He Waka Takere Nui : he ārohi i te whanonga whanotau-kore ā-ira i te ao Māori i nehe ā mohoa nei : he tuhingaroa hai whakatutuki i ngā tikanga o Te Tohu Kairangi i te reo Māori i Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa, Te Papaioea, Aotearoa

Abstract

Kua okotahi nei ngā kōrero me ngā tuhinga i te ao pūmātauranga, i te ao Māori anō hoki mō ngā āhuatanga e kīia nei ko ngā whanonga whanotau-kore ā-ira, te irareretanga tae noa atu anō hoki ki te irawhititanga. Ka mutu, kua mokorea anō hoki ngā kōrero mō ngā āhuatanga rā kua tuhia ki te reo Māori. Nā reira, ko tā te hinonga rangahau nei he kapi i tēnei āputa i roto i ngā rangahau, i roto anō hoki i te mātātuhi. E toru ngā pātai rangahau matua i ārahi i te kaupapa nei:

1. He pēhea te pahekoheko o te tuakiri ā-ira me te tuakiri ahurea e ārahi ana i ngā whanonga me ngā māramatanga whaiaro o ngā tāngata whanotau-kore ā-ira i roto i te ao Māori o nāianei?

2. He pēhea tā ngā tāngata whanotau-kore ā-ira whakawhiti i ngā āhuatanga matatini o wō rātou tuakiri, inarā ko te ahurea, te pāpori, me te whaiaro, i roto i ngā horopaki o te ao Māori tuku iho me te ao Māori o nāianei?

3. He aha ngā wheako o ngā tāngata whanotau-kore ā-ira e whaiwāhi ana ki ngā tikanga Māori?

Ko ngā pou ariā i ū ai te rangahau, ko te Kaupapa Māori, ko te Mana Wahine, ko He Whāriki Takatāpui, ā, ka kawea katoa e te pou tarāwaho auaha He Waka Tangata. Mā te waka hourua nei e kitea ai te pāhekoheko o ngā takere e rua—arā, te tuakiri ā-ira me te tuakiri ahurea—me te hiranga o te oranga tinana, hinengaro, wairua, whatumanawa hoki. I kohia ngā raraunga mā te kapo kōrero—arā, he uiui i ngā manu kī tokoono i tautohu i a rātou anō he tangata irarau—ā, i tātarihia mā te tātari ā-ariā me ngā rautaki hai tohu kaupapa matua.

E toru ngā hua matua i whanake mai. Tuatahi, e kitea ana he whānui, he hihiri te kupu ira me wōna whakamahinga i roto i te ao Māori, ā, he whānui ake i te pūnaha tāhūrua ira a te ao Pākehā. Tuarua, kua waihangatia te kupu awarua hai kupu hou, hai ariā e hono ai te tuakiri ā-ira me te tuakiri ahurea i raro i ngā uara o te whakapapa, te whanaungatanga me te mana āhua ake. Tuatoru, kua whakapūmautia te kaha o te pūrākau hai tikanga rangahau hai tiaki i te tuakiri o ngā tāngata i whai wāhi mai ki te hinonga rangahau nei.

E tohu ana ngā kitenga kia waihangatia he wāhi haumaru ake mō te hunga irarau Māori, kia kaha ake ngā āwhina ā-whānau, ā-hapori, ā-kaupapa here hoki. Ka whakawhānui tēnei rangahau i te puna kupu Māori mō tēnei mea te ira, ā, ka tāpaetia hoki te ariā Awarua, me te poutarāwaho He Waka Tangata hai whāinga mā ngā kairangahau, mā ngā hapori Māori, mā ngā rōpū takatāpui taketake puta noa i te ao e kimi nei i ngā ara hai whakamana i te ira kanorau i raro i ngā tirohanga taketake.

Existing academic and Māori scholarship has addressed aspects of what are described as gender non-normative identities, sexual orientation, and gender transition; however, there remains a significant absence of such discourse articulated in te reo Māori. Consequently, there is a critical gap in both research literature and Māori-language scholarship. This research project seeks to address that gap within both academic research and Māori textual traditions.

The study is guided by three central research questions:

How do gender identity and cultural identity interact to shape the behaviours and self-understandings of gender-diverse individuals within contemporary Māori contexts?

How do gender-diverse Māori navigate the complex dimensions of their identities—cultural, social, and personal—across both traditional Māori contexts and contemporary Māori worlds?

What are the lived experiences of gender-diverse Māori who actively engage with tikanga Māori?

The theoretical foundations of this research are grounded in Kaupapa Māori theory, Mana Wahine theory, and He Whāriki Takatāpui, all held within the creative conceptual framework of He Waka Tangata. This waka hourua framework enables the exploration of the dynamic relationship between two interrelated hulls—gender identity and cultural identity—and highlights the interdependence of physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional wellbeing.

Data were gathered through kōrero-based interviewing (kapo kōrero), involving in-depth interviews with six participants who self-identified as gender-diverse Māori, and were analysed using thematic analysis and conceptual coding strategies.

Three core findings emerged from the study. First, the concept of ira (gender) within te ao Māori is shown to be expansive, dynamic, and relational, extending beyond the Western binary gender system. Second, the concept of awarua is introduced as a newly developed term and theoretical construct that articulates the interconnection between gender identity and cultural identity, grounded in the values of whakapapa, whanaungatanga, and mana āhua ake (inherent dignity and authority). Third, the research affirms the strength of pūrākau as a culturally grounded research methodology that protects participant identity and integrity while enabling deep, relational knowledge production.

The findings point to the necessity of creating safer cultural spaces for irarau Māori, strengthening whānau-based, community-based, and policy-level support systems. This research contributes to the expansion of Māori language terminology relating to gender, introduces the theoretical concept of Awarua, and presents He Waka Tangata as a transferable conceptual framework for researchers, Māori communities, and Indigenous takatāpui and gender-diverse collectives globally who are seeking culturally grounded pathways for affirming gender diversity through Indigenous worldviews.