1. KAUPAPA
Maori Tīkanga (protocols) of
Pregnancy, Birth and Baby - Building
Community through Traditional
Practices.
NNNNN

2. MIHI
Ko Kurahaupō, Ko Takitimu ngā waka
Ko Rongomaiwahine, Ko Ngāti
Kahungunu ngā Iwi
Ko Te Kupenga o Te Huki te rohe
Ko Ihaka Whaanga te Tūpuna
Ko Charissa Waerea tōku ingoa
Tēnā kōtou kātoa

3. Tīmatanga o te Ao
The beginning of the world
Ko Io
Ka puta
Ko te Kore
Ka puta
Ko te Pō
Ka puta
Ko Ranginui = Ko Papatūānuku

4. Ranginui = Papatūānuku
me ō rāua tamariki
TĀNE MĀHUTA (Creator of Man/Trees)
|
TĀNGAROA (Sea)
|
TŪMATAUENGA (Conflict/War)
|
HAUMIETIKETIKE (Cultivated foods)
|
TĀWHIRIMĀTEA (Wind)
|
RONGOMATĀNE (Peace)

5. KO RANGINUI RĀUA KO PAPATŪĀNUKU
KA PUTA KO TANEMAHUTA
KO TĀNGAROA
KO TAWHIRIMATEA
KO HAUMIETIKETIKE
KO RONGOMATĀNE
ARA KA PUTA A HINEAHU ONE
TIHE MAURIORA!
I HONGI A TĀNE
TE HĀ WAIRUA
ĀTUA KI TĀNGATA
TĒNEI IRA, TĒNA IRA, TĒRA IRA
KO HINETĪTAMA TE WĀHINE I HŪRI KI TE PŌ
KO HINENUITEPO
KEI RŌTO I TŌNA WHARETANGATA
I IA MĀTE IA MĀUI
ARA KĀ PUTA KI TE ĀO MĀRAMA
TE IRA TĀNGATA
TE IRA TĀNE
TE IRA WĀHINE
KIA TĀTAE WHAKAPAPA MAI I NGĀ RĀNGI I RŪNGA

6. Cosmogeney
In the begginning there was the nothingness, where nothng existed. Likened
to the darkness of the inside of the whenua each stage in the darkness of
gestation and develpoment there was a name an ansestor another layer of
geneolodgy to which I have been derived to which human kind has been
created.
Out of the darkness the place of death the realm of Hine nui te pō the
karanga or call can be heard calling Hine ahu one into Te Ao mārama the
world of light
Tihei māuri ora I sneeze! I am alive! The first half mortal woman made from the sands
of Kurawaka. Was laid upon by Tāne and breathed life.
So, the seperation of Ranginui and Papatūānuku was complete. Tāne pushed
his father up towards the sky and his mother remained below.

7. Tīkanga Māori me te Whenua
Te Pō
Ranginui
Tane Tumatauenga
Te Ao Marama
Tawhirimatea WHANAU HAPŪ Haumietiketike
Papatuānuku Tāngaroa
Rongomatane

8. WHĀNAU
A word with several meanings the word it self means to give birth.
Whānau or family groups share common kinship and whakapapa or
genealogies, for other cultures this may be your most immediate family.
In more modern context Māori have learnt to adopt this word as a
description for a group of people working together towards a common
cause for example a fundraising committee for school group.
However in the case of the model whānau here are people who have
blood ties between one another. Each whānau usually has an elder or
representative whom will liaise with the hapū.

9. HAPŪ
This word meaning pregnancy or to be pregnant,
again a term pertaining to maternity and
procreation.
A hapū is a cluster of whānau living upon a
designated site or area of land.
There can be many hapū like sub groups that
make up an iwi.

10. IWI
The word iwi comes from koiwi which translates to
bones in te reo māori.
I suppose this is recognition of the bones of those who
have passed before us. An iwi is a larger scale hapū and
is made up of many hapū who occupy over a larger
mass of land. Hapū are able to also descend to common
ancestors and share literally the same DNA. However
Iwi do not necessarily share the same common
ancestors and origins.

