Understanding languaculture from an indigenous Māori worldview - Initial stages of a Marsden research project

Oct 15, 2026

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Paper explores indigenous Māori understandings of languaculture through accounts from kaumātua and whānau in Aotearoa New Zealand. It frames marae-centered life as essential for sustaining Māori knowledge, language, and ways of being, and links languaculture to language, identity, culture, and collective wellbeing. The study describes early Marsden research aims, addressing how richer appreciation of precolonial Māori knowledge and relational infant dialogue can revise ideas about hauora and legitimate literacy learning, while confronting colonial constructs.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages16

Reading Time40 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Tāngata whenua view of the world

Concepts of tapu and noa

Understanding languaculture from an indigenous Māori worldview Mere Berryman, Lesley Rameka and Tracey Mauria Togo Poutama Pounamu, University of Waikato, 101 Durham Street, Tauranga 3110, email: [lesley. rameka@waikato.ac. nz](lesley. rameka@waikato.ac. nz) This paper presents understandings from indigenous Māori kaumātua (elders both male and female) and whānau (parents and extended family members) from Aotearoa New Zealand. These people live in a close-knit hapū (subtribe) community close to an ancestral meeting space known as their marae. Their marae continues to be essential in the promotion of Māori knowledge, language and ways of being. Kaumātua and whānau recall important cultural understandings and practices from this journey. From growing up largely in te ao Māori (the Māori world) they consider “ languaculture”, the inter-relationships between language, identity and culture, as foundational to their future “hope” for collective cultural strength and wellbeing. To renormalise the use of the language of their ancestors, we use many Māori words throughout. These words are italicised and translated the first time they are used. Keywords: languaculture, identity, culture, wellbeing, colonisation, Māori Introduction This paper reports on the initial stages of a Marsden research project in Aotearoa with an indigenous Māori hapū (subtribe) . Our research question asks: How can a richer appreciation of traditional, precolonial Māori-related knowledge, together with infants’ languaculture as relational dialogue, help to revise our understandings of hauora (wellbeing) and legitimate literacy learning for infants? In posing this question, we understand that, to benefit from traditional pre-colonial Māori views of languaculture, we must be prepared to understand and resist the pervasive colonial constructs that we have grown up with and learned through education. We understand colonisation as “oppressive acts [that] have been developed, maintained, and reproduced as means for the justification and the ongoing perpetuation of oppressive systems”(Pihama, 2019, p. 30) within education and health as both a “target and tool of colonialism”(Pihama & Lee-Morgan, 2019, p. 19), and a means for perpetuating oppression. Kaumātua (elders both male and female) and whānau (parents and extended family members) share important understandings and practices from te ao Māori (the Māori world) as they relate to their own experiences. Collectively, they contribute deeper understandings of the inter-relationships between Māori language and culture (languaculture) for themselves and also for members of their whānau. We begin by introducing some of the ways that early tāngata whenua (first people of the land) viewed te reo Māori me ona tikanga (Māori language and cultural practices) prior to colonisation. We use whakatauākī(traditional sayings) and seminal Māori writers to consider some traditional pre-colonial views about language and culture. Then, to position the relevance of this research, we consider some of the influences of colonisation on Māori language and cultural practices. Next, using their own narratives, we present some of the inter-generational childhood experiences of these hapū members. We conclude by considering wider implications for Māori and for other indigenous peoples being raised in a society within a more dominant overpowering language, culture and view of the world. Tāngata whenua view of the world In pre-colonial times tāngata whenua enjoyed a successful lifestyle that benefited from a shared in-depth knowledge of and respect for their land (Berryman, 2008; Jenkins, 2000) . This indigenous body of knowledge, much of which still exists to this day, links the land, people, plants, animals and gods together and acknowledges their relationships, one to the other, as well as their interdependence (Marsden, 2003; Walker, 1990). This worldview is based around concepts such as tapu (protection by the spiri

FAQs

What does the paper mean by “languaculture” in the Māori worldview?

It refers to the inter-relationships between language, identity, and culture, understood as foundational for collective cultural strength and wellbeing.

Who contributes to the study and from where are they drawn?

The paper presents understandings from indigenous Māori kaumātua (elders) and whānau (parents and extended family) from Aotearoa New Zealand living in close-knit hapū communities around the marae.

What is the central research question about infants and traditional knowledge?

It asks how a richer appreciation of traditional, precolonial Māori-related knowledge, together with infants’ languaculture as relational dialogue, can revise understandings of hauora (wellbeing) and legitimate literacy learning for infants.

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by Kurz