He tamaiti nā Tangaroa, He Ahuahu o Mataora: Documenting Puhoro
Abstract
He Tamaiti nā Tangaroa, He Ahuahu o Mataora: Documenting Puhoro is a video documentary that revisits pūrākau to convey pre-colonial cultural ceremonies, experiences, and traditions through a distinctive form of Māori documentary-making. This practice-led research project explores the question: How might a filmmaker approach the recording of a traditional puhoro by drawing on traditional pūrākau? The thesis aims to reclaim, document, and preserve a traditional Māori tattoo art form, which, while deeply connected to whakapapa, whenua (land), and moana (ocean), also serves as a mark of honour in traditional Polynesian society. Situated within the Kaupapa Māori research paradigm, the study focuses on two key aspects. Firstly, it examines the culturally significant journey of the researcher receiving a puhoro (Māori tattoo) through traditional methods, paying tribute to the Māori traditions and stories embedded in this rite. Secondly, it artistically investigates how pūrākau can guide contemporary documentary-making in the recording and presentation of indigenous narratives. The research is significant for its dual focus. It documents the reclamation of the Māori practice of puhoro as an intrinsic part of traditional tā moko, including the revitalisation of tohi rituals (dedication to the gods) and karakia tawhito (pre-colonial chants). Additionally, it reinterprets pūrākau as a culturally anchored method of inquiry and documentation, contributing to the discourse on distinctive Māori filmmaking approaches. Though rooted in Māori traditions, the documentary’s universal themes of identity, tradition, and personal growth will resonate with a global audience interested in indigenous cultures, rites of passage, and personal transformation.
References
AJPark. (2020, September 16). It’s not trendy if it’s appropriating. https://www.ajpark.com/insights/its-not-trendy-if-its-appropriating/
Andersen. N, P. (2021). Order in Chaos: Storytelling and Editing in Documentary Film. Pagh Productions in collaboration with The Norwegian Film School and Rough Cut Service.
Ashley, K. & Plesch, V. (2002). The cultural processes of “Appropriation”. Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies 32 (1): 1–15.
Baltus, B. (2020). Perceptions of authenticity towards Māori branding: Congruence as determinator?. Open Access Te Herenga Waka-Victoria University of Wellington. Thesis. https://doi.org/10.26686/wgtn.17147627.v1
Barclay, B. (Director). (1974). Tangata Whenua [TV series]. Pacific Films.
Barclay, B. (1990). Our Own Image. Longman Paul.
Barclay, B. (2003). Celebrating Fourth Cinema. Illusions, 35: 7–11.
Barclay, B. (2005). Mana Tuturu: Māori treasures and intellectual property rights. Auckland University Press.
Barclay, B. (2015). Our Own Image. University of Minnesota Press.
Barlow, C. (1991). Tikanga whakaaro: Key concepts in Māori culture. Oxford University Press.
Bentley, T. (2022). Pakeha Ta Moko: A History of the Europeans traditionally tattooed by Maori. Upstart Press Ltd.
Best, E. (1904). “The Uhi-Maori, or Native Tattooing Instruments”. The Journal of the Polynesian Society, 13 (3): 166-172.
Best E. (1976). Māori Religion and Mythology Part 1. Government Printer http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-Bes01Reli.html Accessed on: January 15, 2019
Bishop, R. (1996). Collaborative research stories: Whakawhanaungatanga. Dunmore Press.
Boyd-Bell, R. (1985). New Zealand television: The first 25 years. Reed Methuen Press.
Cram, F. (2001). Rangahau Māori: tona tika, tona pono: the validity and integrity of Māori research. In M. Tolich (Ed.), Research Ethics in Aotearoa New Zealand: concepts, practice, critique (pp. 35-52). Longman.
