Te Pū : tracing the origins of intergenerational trauma through whakapapa to attain intergenerational healing : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand

Abstract

Hinengaro, The Obscured Daughter, knows the darkness well. She has been living within it for so long, grown up within it, been shaped by the shadows and sharp thorns that comprise it. She entered this space of darkness as a child, a consequence of her inheritance of Intergenerational Trauma. One day, while lying in her cocoon, a light appeared in the distant horizon, a light so piercing and bright that no matter what she did she could not ignore it. So, she crawled her way up onto shaky legs, pushed her way through the opening of her thorny cocoon, and began walking towards that little bright light, hoping to make it disappear from her sight. This walk turned into a long and intense journey – one that was led by wairua (referring to spirit, spirituality, the spiritual realm), grounded in whakapapa (genealogy), and expressed through wānanga (a process of intergenerational discussions occurring in the physical and spiritual realms). By spiralling through Te Pūtake (An Origin Analysis) and exploring the different dimensions of reality – Te Ao Mārama (the external world), Te Pō (the internal world), Te Kore (the origin experiences), and Te Ao Wairua (the spiritual world) – of both her and her tūpuna (ancestors), Hinengaro was able to release and let go of the trauma, the soul wounds, she had become bound to. She was able to transform herself and her circumstances. From Hinengaro she transformed into Hineoho, The Awakened Daughter. From Hineoho she transformed into Hinewetewete, The Daughter Set Free. And finally, from Hinewetetwete she transformed into Hineora, The Daughter of Healing. Her spiralling journey out of her cocoon, became a journey of Intergenerational Healing – of finally being free.