Developing Māori collections
| Date | 07 January 2019 |
| Published date | 07 January 2019 |
| Pages | 15-18 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/CC-09-2017-0041 |
| Author | Spencer Lilley |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Collection building & management |
Developing M
aori collections
Spencer Lilley
Massey University, Palmerston North Campus, New Zealand
Abstract
Purpose –This paper aims to provide an introduction to M
aori, the indigenous people of New Zealand, briefly describing their origin, population
structure, language and knowledge structures. There is also a description of the process by which M
aori knowledge systems were transformed into a
written structure from predominantly oral and visual forms. In the latter part of the paper, there is a discussion about how the growing demand by
M
aori clients changed the delivery of resources and services in New Zealand libraries and led to the development of M
aori collections in libraries.
Design/methodology/approach –Using a case study approach this paper outlines the impact that literacy and publishing had on M
aori traditional
knowledge transfer methods. The implication of these developments and their importance to libraries is considered as part of the Treaty of Waitangi
reconciliation process and the growing consciousness of the need to be fulfilling the information needs of M
aori clients.
Findings –The development of M
aori collection has been successful and plays a critical role in meeting the cultural, linguistic, research and
recreational information needs of M
aori clients.
Research limitations/implications –This case study provides a model for the development of indigenous collections in other countries.
Originality/value –This paper makes a contribution to an area that has not had a significant amount of literature published on it.
Keywords New Zealand, M
aori, Collection development, Indigenization, Indigenous collections, M
aori information services
Paper type Case study
M
aori are the indigenous people of New Zealand, having first
colonised New Zealand from Eastern Polynesia in
approximately 1,300 A.D. The name M
aori means “normal”
or “ordinary”and was adopted by M
aori after their contact
with Western people in the eighteenth and the nineteenth
centuries. In the M
aori society, it is customaryfor individuals to
identify themselves according to their iwi (tribal) affiliations
rather than just identifyingas M
aori.
At the time of the last census, the M
aori population
accounted for 15 per cent (668,724 individuals) of
New Zealand’s total population. Demographic forecasters
estimate that by 2026 the M
aori population will have grown to
810,000 (Statistics New Zealand, 2010). The actual numbers
of M
aori may not be high in comparison to indigenous
populations in other Westernnations. For example in the USA,
the number of Native American and/or Native Alaskans
according to the 2010 census was 5.9 million or 1.7 per centof
the total population of the country (USA Census Bureau,
2012). In Canada, the number of those who identified with at
least one of the aboriginal population (First Nations,Inuit and
Metis) was 1,400,685 or 4.3 per cent of Canada’s total
population (Statistics Canada, 2013). However, the M
aori
population is significant in the context of the degree of
influence that M
aori have in social, cultural, economic and
political terms. M
aori have guaranteed representation within
New Zealand’sparliamentary system.
Te reo M
aori (M
aori language) is the indigenous language
and is one of three official languages of New Zealand. It is a
member of the Austronesian language family[1]. To outside
observers, it has the appearance of a language that is without
variation. However, despite high level of similarities in the
language occurring, there are also distinct differences in the
form of dialects. These dialects are regionally based and
identified as northern, southern and western. The dialectal
differences in the language are quite pronounced, but the
meanings of their use are not indecipherable to those from
other regions.
Until the late eighteenth century, te reo was only an oral
language. The first example of it in a written form is
attributed to Cook’s voyage to New Zealand in 1769. Cook
had a Tahitian interpreter known as Tupaia on board the
HMS Endeavour, which enabled Cook and his crew to write
down words to create a simple vocabulary that helped
identify different parts of the body (Jones and Jenkins,
2011). Further examples of writings were collected by other
explorers and also when M
aori visited Sydney (Australia).
However, it was not until 1815 that the first publication
written in te reo was produced by Thomas Kendall, one of
the first missionaries to settle in New Zealand. The book, A
KoraonoNewZealand, was intended as a textbook for the
mission schools, the first of which was established in 1816.
Although the early mission schools had a chequered history,
there was an enthusiastic uptake of literacy by M
aori; an
observation by an Englishman stated that there was up to
10,000 literate M
aori in the northern part of New Zealand at
thetimeofhisvisitin1834(Markham, 1963,p.55).
The introduction of literacyalso radically changed the means
of knowledge production and its dissemination. Knowledge
hitherto had onlybeen shared through oral transmission, and at
times was restricted and only accessible to those with the
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on
Emerald Insight at: www.emeraldinsight.com/2514-9326.htm
Collection and Curation
38/1 (2019) 15–18
© Emerald Publishing Limited [ISSN 2514-9326]
[DOI 10.1108/CC-09-2017-0041]
Received 11 September 2017
Revised 11 September 2017
Accepted 29 December 2017
15
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