He aha te tikanga?
Written by Te Reo O Te Omeka Hau
Kia tika te wā
Kia tika te wāhi.
Kia tika te tangata;
Kia ora te whānau.
Whānau will thrive and flourish, with the right people, in the right place, at the right time.
In this article I will discuss the idea of a tikanga Māori based dispute resolution process and what that might look like.
In recent times this specific area of dispute resolution work has been a passion of mine and was the motivation for setting up my own mediation business Omeka Resolution Services.
Māori academics Tomas and Quince in 2007 advised that to move towards a process of dispute resolution involving Māori, fundamental aspects of tikanga must be considered and describe some of these aspects as whakapapa, mana, tapu and collectivity.
So, what is “tikanga?”
Tikanga is derived from the word tika which can be translated as meaning to be right or correct and the word tikanga can be described as the right way to do things in Te Ao Māori or the Māori world.
As with most people, not all Māori are the same however we do share some endemic values such as those previously mentioned by Tomas and Quince (whakapapa, mana etc..) and these provide the beginning of a framework for designing a dispute resolution process.
In my opinion it is here that the real work begins to take shape in the design of a Māori tikanga based process, one that is based around the individuals involved and that encapsulates their values.
Tomas and Quince further propose the system should be based on a framework that takes account of a balanced world and one that incorporates a “holistic” approach to its development.
Mason Durie (Te Whare Tapu Whā) and Rose Pere (Te Wheke) agree and demonstrate this through their models for Māori health and the concept that in Te Ao Māori, the spiritual and physical co-exist as two parts of a whole, if one part is affected, the whole is affected, whether it is in the spiritual or the physical realm.
Again, acknowledging both the physical and spiritual nature of the dispute and how these have impacted can assist in bringing to the surface the underlying problems or interests that need to be addressed. For instance, where the mana of an individual has been impacted by an action or wrong, it is tikanga that will address this and provide a possible remedy.
It is tikanga that assists Māori to balance these realities, the physical and the spiritual, and is why, in my opinion, it needs to be provided for in any dispute resolution process involving Māori.
We must also however be aware that incorporating tikanga must also be balanced with a practical process that reflects the reality of how Māori live today. Many Māori for instance have a limited knowledge of Te Reo Māori and so the process needs also to reflect this and allow for conversing in both english and Te Reo Māori when required.
In my opinion a tikanga based mediation process needs to reflect the parties that are involved. It needs to take account of their experience in tikanga and be a welcoming element to the process as opposed to one that may stymie the process.
In my own experience many practitioners of this type of process liken it to “doing the dance.”
The dance in simple terms proposes that you wouldn’t have a one size fits all for a tikanga process. You would use all the tools you have as a mediator and sit them alongside some of the processes of tikanga and develop a suite of options for the parties.
This may create some ethical considerations for mediators that are tailored to the Māori way of thinking and the Māori world view as opposed to western ethical thinking, however as this article is required to be brief I will finish here.
I may return to address some of the ethical concerns that may require adressing in a tikanga based mediation approach in the near future.
What are your thoughts on a tikanga based approach? Have you experienced a tikanga Māori based dispute resolution process? Feel free to let us know in the comments on our Linked In post!
About the author
Te Reo O Te Omeka Hau holds a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Management from Te Wananga O Aotearoa, a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management (Dispute Resolution) from Massey University and has completed a master’s in business studies. His thesis researched the potential for incorporating Kaupapa Māori principles in mediation.
Te Reo was awarded the Fair Way Resolution 2018 Anne Scragg scholarship and used his scholarship to attend further mediation training in Santa Monica California with world renowned mediator Ken Cloke.
Te Reo also has over 20 years experience in Māori Land matters both in local and central government organisations.
If you would like to get in touch with Te Reo please contact fdr@fairwayresolution.com