Matauranga Maori in Research

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Matauranga Maori is a holistic and relational body of knowledge, grounded in tikanga (customary practice) and te reo Maori (the Maori language), and held by Maori communities, hapu, and iwi. It encompasses language, custom, environmental and ecological knowledge, whakapapa (genealogy), history, and worldview. Custodianship rests with the communities who hold it, and its appropriate use is governed by tikanga and by the relationships through which it is shared.

A knowledge system, not a data-governance framework

Matauranga Maori should not be flattened into a data-governance instrument. It is a body of knowledge with its own epistemology, not a set of rules for handling datasets. The distinct data-governance body operating in this space is Te Mana Raraunga, the Maori Data Sovereignty Network, which published its Principles of Maori Data Sovereignty in 2018 and grounds those principles in tino rangatiratanga (self-determination) under Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Te Mana Raraunga draws on matauranga Maori and Maori values; it is a governance network, whereas matauranga Maori is the knowledge itself.

What engaging with it requires

Research engagement with matauranga Maori requires a direct relationship with the relevant Maori community, hapu, or iwi, conducted through tikanga-consistent processes, with free, prior, and informed consent, and with recognition of Maori authority over and benefit from that knowledge. Externally compiled summaries produced without community engagement are not, by themselves, matauranga Maori in any authoritative sense, and treating it as generic open content disregards its custodianship.

Related but distinct concepts

Matauranga Maori sits alongside, and should be read together with, the broader concept of Traditional Knowledge (TK), the practice of obtaining Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC), the community-specific rules described as cultural protocol, and the rights basis described by Indigenous Data Sovereignty — each a related but separate concept, not a synonym.

References

Te Mana Raraunga, Principles of Maori Data Sovereignty (2018), temanararaunga.maori.nz.

Use in your systems

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