Ko au te awa, ko te awa ko au : I am the river and the river is me : a collaborative anthropology which explores the relationship between a hapu and the Whanganui River : thesis presented for the degree of Master of Arts in Social Anthropology, Massey University, Palmerston North

Abstract

Because "present experience always takes account of the past and anticipates the future" (Bruner in Turner 1986:8), this document marks a pause in the lives of the people that have contributed to it. While it acknowledges the histories of its contributors, it also looks to their futures, and it is the connections between the past, the present and the future that have been one of the underlying themes of this research. This thesis derives from a collaborative research partnership between myself, a Masters student in Social Anthropology, and the elders of the Ngati Tuera hapu. Because this research was instigated by the hapu's need for research into the cultural significance of the Whanganui river, this document has been designed to be applied in three ways. It will be used as a resource to facilitate two hapu developments; a traditional1 I use the term 'traditional' advisedly. Traditions, like the culture from which they derive, are dynamic and subject to change. A traditional fishing enhancement programme seeks to utilise the philosophy of resource management that existed before the arrival of Tauiwi, but will also utilise current technologies. fishing enhancement programme, and teaching modules in the school at Parikino, and as the other partner in this collaborative research, I present this document as the thesis component of a Masters degree in Social Anthropology.