Waitangi Tribunal Te Rōpū Whakamana i te Tiriti o Waitangi

Nau mai haere mai kuhu mai ki Te Kete Pūputu: The Online Guide to the Mana Wāhine Tūāpapa Evidence.

Kia puta ki te whai ao ki te ao mārama.
From the world of darkness moving into the world of light.

In its tūāpapa phase (comprising contextual hearings), the Mana Wāhine Kaupapa Inquiry has gathered a rich tapestry of evidence from wāhine around the motu. In line with this whakataukī, the Mana Wāhine Kaupapa Inquiry panel want this kōrero to be heard as widely as possible. This website is a step towards this.

Please note, this website is available as a ‘pre-release’, to allow for the revision of typographical and referencing errors by parties. Once that process is completed, the Tribunal will formally launch this website via an online event for claimants in early 2024.

Interior of Tūrangawaewae Marae, Ngāruawāhia

The tūāpapa hearings

Between February 2021 and September 2022, over 126 witnesses participated in six ‘tūāpapa hearings’ of the Mana Wāhine Kaupapa Inquiry, giving evidence before the Tribunal panel comprising Judge Sarah Reeves(external link), Professor Linda Tuhiwai Smith, Kim Ngarimu, Dr Ruakere Hond, and Dr Robyn Anderson.

Witnesses’ evidence spanned tikanga as it relates to wāhine Māori and the Māori understanding of wāhine in te ao Māori, setting the tūāpapa (foundation) for the inquiry. Their kōrero was diverse, covering pūrākau (traditional stories) and unique iwi and hapū traditions, kōrero tuku iho (oral tradition), witnesses’ own personal views and life experiences, waiata, karakia, poetry, and academic research.

• Read more about the tūāpapa hearings, including their locations and witnesses.
• See the hearing participants, organised by hearing.
• See the hearing participants, organised by claim.
• See all briefs of evidence.

Wharekai at Terenga Parāoa Marae, Whangārei

The approach of this website

This website is contextual and informative and does not present a definitive view of the evidence heard. In the words of one witness, Professor Leonie Pihama (doc A19, p 6)(external link):

"In speaking to traditional knowledge(s) it is critical that we do not fall into the colonial, reductionist trap of assuming that there is one, singular truth or version in regards to how we understand our ways of being."

Accordingly, this website gathers and collates the mātauranga that witnesses shared with the Tribunal but does not make findings as we would in a report. Instead, users can explore the kōrero for themselves, including key themes, key quotes, whakataukī, and images, and the evidence itself.

Please note, not every witness spoke about every theme. Quotes from witnesses have been lightly edited for typographical errors and consistency, but variations in expressions of names (i.e. Hinenuitepō or Hine-nui-te-po) have not been standardised to preserve the integrity of the kōrero.

Mana Wāhine inquiry panel outside Waiwhetū Marae, Lower Hutt, August 2022. From left: Kim Ngarimu, Professor Linda Tuhiwai Smith, Judge Sarah Reeves, Dr Robyn Anderson, and Dr Ruakere Hond