11. TE IRA TĀNGATA – HUMAN KIND
IWI IWI IWI
HAPŪ HAPŪ
whanau whanau
whanau whanau
TE IRA TĀNGATA
whanau whanau
HAPŪ HAPŪ
IWI IWI IWI

12. Self determination of
birthing rights
Tīno Rangatiratanga
prior and post 1840
• Traditional Community Structures
• Hapū, whānau, Iwi prior to Colonisation where thriving birthing
communities.
• The impacts of Christianity and other enforced religions on traditional
Māori birthing communities.
• Land Confiscation severance of hāpū and their customary lands, limited
survival means
• Woman raped genetic makeup interfered with.
• Parihaka men imprisoned 1881, sent to the South Island Caves and Prisons
to build roads and infustructure in Dunedin township (some never
returned).
“E Tu Tamawāhine, I te wā o te Kore.”
“Stand strong oh woman at a time of Adversity”

13. Where were traditional practices lost?
• Tōhunga Suppression Act 1907
• The Tohunga Suppression Act 1907 was intended to stop
people using traditional Māori healing practices which had a
supernatural or spiritual element.
http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/medicines-and-remedies/2/2
• !920’s dismise and distruction of Māori Carvings Whakairo
displaying gentals, concidered offenceive to the Christian
Missionaries. (Whakairo were mostly burnt or distroyed).
• Tau mau or arranged marraiges, assured whakapapa
connections, Arikitanga and hāpū alliances.

14. Te Tiriti o Waitangi 1840
• Ko te tuarua
“Ko te Kuini o Ingarangi ka whakarite ka
Whakaae ki ngā rangatira ki ngā hapū, ki
ngā tangata katoa o Nu Tirani, te tino
rangatiratanga o o rātou wenua, o rātou
kainga me o rātou tāonga katoa”

15. Raupatu
• Land Confiscation & theft of ansestral lands
prior and post 1840, impacts to colonisation.
• Land confiscation is ongoing even in present
day.
• Dispossession
• Alienation
• Ability to Survive or operate as a functioning
community.

16. The direct and indirect effects of the application of dispossesion to
Māori land on tikanga and the health and wellbeing of Māori, whānau,
hāpū, Iwi.
• Severing of ancestral connection with the
land.
• Mana tāngata, Mana whenua, Mana moana
• The effects as a result
• Wellbeing of Māori and future development

17. Ira tāngata
• Te oranga o ngā tāngata o te whenua
• Na te tango whenua
• Kua ngaro ngā kai
• Kua ngaro ngā māra
• Kua ngaro ngā ika
• “Ko te mate o te tangata, ko te mate o te whenua”.
• “When the people are unwell, so too is the land”.

18. RANGATIRATANGA
My spiritual connection to our land and sea can never be stolen.
Me tū tōnu tātou ngā tāngata whenua, tāngata moana, tāngata kaitiaki o ngā
motu nei ki ngā tāonga.
Pūpuritia ki ngā tīkanga o koro mā o kui mā….

19. Māori Legal Concepts
derived from Tīkanga
Whānaungatanga Whānau and extended family, whāngai.
Mānaakitanga – Enhance mana, Uplift
Wairuatanga- Spritual
Rangatiratanga – Leadership, self governance
Katiakitanga - Land Gurdian, customary rights
Ūkaipōtanga – Baby that breastfeeds in the night. Humankind
and co dependance mother and child and human and land.

20. Tikanga Whanau
Maori Home Birthing Traditions
by Charissa Waerea
Tummy Talk 2011

21. “What an amazing experience it was to see you for the
first time, my son. Your piercing black eyes coming up
out of the bloody red water, you were swimming up
toward me. I called to Koro to help me to push you out,
the transition was done, finally you were here. Nau mai
ki te ao mārama, welcome my son to the world of
light.”

22. Mate atu he toa, haere mai ra he toa. When one
leader dies, another is born to replace him. Haere,
haere, haere ki te pō. Go! Go! Go to the place of death
with peace. This writing is in memory of Te Miringa and
to my son, Tuwhakararo.

23. Tuwhakararo was born at Te Ikaroa
papakainga/homebase, near Parihaka, two weeks on
from the sudden passing of his grandfather, Te Miringa.
The last thing Te Miringa asked my partner was, “Is the
baby born yet?” To the elders in our community
Tuwhakararo is Te Miringa. The mantle has been passed
on through the cycle of death and birth.

