Māoriscience also called Te Pūtaiao Māori, is an academic discipline at the intersection of Western science and mātauranga Māori. It can be viewed as a decolonization of science. Māori science is practiced by the Māori people; the indigenous people of New Zealand. As a result of separation from the other nations, the Māori developed their own culture and practices. Largely a product of Māori Renaissance of the later 20th and early 21st centuries, most Māori science is project-based with science-based organisation partner with iwi organisations and typically government funding. Outputs typically include traditional scientific outputs as well as concrete benefits for iwi. Examples include:
Women have made great contributions to Māori science. One notable woman was Wahakaotirangi. Wahakaotirangi brought kumara to the Waikato region of New Zealand. When in Waikato, Wahakaotirangi built gardens in which she experimented with growing edible and medicinal plants, in particular studying how to make the kumara grow in the cooler climate of Waikato. This was an essential innovation for the Tainui people of Waikato, as it provided them a reliable and sustainable source of food. Wahakaotirangi was also a part of the invention and launch of the Tainui canoe. Other notable women in the field of Māori science are Makereti Papakura, who wrote a thesis on the Māori people, and Rina Winifred Moore, the first female Maori doctor in New Zealand.
Colonization and erasure
Māori society refers to experts in a skill or art as tohunga. Tohunga were often the only source of medicinal knowledge and education in Māori culture. The New Zealand Parliament passed the Tohunga Suppression Act in 1907 - this made tohunga status illegal and punishable by fines or imprisonment. The Act stayed in operation until 1962, and caused in part the erasure of Māori knowledge and science.
Impact
Māori science had major impacts on New Zealand. For example, Wahakaotirangi’s innovations in agriculture ensured the formation and survival of the Tainui people. This influence persists, and is seen in such cases as the New Zealand Department of Conservation’s Biodiversity Strategy, which states that by 2020, “traditional Māori knowledge, or matauranga Māori, about biodiversity is respected and preserved and informs biodiversity management”.
