Mahinga Kai – Te Hoata (Kaupae 3)
Te Hiringa o te Taiao (Kaupae 4)
Rumakihia te Taiao (Kaupae 6)
He Whakamāramatanga – Explanatory Notes
Mahinga Kai – Te Hoata
The whakaaro around this qualification title refers firstly to Mahinga Kai – the all
encompassing principles and practices of traditional land usage, production of food,
and harvest of food, throughout all realms of Papatuanuku. Secondly Te Hoata,
represents the acquisition of skills and knowledge as captured, when on the third
day (Hoata) following the new moon, the moon can be visibly plainly seen, has shed
her first light, and the day is regarded in the Māori lunar calendar as a very good day
for eeling, cray-fishing, planting kumara and seed crops.
Te Hiringa o te Taiao
The whakaaro around this qualification title refers to a dawning, a beginning, an
awakening into the inherent responsibilities entrusted of whanau, hapu, and iwi in
protecting and enhancing te Taiao for current and future generations.
Rumakihia te Taiao
The whakaaro around this qualification title refers to emersion, empowered
awareness, and commitment to initiate future development and management
strategies in protecting and enhancing te Taiao for current and future generations.
The Graduate Profile Headings
Te Pono me te Tika
This heading encompasses important aspects of the protection and management of
te Taiao that relate to kawa and tikanga; legal obligations and compliance issues,
systems and procedures (such as meeting procedures and dispute resolution
processes) and ethics, and acting in a way that is socially and culturally responsible.
It also looks into how these tools can be utilised to achieve the best outcomes for
whanau, hapū and iwi.
Whanaungatanga
This heading is chosen to embrace those skills and strategies that relate to
communications and relationships, such as being able to understand different types
of relationships and stakeholders, and knowing how to establish, maintain and
enhance relationships, both internally and externally. At an advanced level a
graduate is able to identify and manage politically or commercially sensitive
relationships and identify and manage high-risk and crisis situations.
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Kaitiakitanga
This well-known term is applied broadly for the purposes of these qualifications. In
this context, kaitiakitanga refers to the skills and knowledge needed to protect and
enhance taonga and other resources of te Taiao. Graduates will be expected to
understand how such taonga and resources can be protected and managed in a way
that aligns with legislation and the aspirations of whanau, hapū, and iwi.
Pukengatanga
This term has been applied to incorporate the new knowledge and skills required to
effectively utilise modern technology and tools to maintain and enhance the
mātauranga Māori systems of our tipuna.
Rangatiratanga
This heading describes skills, processes, kawa and tikanga that are utilised for
protection and management of te Taiao; knowledge about the roles and
responsibilities of whanau, hapū, and iwi, and understanding the unique position
that mātauranga held within whanau, hapū, and iwi, plays in the protection and
management of te Taiao.
Turangawaewae
This heading affirms the mātauranga held amongst whanau, hapū, and iwi about
their te Taiao – their location, their whakapapa, their stories, and the kawa and
tikanga practices associated with them.
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Te Mana Kaitiaki o Ngā Taonga Tuku Iho (Kaupae 4) me ngā
whenu kōwhiringa o Wāhi Tapu me Ngā Tapuwae
He Whakamāramatanga – Explanatory Notes
The Strategic Purpose Statement and the Graduate Profile set out in the
qualifications bring together the work of Working Group and the recommendations
from the needs analysis.
The following notes explain some of the thinking behind kaupapa, tikanga and Māori
language terms applied in the documents, particularly in relation to headings in the
graduate profile.
Strategic Purpose Statement
The strategic purpose statement refers to the developing of skills ‘from an
āhuatanga Māori perspective’. This sends a strong signal from the outset that the
qualifications are distinctively Māori, and while the skills and knowledge will be
transferable, the qualifications are custom-designed specifically for application in
Māori contexts. These are not qualifications with Māori issues dealt with at the
margins. The term āhuatanga Māori includes te reo me ngā tikanga a te hapū, te iwi
rānei. The strategic purpose of developing the skills and knowledge in these
qualifications is ultimately to protect and manage Māori heritage and sites of
cultural and spiritual significance to hapū for current and future generations. This
demonstrates a fundamental Māori approach of long-term visioning and planning,
and recognises that some resources and taonga might be of spiritual or cultural
importance to the hapū, or they may be both.
The Strands
The working group decided to include strands into the structure of the “Wāhi Tapu”
qualification to allow hapū members with an interest in Iwi monitoring or assisting
archaeologists to receive some further teaching and learning to better equip them
for those contexts. It is envisaged that the hapū and/or kaumātua will play an
important role in the transmission of mātauranga-ā-hapū to their uri for each of the
strands.
The Wāhi Tapu Strand
This strand is for those hapū members who wish to engage as Iwi/Cultural Monitors
for their hapū. These graduates will be well versed in hapū knowledge and will be
instrumental in the protection and management of sites of significance to the hapū,
and in the protection and preservation of knowledge for the generations to come.
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The Nga Tapuwae Strand
This strand is for those hapū members who are, or who have an interest in, assisting
archaeologists on site. Basic archaeology skills and knowledge will be covered, and
may include tools, methods, materials identification, soil, bone, shell, data collection
and recording, and so on. This strand also looks at the kaitiakitanga role from a hapū
perspective, and it is hoped that this will enable the archaeological and hapū
perspectives and knowledge to be considered concurrently as the work is happening
on site.
The Graduate Profile Headings
The graduate profile is divided into blocks which have headings that describe
relevant skills and processes from a āhuatanga Māori perspective. Each heading will
be familiar, and be open to interpretation. These notes explain the Working Group's
intentions as to interpretation.
Turangawaewae
This heading affirms the mātauranga held amongst the hapū about their sites of
cultural and spiritual significance – their location, their whakapapa, their stories, and
the kawa and tikanga practices associated with them.
Whanaungatanga
This heading is chosen to embrace those skills and strategies that relate to
communications and relationships, such as being able to understand different types
of relationships and stakeholders, and knowing how to establish, maintain and
enhance relationships, both internally and externally. At an advanced level a
graduate is able to identify and manage politically or commercially sensitive
relationships and identify and manage high-risk and crisis situations.
Kaitiakitanga
This well-known term is applied broadly for the purposes of this qualification. In this
context, kaitiakitanga refers to the skills and knowledge needed to protect and
manage Māori heritage and sites of cultural and spiritual significance to hapū. The
term Māori heritage and sites of cultural and spiritual significance may include pa
sites, mahinga kai, taunga waka, urupā, puna springs, battle fields, and so on.
Graduates will be expected to understand how such taonga and resources can be
protected and managed in a way that aligns with legislation and the aspirations of
the hapū, which will often (but not necessarily always) include long-term
sustainability.
Rangatiratanga
This heading describes skills, processes, kawa and tikanga that are utilised for taonga
protection and management, knowledge about the roles and responsibilities of the
hapū, and understanding the unique position that mātauranga held within the hapū
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plays in the protection and management of Māori heritage and sites of cultural and
spiritual significance.
Te Pono me te Tika
This heading encompasses important aspects of the protection and management of
Māori resources that relate to kawa and tikanga; legal obligations and compliance
issues, systems and procedures (such as meeting procedures and dispute resolution
processes) and ethics, and acting in a way that is socially and culturally responsible.
It also looks into how these tools can be utilised to achieve the best outcomes for
hapū.
Pukengatanga
This term has been applied to incorporate the new knowledge and skills required to
effectively utilise modern technology and tools to maintain and enhance the
mātauranga Māori systems of our tipuna.
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