Duley, T. (n.d.). The Indigenous Collective. Retrieved October 25, 2024 from https://www.artselemental.com/artists#:~:text=%E2%80%9CMy%20art%20form%20is%20heavily,of%20all%2C%20life%20force.%E2%80%9D
Gnanalingam, B. (2018, May 11). Documenting a Struggle: On Merata Mita. The Pantograph Punch. https://www.pantograph-punch.com/posts/on-merata-mita
Guba, E. G., & Lincoln, Y. S. (1994). Competing paradigms in qualitative research. Handbook of qualitative research, 2 (163-194).
Hadley, M. (2019). The Politics of Cultural Appropriation Claims and Law Reform. Thesis University of New South Wales: http://hdl.handle.net/1959.4/64879
Higgins, R, R. (2004). He Tānga Ngutu, He Tūhoetanga Te Mana Motuhake o te Tā Moko: Wāhine The identity politics of Moko Kauae. University of Otago
King, M. (1993). Moko: Māori tattooing in the 20th century. David Bateman.
King, M. (2008). Moko: Māori tattooing in the 20th century (3rd ed). David Bateman.
Kopua, M. (2001). Origins of Ta Moko. Fichiers Publics.
https://www.fichier-pdf.fr/2009/10/27/r2yicq4/preview/page/1/
Mahuika, R. (2015). Kaupapa Rangahau: A Reader. A collection of readings from the Kaupapa Rangahau Workshop Series (Edited by Leonie Pihama, Sarah-Jane Tiakiwai, and Kim Southey). Second Edition.
Marsden, M. (2003). The woven universe: Selected writings of Rev. Māori Marsden (edited by Te Ahukaramu Charles Royal). Ōtaki, New Zealand: Estate of Rev. Māori Marsden.
Middleton, J. (2010). Ka Rangona te Reo: The development of Māori-language Television Broadcasting in Aotearoa New Zealand. Te Kaharoa, [Vol. 3]( ISSN 1178-6035), 147 – 167
Mita, M. (1989). ‘Merata Mita On. . .’. in the New Zealand Listener, 14 October, p. 30.
Mita, M. (Director). (1983). Patu! [Film]. Awatea Films.
Mita, M. (2000). Storytelling: A process of decolonization. In L. Pihama (Ed.), The Journal of Puawaitanga. Special Issue: Indigenous Women and Representation (pp. 7-9). Te Whare Wānanga o Tāmaki Makaurau.
Mita, M., Narbey, L., & Pohlmann, G. (Directors). (1980). Bastion Point Day 507 [Film]. Awatea Films.
Moewaka Barnes, A. (2018). Kia Manawanui: Kaupapa Māori film theoretical framework, MAI Journal 7 (1), 4-5.
Moko Ora. (2024). Moko 101 | Ngā kupu, ngā whakataukī o te moko [Video]. Spotify. https://open.spotify.com/episode/1zBOoWPaQCEofnNQKaUY9m
Moorefield, J. C. (n.d.). Pūrākau. In Te aka Māori dictionary. https://maoridictionary.co.nz/word/6246
Moorefield, J. C. (n.d.). Tā moko. In Te aka Māori dictionary. https://www.maoridictionary.co.nz/search?idiom=&phrase=&proverb=&loan=&histLoanWords=&keywords=ta+moko
Mead, H. M. (2003). Tikanga Māori: Living by Māori values. Huia Press.
Nichols, B. (1991). Representing reality: Issues and concepts in documentary. Indiana University Press. Nichols, B. (2001). An Introduction to Documentary. Indiana University Press.
Nicholas, J. L. (1817). Narrative of a voyage to New Zealand: Performed in the years 1814 and 1815, in company with the Rev. Samuel Marsden. Location: Black and son.
Ngata, T. (2019, December 4). Cultural appropriation of Māori traditions is a exercise in entitlement and privilege. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/dec/04/cultural-appropriation-of-maori-traditions-is-an-exercise-in-entitlement-and-privilege
Ngata, W. (2009). Te Hū o Te Puoro: Ko te mōteatea te mataaho ki te pā o te hinengaro Māori, ki te ao Māori. Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa (Massey University).
