The Maori Ways of Traditional Healing
Introduction
It is my pleasure and my honor to introduce this interview by Paige Robbins Elwafi. She has interviewed my close associate, Tina Ngaroimata Fraser. I have known Ms. Fraser for about seven years. She is one of the many Maori friends and colleagues I have enjoyed over the last ten years. I am thrilled that she agreed to share some of her traditional knowledge with us on a topic that is very close to my heart - the role of the arts in the revitalization of Indigenous Societies.
As Ms. Fraser describes in her interview, the performing arts and language, as one of the arts, are central to healing and revitalization in the Maori culture. The arts provide an entire epistemology that serves as the foundation for Maori culture. This is the case in most Indigenous societies.
The Maori people have been one of the great inspirations in my own life, and especially in my efforts to describe the essential role of the arts in human development. I once asked a Maori Elder why the children were always singing and why art covered every wall in Maori Immersion schools. She replied: "The arts provide the aesthetic and spiritual environment for the raising of healthy children." Her words put everything into focus for me. After visiting many Maori people, schools, and lands, I craved this kind of "environment" of the Kohunga Reo, the Maori "language nest" or Immersion preschool, for my own children. This was personal. This was more than "research".
In my many travels in New Zealand, I came to know the Maori as people of great intelligence, generosity, creativity, and affection. Their land, Aotearoa, is a place of intense beauty, and their many performing arts always begin by locating a Maori in his/her home territory. There is much to learn from this exciting culture.
I hope that this interview will peak your interest. Maybe someday you will be able to visit the "children of the mist" and learn first-hand from their elegant and complex ways.
Carolyn Kenny
The Maori people are known as the Indigenous people of Aotearoa/New Zealand. It is believed that the Polynesian ancestors of the Maori arrived from southeast Asia over 1000 years ago, although theories of their arrival are debated. Mythicism and spirituality is a part of Maori customs and traditions but is not always understood by Western culture. I would like to present an opportunity for you to learn about Maori people who strive for balance and harmony in their daily lives.
I interviewed Tina Ngaroimata Fraser, BSc, M.Ed, PhD candidate. She is a Maori woman of the Tuhoe Iwi (tribe). Ms. Fraser plays many different roles in her life as an adjunct professor in First Nations Studies, Nursing, and Education at the Unviersity of Northern British Columbia. She is the Research Manager for the British Columbia Initiatives for Aboriginal Health and the Cultural Advisor for the National Collaborating Center for Aboriginal Health. In my correspondence with Tina Ngaroimata Fraser I was introduced to a fascinating culture with strong values of balance and simplicity that I think we can all learn from.
Paige Robbins Elwafi : I’ve read that the Maori people are the native aboriginal people of New Zealand.
Tina Fraser: Maori people are the Indigenous people of Aotearoa, New Zealand. Maori people are made up of Iwi (tribal affiliation) and Hapu (sub-tribal affiliation). There are 80 Iwi tribes and many sub-tribes. They also make up 14% of the New Zealand population (Maori population 565,329).
PRE: The Maori people suffered from disease and death with increased involvement of European settlers. Do these past losses fuel any identity or cultural issues for the Maori people today?
TNF: Like most Indigenous peoples throughout the world, Maori particularly in contemporary times are affected by social determinants on health. For example, high rates in diabetes, respiratory infections, chronic heart disease, poverty, oppression, housing, eco-health, environmental health, etc. How has this negatively or positively affected the practice of traditional Maori healing? Traditional practice today occurs because of the determination of the Maori as a whole. The language has been revitalized and has become one of Aotearoa/New Zealand’s many strengths. Traditional Maori healing is embedded in the language and its environment and that’s the positive. The negative impact is the influence of those who are not respectful to traditional ecological knowledge.
PRE: I understand that songs and dance were used in the past by the Maori people to transmit and record information. Are these still used?
TNF: The songs, chants and dances based on philosophies are widely practiced in Kura Kauapapa (middle schools), Whare Wananga, (universalities’), Kohanga Reo (language nests), and Whare Kura (Colleges) and are also used as entertainment for touring purposes throughout New Zealand. Are there any songs or dances used in healing? All Maori performing arts are based on each tribal area and ancestral connection. Maori performing arts is about spirituality (personal, family, hapu or iwi) connection. Our songs form an understanding of our geographical and genealogical connections to our deities. For example, within my tribe (Tuhoe) we are called “the children of the mists” because we live in a dense forest shrouded in mist surrounded with beautiful prolific birds. Our dance movements personify the movements of those sacred birds and the songs are often reflective upon our deities. One other point to make as a child of the mist, also personify Hinepukohurangi (mist maiden). Depending on each tribal area, the songs and dances will usually portray beliefs which are a connection to the land, environment, language, and values. Kinesthetically, these beliefs are all forms of Maori healing.
