“Into the dark, we are moths” : reading animal Whanaunga in Māori writing in English

Abstract

In this thesis, I engage in a series of whakapapa-centred and pūrākau-inspired readings of animal whanaunga as they have been represented by Māori storytellers. I draw upon multiple points of origin and various relationships encapsulated by whakapapa including creation narratives and the relationships between humans and non-humans embedded within these, the genealogy of creative works in Te Ao Māori, relationships between writers and texts, my own whakapapa, and the origins of this project to form the foundation for my analysis. I also draw upon pūrākau and their many versions and facets both as a methodological aid and as an inspiration for a series of imagined kōrero between animal relations.

I demonstrate the ways in which both whakapapa and pūrākau can be utilised to create a foundation for a kaupapa Māori-based analysis of Māori writing in English which can inspire unique and provocative avenues for the critical analysis of these texts; in particular, I discuss the possibilities and implications of centring whakapapa in analyses regarding literary representations of non-human animals and our many and varied relationships with them. I argue that these representations of our nonhuman whanaunga as tohu, omens, and tūpuna messengers; as kaitiaki and as kai; as companions, adversaries, and shapeshifters; as metaphors for the environment and for human lives, characteristics, and experiences; and as subjects and storytellers in the world, have layers of meaning and significance which exemplify our connections to each other and the world: connections in which various origins, histories, worldviews, values, and knowledges are embedded. These potent and provocative depictions thus represent the centrality and vitality of whakapapa and remind us of our relationships with – and responsibilities to – other animal species and the environments in which we live.