MAOR107-20S1 (D) Semester One 2020 (Distance)

Aotearoa: Introduction to Traditional Maori Society

15 points

Details:
Start Date: Monday, 17 February 2020
End Date: Sunday, 21 June 2020
Withdrawal Dates
Last Day to withdraw from this course:
  • Without financial penalty (full fee refund): Friday, 28 February 2020
  • Without academic penalty (including no fee refund): Friday, 29 May 2020

Description

A comprehensive introduction to: the settlement of the Pacific, Polynesian navigation, star paths, renaissance of voyaging. Maori astronomy, new year stars. Creation myths, Skyfather, Earthmother, gods, origins of life and death. Demigods - Maui, Tawhaki,Whaitiri. Oral traditions, first arrivals, canoe ancestors, explorers, romance, sexual imagery, war. Spiritual beliefs, mana, tapu, makutu black magic witchcraft. Maori geography of New Zealand, greenstone trails, forest lore, pa and settlements, meeting houses, sacred rituals and protocols. Social structure, tribal organisation, leadership, marriage, sex, death. Fortifications, warfare, weapons, canoes,cannibalism. Wood, bone, greenstone carving, tattoo and moko. Performing arts, haka, contemporary themes. Ngai Tahu traditions.

MAOR107 provides a comprehensive introduction to traditional Māori society, covering a large range of historical and cultural material. MAOR107 follows the movement of Māori people through the Pacific to Aotearoa, examining not only the geographical shift of Māori people but the development changes that shaped Māori. Topics include oral traditions to navigation, warfare, tikanga, traditional environmental knowledge and more.
This paper is an ideal starting point for anyone wishing to pursue a degree in Māori and Indigenous Studies. This content provides a broad introduction to various themes and topics that can be further explored in more advanced papers.
MAOR107 is extremely useful for anyone who wishes to gain a general understanding of Māori cultural themes. This paper is particularly important for people who work in a community role and would like to have a better awareness of Māori culture.
As an introductory paper, you will begin to develop skills in intercultural communication and analytical thinking that can be further improved by subsequent Māori and Indigenous Studies courses.  
Whatever stage of your academic journey, MAOR107 is a great first step on the road to better understanding Māori people.

What we know about traditional Māori society is constantly changing in response to research, and inevitably questions arise:
• Māori, as Polynesian peoples, were the first people to migrate by sea. How did these bold seafarers navigate by the stars, and where and how did Māori journey, and why stop in New Zealand?
• Often depicted as a warrior people it’s often forgotten that Māori were poets, farmers, performers, and philosophers. What were traditional Māori peoples like, what values did they hold, and how did tikanga structure society?
• Taniwha, Mania, Koru, Maunga; Māori symbols are depicted throughout Aotearoa in buildings, tattoo’s and performance to name a few. What are these symbols, what do they symbolise, and what is their history?
• Reports from early explorers were quick to align Māori alongside the practise of cannibalism offering an exotic image. What was the place of cannibalism in traditional Māori society is it depicted accurately?



Some themes in this course are
• Migration, Navigation, Astronomy and Māori Geography
• Oral Traditions
• Tikanga Māori
• Social Organisation and Structure
• Spiritual Belief and Customs
• Environmental knowledge
• The symbolism of land and Meeting houses
• Warfare
• Carving, Tattoo, Weaving and Performing arts
• Leadership
• Ngāi Tahu traditions

Course Goal
• Comprehensively introduce Māori society and structure
• Introduce Students to a Māori world-view
• Challenge conceptions previously ‘known’ about traditional Māori society
• explore the richness and depth of traditional Māori knowledge and its relation to contemporary society

Learning Outcomes
Students will:
• Understand the migration patterns and navigational technology that brought Māori to Aotearoa
• Attain an outlook of traditional Māori society towards a Māori world-view.
• Have an appreciation of tradition Māori culture and the history of modern customs

Why this Paper?
Students taking this paper may be interested in the following career pathways:
• Policy analyst in Māori and Government organisations
• Community development roles especially within Māori and Iwi sectors
• Professional social services, education, health sector roles interfacing with Iwi and Māori organisations.
• Māori and Indigenous Research
• Criminal Justice
• Museum curator
• Librarian


Transferrable Skills:
This course contributes to the development of the following transferable skills:
• Analysis
• Research
• Indigenous world perspective
• Cultural awareness
• Critical Thinking

Restrictions

Equivalent Courses

Course Coordinator

Hamuera Kahi

Lecturers

Emma Maurice and Jess Maclean

Assessment

Assessment Due Date Percentage  Description
Online Quizzes - Week 3, 5, and 9 30% There will be three on-line quizzes posted on LEARN fortnightly relative to the previous weeks lectures and readings. Each quiz will be worth 10% of the total course grade.
Take Home Test 1 20% This test will cover material from lTerm 1. The format of the test will include both short and long answers.
Research Exercise 20% The main aim of this task is to find three appropriate resources on the following Maori concepts: 1. Mana, 2. Tapu, 3. Utu Students must outline and identify the key points of each resource. Further details will be given in week 5.
Take-home Test 2 30% The test will focus on material covered in Term 2. Further details will be given in week 10.

Textbooks / Resources

Required Texts

Walker, Ranginui; Ka whawhai tonu mātou = Struggle without end ; Rev. ed; Penguin, 2004.

Recommended Reading

Ka'ai, Tania; Ki te whaiao : an introduction to Maori culture and society ; Pearson Longman, 2004.

Additional Course Outline Information

Assessment and grading system

Assesment:
One:
Online quizzes:               Due: Week 4, and 8                 20%    
There will be three on-line quizzes posted on LEARN fortnightly relative to the previous weeks lectures and readings. Each quiz will be worth 10% of the total course grade.

Two:
Take Home Test 1                      25%
This test will cover material from Term1. The format of the test will include both short and long answers. The test will be distributed online and students will have 5 days to complete and submit the assessment.

Three:
Research Exercise:                     30%
The main aim of this task is to find three appropriate resources on the following Māori concepts:  Mana - Tapu - Utu
Students must outline and identify the key points of each resource.  Further details will be given in week 6. The word count for the assessment is 1,500 words. An essay writing guide is available on LEARN, which will help with formal writing conventions.  

Four:
Take-home Test 2:                      25%
The test will focus on material covered in Term 2. Further details will be given in week 12.

Late submission of work

Late Penalties
Late assignments will receive a 5% of 100% deduction for every day that the assignment is overdue.
The purpose of this policy is to ensure that those students who hand their work in on time are not disadvantaged.

Requests for extensions

Extensions
Extensions for assignments and tests are by negotiation with the lecturer.

Resubmissions

Reconsideration
Students seeking reconsideration of a grade should first discuss this with their tutor or lecturer. If the outcome is unsatisfactory, you may then take the matter up with the lecturer. If this does not help, you may go to the Head of School. You may have a support person at each meeting.

Indicative Fees

Domestic fee $777.00

International fee $3,375.00

* All fees are inclusive of NZ GST or any equivalent overseas tax, and do not include any programme level discount or additional course-related expenses.

For further information see Aotahi School of Maori and Indigenous Studies .

All MAOR107 Occurrences

  • MAOR107-20S1 (C) Semester One 2020
  • MAOR107-20S1 (D) Semester One 2020 (Distance)