Wairua/

Spirituality

Wairua is the fundamental, boundless, and connective aspect of Māori life. Maori Marsden (1992) is clear that the ultimate reality of existence for Māori is wairua.

“We may ask what wairua is, but actually we might be better asking what wairua isn’t, and therein lies the altered state through which we begin to understand wairua; wairua is related to everything that was, is and will be Māori”.

Hukarere Valentine (2016, p.156)

The inherent sacredness to our Māori existence is encompassed in wairua. Indeed, wairua and spirituality permeate a Māori world so profoundly that it is inconceivable to consider one divorced of the other (Te Awekotuku, 1990).

“We come into this world as wairua, and we’re born into te ao mārama, but we also leave as wairua […]. So, no matter where you walk in life, you carry wairua with you”.

Micheal Naera (2022)

Wairua therefore plays a major role in an approach to healing and wellbeing for Māori.

Wairuatanga

The significance of wairua and wairuatanga to wellbeing for Māori is reiterated in foundational models of health, such as Professor Sir Mason Durie’s Te Whare Tapa Whā and the Meihana Model developed by Professor Suzanne Pitama and colleagues.

Wairuatanga in this project refers to the breadth of spiritual and religious beliefs and practices for Māori. This includes Māori worldviews of wairua as well as wairuatanga as connected to various faiths.

Sources

Marsden, M. (1992). God, man and universe: A Māori view. In M. King (Ed.), Te ao hurihuri: Aspects of Māoritanga (pp. 117–137). Reed Publishing (NZ) Ltd.

Naere, M. (2022). Re-energising our wairua. Te Whatu Ora. https://youtu.be/j5TIxdIL0nY?si=eNODf5lSxRFYhj6l

Te Awekotuku, N. (1990). Mana wahine Maori: Selected writings on Maori women’s art, culture, and politics. New Women’s Press.

Valentine, H. (2016). Wairuatanga. In W. Waitoki & M. Levy (Eds.), Te manu kai i te mātauranga: Indigenous psychology in Aotearoa/New Zealand (pp. 155–169). The New Zealand Psychological Society.