of peace.

Tips: Websites that have .com or .co in the address can have good information, but you need to assess how reliable it is. Check the About us link on the website, if you can find one. That can tell you what the company’s mission and values are.

Topic Explorer (National Library)

Topic Explorer is an online tool from the National Library of New Zealand. It has a wide range of quality resources for students in different formats (eg articles, books, images, videos, primary sources, sets, and websites) on various topics. Resources are selected from reliable national and international sources.

• Look down the page to find the Māori Creators, Leaders and Heroes. Get to know the mana of these famous Māori people.

• Also, explore Māori protests to find information on peaceful protests and hīkoi.

Books

You can also visit your local public library for books on Auckland and Aotearoa New Zealand histories. Listed below are a few titles to help you with your search for books on this topic:

• Mana Maori: the power of New Zealand's first inhabitants by Fanny Wonu Veys

• Kia kaha: a storybook of Māori who changed the world by Stacey Morrison and Jeremy Sherlock

• Bastion Point: 507 days on Takaparawha by Tania Kelly Roxborogh

• Hīkoi: forty years of Māori protest by Aroha Harris

• Parihaka: The art of Peaceful resistance by John C Hinchcliff

SCIS no: 5496693

More about Auckland