O’Carroll, A. (2013). Kanohi Ki te Kanohi – A Thing of The Past? Examining the notion of “Virtual” ahikā and the implications for Kanohi Ki te Kanohi. Pimatisiwin: A Journal of Aboriginal and Indigenous Community Health 11(3), 441-451. Retrieved from https://journalindigenouswellbeing.com/wp-content/ uploads/2014/02/09OCarroll.pdf
Paama-Pengelly, J. (2024). Tāku Puhoro Tāku Purotu: An overview of the practice and wearing of puhoro by wāhine Māori. Creative NZ.
Paora, T. (2023). Pirihongi Paora Takatāpui: Beyond Marginalisation: Contesting Gender Roles in Kapa Haka. PhD thesis. Auckland University of Technology: http://hdl.handle.net/10292/16962
Pihama, L. (1994). ‘Are Films Dangerous? A Maori Woman’s Perspective on The Piano’, Hecate, Vol. 20, No. 2, p. 241.
Pihama, L. (2019, May 10). Merata: How Mum Decolonised the Screen : A Commentary. Kaupapa Māori. https://kaupapamaori.com/2019/05/10/merata-how-mum-decolonised-the-screen-a-commentary/
Potaka-Dewes, A. (2024, June 25). Ka Whawhai Tonu: New film brings love to a story of ‘struggle without end’. Pacific Media Network. https://pmn.co.nz/read/entertainment/ka-whawhai-tonu-new-film-brings-love-to-a-story-of-struggle-without-end
Pouwhare, R., & McNeill, H. (2018). Purakau: He mahi rangahau. DAT Journal, 3(2), 261–290. https://doi.org/10.29147/dat.v3i2.94
Pouwhare, R. (2019). Ngā Pūrākau mō Māui: mai te patuero, te pakokitanga me te whakapēpē ki te kōrero pono, ki te whaihua whaitake, mē ngā honotanga. The Māui narratives; from bowdlerisation, dislocation and infantilisation, to veracity, relevance and connection. PhD thesis. Auckland University of Technology: http://hdl.handle.net/10292/13307
Pouwhare, R. (2020). Ngā pūrākau mō Māui: Mai te patuero, te pakokitanga me te whakapēpē ki te kōrero pono, ki te whaihua whaitake, mē ngā honotanga; The Māui narratives: From bowdlerisation, dislocation and infantilisation to veracity, relevance and connection [Doctoral thesis, Auckland University of Technology]. Tuwhera. http://hdl.handle.net/10292/13307
Pritchard, S. (2001). An Essential Marking: Māori Tattooing and the Properties of Identity. Theory, Culture and Society 18 (4): 27–45.
Pritchard, S. (2000). Essence, identity, signature: Tattoos and cultural property. Social Semiotics. 10(3): 331–346.
Rata, J. (2022, August 22). Indigenising the screen: How Māori cinema is changing. Te Mana Ākonga. https://www.temanaakonga.org.nz/post/indigenising-the-screen-how-m%C4%81ori-cinema-is-changing
Riria, K.T., & Simmons, D. (1989). Maori Tattoo. Bush Press.
Schneider, A. (2003). On ‘Appropriation’. A critical reappraisal of the concept and its application in global art practices’. Social Anthropology 11 (2): 215–229.
Shand, P. (2002). Scenes from the Colonial Catwalk: Cultural Appropriation, Intellectual Property Rights and Fashion. Cultural Analysis, 3: 47-88
Simmons, D.R. (1989). Ta Moko: The Art of Maori Tattoo. Reed Methuen.
Smith, L. T. (1999). Decolonizing methodologies: Research and indigenous peoples. Zed Books.
Smith, L. T. (2015). Kaupapa Māori research- Some Kaupapa Māori principles. In L. Pihama & K. South (Eds.), Kaupapa Rangahau A Reader: A Collection of Readings from the Kaupapa Maori Research Workshop Series (pp. 46–52). Te Kotahi Research Institute.
