A kaumātua is a respected tribal elder of either sex in a

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

community who has been involved with their

whānau Whānau () is Māori for extended family. It is also used in everyday New Zealand English, as well as in official publications. In Māori society, the whānau is also a political unit, below the levels of hapū (subtribe) and iwi (tribe or nati ...

for a number of years. They are appointed by their people who believe the chosen elders have the capacity to teach and guide both current and

future generations Future generations are cohorts of hypothetical people not yet born. Future generations are contrasted with current and past generations, and evoked in order to encourage thinking about intergenerational equity. The moral patienthood of future ge ...

. Kaumātua have good knowledge of Māori '' tikanga'',

language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of met ...

and

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

; and their contribution ensures that the

mana According to Melanesian and Polynesian mythology, ''mana'' is a supernatural force that permeates the universe. Anyone or anything can have ''mana''. They believed it to be a cultivation or possession of energy and power, rather than being a ...

of the whānau,

hapū In Māori and New Zealand English, a ' ("subtribe", or "clan") functions as "the basic political unit within Māori society". A Māori person can belong to or have links to many hapū. Historically, each hapū had its own chief and normally opera ...

and

iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, an ...

are maintained. Barlow (1994) refers to kaumātua as being the "keepers of knowledge and traditions of the family, sub-tribe and tribe". Although the term ''kaumātua'' is widely used to refer to all elders, male kaumātua are more correctly called ''koroua'' or ''koro'', and female elders are called ''kuia''. The word ''kaumātua'' comes from ''kau'', meaning alone, without or none, and ''mātua'', meaning parents; thus, ''kaumātua'' literally means "no parents" and reflects how the parents of older generations have passed on.

Characteristics

Kaumātua never self-proclaim their elder status, as the rules of mana prohibit this; instead the people acknowledge an elder's status as kaumātua. Kaumātua comport themselves with humility, honesty, and integrity, and typically possess deep knowledge of a particular subject such as

whakapapa Whakapapa (, ), or genealogy, is a fundamental principle in Māori culture. Reciting one's whakapapa proclaims one's Māori identity, places oneself in a wider context, and links oneself to land and tribal groupings and the mana of those. Exper ...

or tikanga, and know people who have expertise in other fields.

Powers

In the past, kaumātua were believed to be "the

reincarnation Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. Resurrection is a ...

of a person who had acquired a supernatural or godly status after death, and who had become the protector of the family". These supernatural powers allowed the reincarnated spirits to return to earth to provide influential guidance to the remaining family. It was believed that these powers allowed the kaumātua transform themselves into birds, fish and insects. Elders of the tribe made reference to these transformed states when predicting the future and fortunes of the tribe. Additionally, along with leadership and guidance of family and

marae A ' (in New Zealand Māori, Cook Islands Māori, Tahitian), ' (in Tongan), ' (in Marquesan) or ' (in Samoan) is a communal or sacred place that serves religious and social purposes in Polynesian societies. In all these languages, the term a ...

, many kaumātua exert a protective influence over the seas, rivers, lands and forests.

Relationships with health organisations

Kaumātua are essential to any Māori community as well as health organisations which have affiliations with Māori. This includes ''kaimatai hinengaro'' (

clinical psychologists Clinical psychology is an integration of social science, theory, and clinical knowledge for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well-being and persona ...

), especially if they treat Māori clients or carry out health research on Māori participants. Kaumātua that are involved in health organisations play a pivotal role in guiding kaimatai hinengaro, similar to their role in the Māori community. Whilst the importance of kaumātua guidance has been predominantly acknowledged by Māori, greater awareness in non-Māori circles is beginning to acknowledge their knowledge bases as well. Non-Māori kaimatai hinengaro treating Māori clients or carrying out

medical research Medical research (or biomedical research), also known as experimental medicine, encompasses a wide array of research, extending from "basic research" (also called ''bench science'' or ''bench research''), – involving fundamental scientif ...

on Māori are realizing the benefits of working under the guidance of kaumātua. For kaimatai hinengaro carrying out health research on Māori, kaumātua of local iwi can be contacted through

Te Puni Kōkiri Te Puni Kōkiri (TPK), the Ministry of Māori Development, is the principal policy advisor of the Government of New Zealand on Māori wellbeing and development. Te Puni Kōkiri was established under the Māori Development Act 1991 with responsib ...

. The offices of Te Puni Kōkiri employ Māori liaison authorities who maintain a "register of local iwi contact people". Once contact is made, research objectives and outcomes are discussed with kaumātua and other tribal elders. Key contact individuals are appointed for both research and iwi sides. While the contact person for the research may be the kaimatai hinengaro, kaumātua usually represent the iwi and provide feedback on satisfaction with research methods and treatment of Māori participants.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaumatua Iwi and hapū Māori society Polynesian titles