24. Mihi aroha/love and thanks go to: My darling tane,
Tihikura, whose encouragement gave me strength. Te
Miringa and Katarina for providing a safe home and
environment/papakainga for all of your mokopuna to
be birthed in. Chris and all our whanau support who
made our fourth home birth absolutely wonderful in
our time of loss.

25. In the 1970’s my partner’s family was one of the first
home birthing families in our rural district. The Hohaia
whānau have always been advocates of ‘owning’ their
own births. Tuwhakararo is the ninth pepi/baby born in
the house. Katerina, my mother-in-law, was also my
LMC (lead maternity carer). Chris, our second midwife,
worked quietly in the kitchen baking bread while I
laboured.

26. Birth Tikanga
Reclaiming the tikanga/protocols and practices of my
foremothers was the most empowering act of tino
rangatiratanga/self-determination possible. Both my
grandmothers home birthed 14 children each in the
1940’s, but now only 1% of Maori are home birthing!
Active home birth has been a right of all humanity since
the creation of time.
The word ‘tikanga’ has a wide range of meanings, such
as culture, customs and protocol. It is generally
considered ‘the Maori way of doing things’. It is derived
from the Maori word ‘tika’, meaning ‘to do things right’.

27. There are tikanga specific to wahine/women during pregnancy,
birth, and the care of mother and pepi afterwards.
Whenua: The word for placenta is also is our word for the land, it
is traditional to bury or return the whenua to the earth. Pepi is
kept attached to the whenua for as long as possible before
cutting the pito/umbilical cord. You can use trees, rocks (carved
or plain), or pou/posts to mark where the whenua is buried. If
you do not know your ancestral land, pick a place significant to
you so you can show your children where their whenua is.

28. After birth all tissue and blood products are buried,
returned to the earth (this includes birth pool water, to
a non-food garden area). This was very important to
the ancestors.
Taura muka: Harakeke cord used for the pito instead of
clamps. Some whānau have pounamu umbilical cutting
instruments handed down through generations.

29. Ipu whenua: A clay or woven harakeke container for the
whenua/placenta. Sometimes the whenua and the pito
are buried in separate places. Some pito are put into
the hollows of special trees. Whenua are usually buried
in ancestral grounds or a significant place that connects
the child with the land.

30. Whakapapa: Researching your genealogy is a good way
to learn about how the land links you to your
hapū/subgroup. Find out which iwi or regional area you
come from and then work on finding your hapū — talk
with elders/kaumātua, grandparents or any whānau
member that might have information to share, go to a
local marae, or there are some good publications and
whakapapa websites.
The word ‘hapu’ also means ‘to be pregnant’.

31. Naming ceremony: Each of my children has been given
ancestral names in a naming ceremony, followed by
whānau kai/food to complete it. Babies are not always
named straight away; a name is a lifelong commitment.
Some of my pepi have remained nameless for weeks,
some months! It’s OK — waiting can be exciting!

32. Tuwhakararo (6 weeks old)

33. Tuwhakararo (name sake)
great great grandfather

34. Tinana, Hinengaro and Wairua/Body, Mind and Spirit
The three elements of tinana/body, hinengaro/mind and
wairua/spirit are combined in equal importance to achieve
wellbeing in home birth.
Tinana: Traditional diet was mainly made up of high-iron foods
e.g. paua, watercress, fish and organic vegetables. Our body is
mostly made up of waiora/life water so it is vital to drink plenty
of water, for yourself and pepi. This is important during labour
and will also help keep a good milk supply when breastfeeding.
Keep physically well; regular exercise and good diet both
contribute to a healthy birth.

35. Hinengaro: Mental wellness helps with positive
thoughts. Fish oil traditionally helps mental fatigue.
Take responsibility for being informed about birth.
Research whakapapa, look at whānau genealogy; this is
good if you choose an ancestor’s name for your pepi.

36. Wairua: I believe that throughout pregnancy many spiritual
transitions take place. Wai/water and rua/two literally means
when two waters meet or the sperm and the egg; the meeting of
the two creates a spirit form.
Tihikura’s role in my labour and birth was that of kaitiaki, a
spiritual guardian or protector and securer of the environment
(‘kai’ — a person who does something, and ‘tiaki’ ­— to care for
something). Physically he was there to help me through the pain,
but more importantly, he made sure the spiritual pathway was
clear. A kaikarakia/prayer man can also help with karakia/prayer
if a birth is difficult.

