Browsing by Author "Young, Hannah Joy"

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    The phenomenology of near-death experiences in Northland Māori of New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Psychology at Massey University, Palmerston North Campus, Manawatū, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2016) Young, Hannah Joy
    Near-death experiences (NDEs) can be described as profoundly life-changing, subjective events, that typically manifest in those who have been pronounced clinically dead. Over the past four decades, NDEs have been a field of interest for many researchers. However, the majority of NDE research has been conducted in Western contexts, with fewer than ten studies completed in non-Western regions (Sleutjes, Moreira-Almeida, & Greyson, 2014). The limited non-Western NDE research makes it difficult to determine the role culture may play in the development or interpretation of the NDE. The focus of the current study is the phenomenology of the NDEs of Maori residing in Northland, Aotearoa New Zealand. Because of the Maori focus, Kaupapa Maori Research was selected as the most appropriate methodological framework for this study. A ‘whanau of supervisors’ consisting of five Kaumatua and Kuia assisted the non-Maori researcher with respect to Kaupapa Maori. Six participants took part in unstructured interviews. Findings revealed the significant role of tikanga Maori within the NDEs of participants’, as well as a high similarity with the features often reported by NDErs of Western culture. Based on these results, it is suggested the two positions previous authors have regarded as conflicting, are not in fact mutually exclusive. The NDE may be cross-cultural in nature and culturally interpreted, but incorporate elements developed in reference to culture.