“There are as many ways to be wahine Māori as there are wāhine Māori” : mana wāhine, identity, and sense-making : exploratory perspectives of what it means to be wāhine Māori in contemporary Aotearoa : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa, Massey University

Abstract

Mana wāhine is the power and authority inherent to wāhine Māori (Māori women). This research sought to understand mana wāhine and what it means to be wāhine Māori in contemporary Aotearoa. The aim was to explore identity construction and sense-making through the perspectives and experiences of wāhine Māori. An approach grounded in Kaupapa Māori and Mana Wāhine theories was used in this research and embedded the process within a Māori worldview. Mana Wāhine theories specifically allowed the realities and experiences of wāhine Māori to be centered and validated their voices. Pūrākau methodology was used to elevate each participant’s voice throughout the research process. A purposive sampling approach was used to support a range of wāhine Māori with diverse experiences to participate. Twelve people who identify as wāhine Māori, over the age of 18 and who currently reside in Aotearoa, participated in semi-structured, one-on-one interviews. The analysis involved engaging with pūrākau to individually interpret each narrative and re-present a co-constructed pūrākau for each participant. The discussion explored three overarching ideas that emerged across pūrākau, and related them to extant literature. Firstly, mana wāhine as an interwoven and relationally constructed identity grounded in whakapapa (ancestry) was discussed. This idea recognises the need to locate wāhine Māori collectively within te ao Māori. Secondly, mana wāhine was identified as a journey of growth and healing. This point affirmed the importance of pivotal experiences as informing, and being informed by, the sense-making within the pūrākau. Thirdly, that mana wāhine offers a space of potentiality and resilience. Within the pūrākau, there were multiple examples of identities of wāhine that were in resistance to dominant and essentialised notions of what it means to be wahine Māori. This research contributes to wider scholarly efforts that seek to decolonise, and indigenise, mainstream understandings of gender through celebrating the diverse realities of contemporary wāhine Māori.