Kia Kārohirohi Te Wairua: Exploring how rangatahi Māori understand, experience, nurture, and practise wairuatanga

<p><strong>Wairua is a way of understanding, experiencing, and interacting with the world that is embedded within all aspects of Māori life. Wairua is a foundational principle of Māori health and wellbeing and features heavily in literature pertaining to hauora Māori [Māori health]. Wairua is perceived and experienced as a way of communicating and connecting with the whakapapa network (i.e., atua [cosmological ancestors], tīpuna [human ancestors], whānau [family], tāngata [people] and whenua [land]) and underpins all Māori healing knowledge and methodologies. However, since the onslaught of colonisation which has had continued negative impacts on Māori holistic wellbeing, knowledge pertaining to wairuatanga [being in a state of wairua] has declined. Similarly, practitioners of mahi wairua [spiritual work] and rongoā Māori [Māori healing systems and practises] have also declined through policies and processes of suppression. This has resulted in many Māori no longer valuing or understanding the depth of knowledge that is wairuatanga and rongoā Māori. Despite the harms of colonisation, the revitalisation of Māori ways of understanding, experiencing, and interacting with the world have had positive effects on Māori wellbeing, cultural engagement and identity development. From within this movement of cultural resurgence, my research explored how rangatahi Māori [Māori young people] understand, experience, nurture and practise wairuatanga within their everyday lives. The research questions included: How do rangatahi Māori understand and describe wairua?; What is the role of wairua in relation to rangatahi understandings and experiences of their identities as Māori?; What are some of the factors that disrupt the flow of mātauranga wairua [spiritual knowledge]? What are the perceived benefits and aspirations of rangatahi Māori in understanding and reclaiming wairuatanga?; and How do rangatahi Māori understand and practise tikanga wairua [spiritual practises] to care for their wairua and hauora? This research was conducted using Kaupapa Māori theory and research methodologies, particularly, mātauranga ā-wairua [knowledge obtained through wairua], to guide my research. 18 rangatahi Māori between the ages of 20 and 29 were interviewed using semi-structured interviewing. These rangatahi were students or alumni of Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington. Of the 18 rangatahi, half identified as wāhine and half as tāne, with similar numbers identifying as kākano (i.e., term used to identify those rangatahi who had less of a conscious understanding of wairuatanga) and puāwai (i.e., term used to identify those rangatahi who had more of a conscious understanding of wairuatanga). In combination with Kaupapa Māori theory and research methodologies, rangatahi kōrero [rangatahi interviews] were interpreted using Reflexive Thematic Analysis. My research found that rangatahi understood, experienced, nurtured, and practised wairuatanga in a variety of ways. Rangatahi described wairua as the source of all creation, as necessary to the continuation of whakapapa [genealogical descent], and as constant connection with whakapapa. They emphasised that wairuatanga is a fundamental part of who they are as Māori; that wairua is central to their experiences of the world; and that it is intertwined with whakapapa and connections to ngā atua, te taiao, whenua, tīpuna, and whānau. Rangatahi illuminated the impacts of colonisation on mātauranga and tikanga wairua [knowledge and practises pertaining to wairuatanga], namely the marginalisation of knowledge, practises, and practitioners, perceived cultural disconnect, and colonial re-interpretations of wairua. Finally, rangatahi utilised tikanga wairua to support their hauora, namely, connecting to te taiao [the natural world], performing karakia [incantations], receiving mirimiri and romiromi [traditional body work], and engaging in kōrero rongoā [healing conversations] with whānau, friends, and self. However, barriers prevented some rangatahi from engaging in these tikanga, for example, limited access to knowledge and practitioners of rongoā, environmental degradation, climate change, and competing life-demands. Research findings and recommendations were incorporated into a conceptual model called Kia Kārohirohi Te Wairua. The model provides insights into the interconnection of whakapapa and wairuatanga, along with factors that facilitate and create barriers to rangatahi developing their wairuatanga and nurturing their hauora. Thus, wairuatanga is an important component within the lives of rangatahi Māori. Concentrated efforts must be implemented to revitalise mātauranga and tikanga wairua to support the wellbeing of rangatahi, their whānau, hapū, iwi, and beyond.</strong></p>