37. Prenatal and Postnatal Care
Tihikura was hands-on with our pepi for a good two weeks, being fed and
cared for also by whānau so he too could rest. That way the three of us could
take time to bond. Later Tihikura took over the role of caring for us as the
whānau womenfolk slowly moved out.
The prenatal and postnatal care of mothers is just as important as the time of
birth. When hapu (pregnant) I usually move home. At home, I am surrounded
by whānau who cook, do washing and domestic chores. The grandmothers,
aunties and friends rotate the care. Community protect and care for each
other.
I think we are really lucky to be a whānau who still has access to the
knowledge of how to care for women and babies. For wahine who don’t have
whānau links, find a Maori midwife (www.ngamaia.co.nz). We need more
Maori midwives with links to their culture.

38. Other tikanga you could explore are: The use of taonga
puoro/instruments, oriori/chanted lullaby sung to pepi whilst in the
womb, mirimiri/massage, rongoa/medicines.
Knowledge of how our foremothers birthed is an enlightening and
enriching taonga/gift that empowers and protects wahine, their pepi
and whānau. My commitment is to teach and guide my daughters and
granddaughters to ensure that our tīkanga and practices live on for
future generations.

39. Whether we are Maori or pakeha, knowing the values
of tikanga can link and build community.
Charissa and her whanau live at Te Ikaroa papakainga
near Parihaka, where she enjoys the breath of the
ocean and tending her vege garden. She is passionate
about encouraging Maori wahine to find their way back
to the traditions of birth and the empowerment it
brings.

40. Te Miringa Hohaia
1952 – 2010
“Ko te poo te kaihari I te raa, ko te mate te kaihari I te oranga”.
“Night is the bringer of day, death and struggle, the bringer of life”.

41. Te Whare Tūpuna
Te Whare Tāngata
* Whare is a body with the arms extended for welcome

43. Rebuilding Community through
Traditional Practices of Birthing
• Rebuilding of the whānau, hāpū, Iwi structures
• Learning of whakapapa whānau geneolodgy/cosmogeney
• Naming ceremonies, make use of old names to reaffim the
connection to ansestors
• Birth if possible on papa kāinga whānau ansestral lands
• Ngā wāhine, building woman support networks, mothers,
sisters, aunties, grandmother, daughters, friends
• Ngā Tāne, building men support networks, fathers, brothers,
uncles, grandfathers, sons, friends
• Whai I ngā tīkanga a kui mā, a koro mā.

44. Ngā Tīkanga
BIRTHING TRADITIONS
* Returning of all blood products (whenua/placenta) to the land
(preservance of the individual, DNA products)
• Haircutting During Pregancy/Nail Cuttings return to the land
• Cutting of the pīto with a greenstone adze or muka
• Whenua capsuals made of uku clay or harākēkē. (biodigradiable)
• Whenua Trees, rocks,place over whenua on whānau uru pā or significant
land sites
• Kawakawa (dried) smoking to heal the vigina after birth
• Noho ki te kāinga at least 10 days at home
• Whakaīngoa Naming ceremony

45. Ko wai au?
“He kākānō ahau I ruia mai I Rangiatea”
“I am a seed that originated in Rangiatea”.
I am the proud expectant mother of my 5th child, my partner has two tamariki
that I concider my own, I know who I am, I know where I am from, I know
who my ansestors are and I acknowledge their fight to ensure the
survivability of my people. My children and their children will be the future
seeds and bearers of our ancent knowledge, reo, waiata, karakia and
whakapapa
I am the child of Rangi and Papa the primal parents of all man kind.
HE AHA TE MEA NUI
HE TĀNGATA!
HE TĀNGATA!
HE TĀNGATA HE!

46. Workshop Challenge Question?
How can Māori and non Māori communities grow
together and
knowledge share to promote and encourage home
birth with regard to
physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects of
birth?

47. Hutia te Rito
Hutia te Rito
Hutia te Rito o te Hārākēkē
Kei hea to Komako e kō?
Ki mai ki ahau
He aha te mea nui
He aha te mea nui o te Aō
Mākū e kī atu
He tāngata! He tāngata! He tāngata he!