PRE: What role does traditional Maori healing play in preserving the culture and identity of Maori people?
TNF: Maori healing relates to our ontology (ways of being) and epistemology (ways of knowing). Within these teaching and healing practices are the pedagogies of how we know the things we know. We believe that in order to understand other world views, we (Maori/Tuhoe) must understand ourselves, where we came from, and where we are heading to for the future. It is then that we form an understanding of the true values of preservation and sustainability.
PRE: How did you get involved and/or interested in Maori healing?
TNF: This is something that I grew up with and have always treasured that gift of possibilities. I recognize it as a (taonga), a gift that our ancestors left behind as a legacy. I have lived and continue to live those practices even while residing in northern British Columbia/Canada. What I have learned is the connection between the Aboriginal people here in Canada particularly the Dakelth people here and the Maori. We strive to look at ways of maintaining our health through our traditional medicines yet knowing that the global effects on our health is devastating those who rely on traditional foods and medicines. I have always been interested in traditional ways of knowing and being Tuhoe/Maori/Indigeneous.
PRE: How are you currently involved with the practice of traditional Maori healing?
TNF: I maintain my Maori practices by returning home at least twice or once at the most a year. We have a saying in Maori …hokia ki nga maunga kia puhia e Tawhirimatea which translates into return to your mountains that you maybe caressed by Tawhirimatea (God of Winds). This saying is important to Maori. When one is away from their ways of knowing and being, they must return to be grounded spiritually, physically, emotionally, and mentally. In knowing this, one must practice at all times no matter where one is at in their lives or in different countries. The essence of the land surrounds us in a tremendous manner animatedly and inanimately. The consciousness plays a significant role in our past, present and current performance. Maori traditional healing and practices are based on the values, customs, and traditional practices of which I incorporate into my academic curriculums, teachings, and learning.
PRE: What is the philosophy behind the practice of traditional healing?
TNF: Everyone has their own philosophical belief systems but for me on a personal level, what I have experienced, and what I was taught from my elders and great grandparents who raised me is about balance in one’s life. This is one of many traits from traditional teaching and learning. The philosophies are situated in what was once a healthy lifestyle for Indigenous peoples…we look at our land and the teachings of connectivity, relationships, respect, reciprocity, and relevance, and many other perspectives to practice, traditions, and healing, and what does it mean to practice all this? I believe that we find ourselves thinking about the goodness in what ought to be rather than what is/or is not. The essence of traditional healing is taking the philosophical values and applying it to our daily lives.
PRE: How does this philosophy differ from the prevalent biomedical model in Western medicine?
TNF: There are two world views, Western and Indigenous world views at the interface of science. This is not to say that we can’t blend knowledge(s) of ethno-medicine and bio-medicine and to work in a capacity that utilizes practices and skills in collaborative ways. If the western world has something to offer based on their scientific methodologies, then we as Indigenous peoples are able to enlighten limited ways of incorporating traditional ceremonies. In other words, we can access the necessary tools to bring together knowledge(s) that are beneficial in contemporary times. Again, we have to understand where we came from in order to understand where we are going to. This means transformative praxis in today’s technological times.
PRE: What is something you want people to know about the practice of Maori healing?
TNF: I would not speak about Maori practice without suggesting that in order to understand different world views, you have to experience the process of what Maoritanga or Tuhotanga and their practices are made up of. I would invite people to search their own territorial skills, by asking the following questions: How many people within my nation or territory speak the language fluently, not so fluent or have no understanding of the language and its teachings? How and where do I fit in to any one of these categories? How do I move from one stage to the other? If I am unable to speak the language, how do I go about learning the language? It’s also a good way to re-evaluate your soul searching. Again, learning is one thing but to be immersed in the traditions is quite another. It is often difficult to explain to people about healing practices because people grapple with spirituality and healing. Maori healing practices is no exception.
I asked Ms. Fraser to add any information she thought was important that my questions didn’t cover. She mentioned the difficulty of meeting the demands of validation often found within academia and balancing this with the sacredness of traditional Maori healing. She explains below:
Things to remember when we talk about healing and Indigenous knowledge or how we theorize Indigenous knowledge. What is Indigenous Knowledge? What is Theory? These questions are often evident within academia. How do we come to a place of understanding sacred knowledge knowing that certain information cannot be discussed for many reasons? How do we validate knowledge passed down? These are all a big part of healing because of the knowledge(s) involved and the sacredness.
In conclusion, the process of better understanding cultures around the world, whether it is your own or one that is different from your own, calls for openness and understanding. You must first understand yourself and where you came from to understand others. This is something that music therapists, especially those that work multiculturally or cross-culturally, should make a priority. Ms. Fraser asks that if we would like to better understand her Maori culture of balance, remembrance, and healing, that we understand ourselves first.
