Maori Theology & Karakia

Maori are the indigenous people of Aotearoa/New Zealand. A primary step in the process of inculturation is the working out of an indigenous theology, in this case, a Maori theology. A key question in accepting an indigenous theology is the recognition that indigenous peoples have themselves been given their own Revelation.

MAORI

Maori culture and Maori religion, before European colonisation, were imtimately connected, so as a basis for an inculturation of Jesus as Maori I have sought to understand Maori culture and Maori religion as it is lived today, as it was at the time of colonisation and, as far as possible, as it was before colonization.

The Maori speak of three baskets of knowledge, (a) the knowledge that comes through the senses, (b) the knowledge which is the understanding of what we perceive through the senses, and finally (c) the knowledge which is the experience of our oneness with people, with creation and with Io, God.

(a) Senses - The understanding of what we experience through our senses is expressed in the Maori model of the world, a model which includes Rangi and Papa, Heaven and Earth, and the different created spiritual powers, each responsible for a particular section of creation.

(b) Understanding - Two key concepts included in this model of understanding are the concepts of tapu and mana which I identify with potentiality (tapu in itself) and with power (mana). Related to the concept of tapu is the concept of noa, freedom from restriction.

(c) Oneness - The knowledge spoken of as contained in the third basket of knowledge is our experience of oneness with people, with creation, and with Io, God, an experience which takes us beyond the limits of space and time. This experience is especially found in our participation in ritual and in our use of karakia.

KARAKIA are the ritual chants of the Maori and cover every aspect of life. It is in the use of the karakia that we find what it is to be a human person.

Their immediate purpose is to link up with the ancestors and the spiritual powers.

Their wider purpose is to share in the work of creation.

Their effectiveness comes from our faith in the ancestors and the spiritual powers.

CHRISTIAN MAORI

The majority of Maori are Christian and have been brought up with the European Christian traditions. Today a growing number of Maori in accepting their being Maori want to be Maori first and then Christian. So Catholic Maori are saying, with Pope John Paul II, that to be Catholic they must be Maori.

A CHRISTIAN MAORI THEOLOGY

A Christian Maori Theology is coming out of the experience of people living out their being Christian Maori. The purpose of this page is to open up to all the richness of a Christian Maori theology. This includes a Maori understanding of Jesus and the Kingdom he preached and a Maori understanding of church. It also includes an understanding of the karakia, the ritual chants of the Maori and a means to oneness.