Praneeta Mahajan
Hamilton, August 17, 2023
Generations ago, canoes sailed by Māori ancestors set out from East Polynesia and landed in New Zealand. From these founding peoples came the iwi (tribes) that form the structure of Māori society.
Nearly three out of four Māori people (74%) rated their family (Whānau) wellbeing highly, and more than nine out of 10 Māori people (92%) said that the health of the natural environment was quite or very important to them, Stats NZ said recently, based on a 2018 report published last week.
“Matariki and Puanga can be an important time for family to come together and connect with each other and the Whenua (people of the land). Mātauranga Māori can often be passed down through whānau participating in taiao activities together. Te Kupenga 2018 data highlights the importance of Whānau ngatanga (connect between people) and kaitiakitanga (guardianship) for Māori,” wellbeing and housing statistics manager Ben Faulks said.
He said, “In Te Ao Māori, wellbeing is holistic and can encompass physical, mental, spiritual, whānau, and environmental health. This is reflected in the data, in the relationship between whānau wellbeing and social support, physical and mental health, and between whānau and the environment.”
Contemporary understanding of whānau
Whānau is often translated as ‘family’, but its meaning is more complex. It includes physical, emotional and spiritual dimensions and is based on whakapapa. Whānau can be multi-layered, flexible and dynamic. Whānau is based on a Māori and a tribal worldview. It is through the whānau that values, histories and traditions from the ancestors are adapted for the contemporary world.
About the report
Whānau wellbeing was self-rated and measured on a 0-to-10 scale where 0 represented whānau doing extremely badly, and 10 represented whānau doing extremely well.
The data on whānau wellbeing and the natural environment was collected in Te Kupenga 2018, Tatauranga Aotearoa Stats NZ’s survey of Māori wellbeing, which was answered by almost 8,500 individuals of Māori ethnicity and/or descent.
Family support essential
Whānau well-being can be an essential aspect of people’s social support structures.
Māori who reported higher whānau wellbeing (at seven or above) were likelier to ask for different types of support, compared with those with lower whānau wellbeing (between zero and six).
For those with higher whānau wellbeing (at seven or above), more than three out of four Māori (76%) found it easy or very easy to ask for general support from someone, which could include things like helping with moving, picking up or dropping off children, and checking their house while away. This is compared with 62% for those with lower whānau well-being (between zero and six).
When asked about crisis support, nearly four out of five Māori (79%) with higher whānau well-being (at seven or above), said it was easy or very easy to ask for support from someone in times of need, like helping out with a serious illness or sudden injury), compared with 67% of those with lower whānau wellbeing (between zero and six).
Whānau well-being and mental health
Whānau well-being can also be an essential aspect of mental and general health.
The data showed that whānau well-being was associated with positive outcomes for mental well-being, loneliness, and general health.
Those with higher whānau well-being were more likely to have good overall mental well-being (82%), compared with those with lower whānau well-being (64%). Mental well-being was measured using the World Health Organization’s ‘WHO 5’ mental well-being index, which covers five aspects of mental well-being, including how cheerful, calm, active, and rested people felt, and how much of their daily life was filled with interesting things.
The data showed that the higher Māori rated their whānau well-being, the more likely they were to rate their mental health highly as well. For example, for those who rated their whānau wellbeing at 10 (out of 10), 72% felt calm all or most of the time, compared with 56% for those who rated their whānau wellbeing between six and nine. This relationship also holds with loneliness and general health.
Whānau and the natural environment
When asked about the importance of the health of the natural environment, 69% of Māori said it was very important to them. Nearly one in three Māori (32%) had participated in an activity that looked after the health of the natural environment, such as restoring waterways, planting trees, and pest control. Of those that participated, more than a third (40%) took part in those activities with their whānau.
Praneeta Mahajan is an Indian Newslink reporter based in Hamilton.
