Tēnā koutou,
This blog is not so much a blog as it is a means by which to support the dissemination of two online resources related to Mana Wahine that have been developed with Te Kotahi Research Institute and supported by Ngā Pae o Te Māramatanga.
The idea to develop a Mana Wahine reader was generated from the many requests that Linda and myself have had to provide references or support in the area of Mana Wahine, both as theory and as lived ways of being. The concept of Mana Wahine is not new to us as Māori, as whānau, as hapū, as iwi, rather it is embedded within the whakapapa and whanaungatanga relationships that are themselves grounded within tikanga. Over the past 32 years there has been a steady increase in the writings and creative works by Māori women, each of which contribute to an affirmation of ourselves in our many diverse experiences and provide critique and analysis of our experiences as Māori.
What we have sought to provide in this collection is a range of writings on Mana Wahine from 1987 – 2019, including poems from Linda Tuhiwai Smith and Hinewirangi Kohu to open each of the two volumes. We close Volume two with new articles by Kirsten Gabel, Joeliee Seed-Pihama, Naomi Simmonds and myself, each of which draw heavily on earlier works. The cover images have been gifted by Robyn Kahukiwa and represent two commanding atua wahine, Mahuika and Hineteiwaiwa, who bring the power of their respective domains to the publications. The articles within the readers are as follows:
Mana Wahine Reader Volume One
Don’t Mess with the Māori Woman – Linda Tuhiwai Smith
To Us the Dreamers are Important – Rangimarie Mihomiho Rose Pere
He Aha Te Mea Nui? – Waerete Norman
He Whiriwhiri Wahine: Framing Women’s Studies for Aotearoa Ngahuia Te Awekotuku
Kia Mau, Kia Manawanui We will Never Go Away: Experiences of a Māori Lesbian Feminist – Ngahuia Te Awekotuku
Māori Women: Discourses, Projects and Mana Wahine – Linda Tuhiwai Smith
Becoming an Academic: Contradictions and Dilemmas of a Māori Feminist – Kathie Irwin
Towards Theories of Māori Feminisms – Kathie Irwin 66 Reflections on the Status of Māori Women – Kuni Jenkins
Getting Out From Down Under: Māori Women, Education and the Struggles for Mana Wahine – Linda Tuhiwai Smith
From Head and Shoulders – Merata Mita
Hokianga Waiata a Nga Tupuna Wahine: Journeys through Mana Wahine, Mana Tane – Margie Hohepa
The Marginalisation of Māori Women – Patricia Johnston and Leonie Pihama
The Negation of Powerlessness: Māori Feminism, a Perspective – Ripeka Evans
Māori Women: Caught in the Contradictions of a Colonised Reality – Annie Mikaere
What Counts as Difference and what Differences Count: Gender, Race and the Politics of Difference – Patricia Johnston and Leonie Pihama
Māori Women and Domestic Violence: The Methodology of Research and the Māori Perspective -Stephanie Milroy
Towards a Theory of Mana Wahine – Huia Tomlins Jahnke
Sacred Balance – Aroha Te Pareake Mead
Mana Wahine Reader Volume Two
Ngā Māreikura – Nā Hinewirangi Kohu-Morgan
Colonisation and the Imposition of Patriarchy: A Ngāti Raukawa Women’s Perspective – Ani Mikaere
Constitutional Reform and Mana Wahine – Annette Sykes
Claiming our Ethical Space: A Mana Wahine Conceptual Framework for Discussing Genetic Modification – Jessica Hutchings
Matauranga Wahine: Teaching Māori Women’s Knowledge Alongside Feminism – Kuni Jenkins and Leonie Pihama
Reclaiming the Ancient Feminine in Māori Society: Kei Wareware i a Tātou Te Ūkaipō! – Aroha Yates-Smith
Mana Wahine Theory: Creating Space for Māori Women’s Theories – Leonie Pihama
Te Ukaipo – Te Taiao: The Mother, the Nurturer – Nature – Aroha Yates-Smith
Echoed Silences in Absentia: Mana Wahine in Institutional Contexts – Hine Waitere and Patricia Johnson
Mana Wahine: Decolonising Politics – Naomi Simmonds
Te Awa Atua: The River of Life! Menstruation in Pre-Colonial Times – Ngāhuia Murphy
It’s About Whānau: Oppression, Sexuality, and Mana – Kim McBreen
In search of Our Nannies’ Gardens: A Mana Wahine Geography of Maternities in Aotearoa – Naomi Simmonds
Never-Ending Beginnings: The Circularity of Mana Wāhine – Naomi Simmonds
Poipoia Te Tamaiti Ki Te Ūkaipō: Theorising Māori Motherhood – Kirsten Gabel
Kapohia Ngā Taonga ā Kui Mā: Liberty from the Theft of Our Matrilineal Names – Joeliee Seed-Pihama
Mana Atua, Mana Tangata, Mana Wahine – Leonie Pihama
The key intent of these readers is to make these writings more accessible as many are in publications that are now either out of print or difficult to access. We acknowledge and thank the authors and the original publishers for agreeing to have these writings included. The whānau at Te Kotahi were focused on this work for some time, as what appeared to be a relatively straightforward ‘idea’ required much more that initially thought. Sourcing articles, contacting authors or their whānau, duplicating, transferring to new formats and then checking word for word was time consuming and even now we are not certain if errors have made their way into the final texts. As such, on behalf of the co-editors, it is important that we acknowledge the mahi done by those within Te Kotahi to see this project to it’s completion. We also apologise in advance for any errors that exist in the reproduction of the original articles.
There are many other articles that could have been included and which someone may wish to create as a Mana Wahine Reader Volume 3 or Volume 4. In fact, many more were suggested however resource constraints meant we needed to reduce the final number included. The funding support from Ngā Pae o Te Māramatanga has enabled us to create resources that are free to download and therefore easy to access and to share.
We are honoured to have been able to reprint these writings to make them more readily available nationally and internationally. Early 2021 these volumes will be made available through Te Tākupu publishers.
Ngā manaakitanga.