Smith, S. Percy. (1913). The Lore of the Whare-wänanga or Teachings of the Maori College: On Religion, Cosmogony, and History. Part 1. - Te Kauwae-runga Or 'Things Celestial.' Memoirs of the Polynesian Society Vol. III. New Plymouth: Polynesian Society.
Stuart, J. (2007). Beyond sovereignty? Protestant missions, empire and transnationalism, 1890–1950. In M. C. Love (Ed.), Beyond sovereignty. Palgrave Macmillan.
Swen, R. (2024, July 31). “Everything Becomes Fair Game”: James Kienitz Wilkins Discusses What Is Documentary. International Documentary Association. https://www.documentary.org/online-feature/everything-becomes-fair-game-james-kienitz-wilkins-discusses-what-documentary
Tan, L. (2013). Intellectual Property Law and the Globalization of Indigenous Cultural Expressions: Māori Tattoo and the Whitmill versus Warner Bros. Case. Theory, Culture & Society, 30 (3): 61-81. https://doi.org/10.1177/0263276412474328
Te Awekotuku, N. (2002). More than skin deep: Ta Moko Today. In E. Barkan & R. Bush (Eds.), Claiming the Stones/Naming the Bones: Cultural Property and the Negotiation of National and Ethnic Identity in the American and British Experience. Los Angeles: Getty Press.
Turner, S. (2013). Reflections on Barry Barclay and Fourth Cinema. In B. Hokowhitu & V. Devadas (Eds.), The fourth eye: Māori media in Aotearoa New Zealand (pp. 162– 178). University of Minnesota Press.
Walker, T. (1985). Robley: Te Ropere, 1840-1930. https://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-WalRobl-t1-body-d1-d7.html
Waititi, K. (2006). Modes of representation in Māori documentary. MAI Review, (1), Intern Research Report 6. https://ndhadeliver.natlib.govt.nz/delivery/ DeliveryManagerServlet?dps_pid=FL768388
Waititi, K. (2007). Applying Kaupapa Māori processes to documentary film (Master’s thesis). University of Waikato. Research Commons. https://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/bitstream/handle/10289/2437/thesis. pdf ?sequence=2&isAllowed=y
Walker, R. (1990). Ka whawhai tonu matou Struggle without end. Penguin.
Winitana, C. (2011). My Language, My Inspiration: Tōku Reo, Tōku Ohooho. Huia Publishers
Williams, T. (2024). Tangohia mai te taura: Take This Rope: A documentary consideration of historical grievances within Te Whakatōhea and Te Whānau ā Mokomoko. (Doctoral thesis). Auckland University of Technology. Tuwhera. http://hdl.handle.net/10292/17323
Young, M. (2018). Tā Moko and the Cultural Politics of Appropriation. Sites: A Journal of Social Anthropology and Cultural Studies, 15(2). https://doi.org/10.11157/sites-id413
Copyright (c) 2025 Uenukuterangihoka Jefferies; Marcos Mortensen Steagall (Translator)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors submitting articles for publication warrant that the work is not an infringement of any existing copyright and will indemnify the publisher against any breach of such warranty. By publishing in LINK PRAXIS Journal, the author(s) agree to the dissemination of their work through the LINK PRAXIS Journal.
By publishing in LINK PRAXIS Journal, the authors grant the Journal a Creative Commons nonexclusive worldwide license (CC-BY 4.0): Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License) for electronic dissemination of the article via the Internet, and, a nonexclusive right
to license others to reproduce, republish, transmit, and distribute the content of the journal. The authors grant the Journal the right to transfer content (without changing it), to any medium or format necessary for the purpose of preservation.
Authors agree that the Journal will not be liable for any damages, costs, or losses whatsoever arising in any circumstances from its services, including damages arising from the breakdown of technology and difficulties with access.