Reviving Ancestral Māori Traditions: Urupā Tautaiao and Modern Adaptations

Hinematau  McNeill; Marcos Mortensen Steagall

doi:10.24135/link2024.v5i1.227

Hinematau McNeill Auckland University of Technology
Marcos Mortensen Steagall (Translator) Auckland University of Technology

DOI: https://doi.org/10.24135/link2024.v5i1.227

Keywords: Cultural Heritage, Decolonising, Māori Traditions, Natural Burials, Urupā

Abstract

Supported by the Marsden Fund Council, with Government funding managed by the Royal Society Te Apārangi, this research on urupā tautaiao (natural burials) is built on a decolonising agenda. It provides a significant opportunity for Māori to re-evaluate, reconnect with, and adapt ancient customs for modern contexts. The primary focus of this design practice is the restoration of graves in the urupā (burial ground) of Ngāti Moko, a hapū (subtribe) of the Tapuika tribe, located on ancestral land in New Zealand's central North Island. To prepare for the gravesite's development, a series of hui a hapū (tribal meetings) were held, fostering community engagement and participation in the research. The project drew on the expertise of oral arts experts, filmmakers, photographers, a master carver, and a master weaver. Positioned among traditional gravestones and using only natural materials, the gravesite is designed to reflect the natural beauty of the environment, enhanced with distinctive Māori cultural motifs. The gravesite incorporates low-maintenance native plants and three pou (traditional carvings) that represent pūrākau (Māori sacred narratives) of life and death, creating a space that honours both cultural heritage and natural beauty. This research contributes to discourses on Indigenous-led sustainable practices, cultural heritage preservation, and the role of design in the reconciliation of traditional knowledge with contemporary environmental needs.

Author Biographies

Hinematau McNeill, Auckland University of Technology

The driving force behind everything that Professor Hinematau McNeill does is wanting to make a difference for people who have been marginalised. In the 1980s, McNeill helped initiate Māori women’s refuges and pushed for the mandatory reporting of domestic violence. She joined Te Ara Poutama as a Senior Lecturer in 1997. Her doctorate worked with renowned tohunga (specialist/healer) Hohepa Kereopa, looking at what promotes mental wellness in Tūhoe kaumātua. Hinematau is Tapuika, Ngāti Moko, and worked on the historical record as a Treaty negotiator for her iwi, which settled with the Crown in 2014. More recently, an interest in artistic practice-led research has helped emerging scholars operate creatively in a way that values indigenous epistemologies and ways of working. Hinematau was raised in a marae-based community and she believes that when indigenous knowledge is truly valued it will invigorate and enrich the learning experience of everyone.

Marcos Mortensen Steagall, Auckland University of Technology

Marcos Mortensen Steagall is an Associate Professor in the Communication Design department at the Auckland University of Technology - AUT since 2016. He is the Communication Design Postgraduate Strand Leader and Programme Leader for Communication Design and Interaction Design for Year 3. He holds a Master's (2000) and PhD (2006) in Communication & Semiotics acquired from The Pontifical Catholic University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, and a PhD in Art & Design from Auckland University of Technology in 2019. Research interest focus on Practice-oriented research in Design through a Global South perspective.