Acknowledging the Māori cultural values and beliefs embedded in rongoā Māori healing

Kaupapa Māori approach, a manner of conducting research based on Māori cultural understandings and values
snowballing and purposive methods of recruitment
semi-structured interview

This article looks at cultural values and underlying concepts within rongoā Māori healing. The project used a Kaupapa Māori approach to the research process and design and involved semi-structured narrative interviews with 17 rongoā Māori healers. Through the interviews, the concepts and the focus of healing were explored, with findings pointing to the role of healers as mediators of the healing process.

Kaupapa Māori
Massey University Human Ethics Committee

"The findings indicate that healers are actually mediators between their tīpuna and the patient, rather than a source of the healing. The healers also mediate relationships between people, both alive and dead, as well as with plants in order to facilitate, and contribute to, the healing of the patient. The role of healers as mediators in healing aligns with previous research showing Māori healers believe they are simply a vessel or a channel for the healing (Mark, 2008; Mcleod, 1999)." (p. 88) – HEALING THE LAND ALSO

"… a new understanding is elicited from the research findings, that healing facilitates a process of change for patients." (p. 89)

Healing techniques including, but not limited to, herbal medicines, mirimiri, romiromi, spiritual healing, and counselling.
Recordings/Transcriptions of interviews

Publication

"A culturally informed analytical framework was created specifically for the purposes of this research. The framework is based on a Māori whakataukī (proverb)… Using a well-known proverb as a cultural frame of reference meant that the analytical process was flexible enough to incorporate the findings gleaned from interviews with individual healers, the first author's reflections on individual interviews, and the first author's reflections on the collective story of rongoā Māori." (p. 81-2).

"The findings indicate that healers are actually mediators between their tīpuna and the patient, rather than a source of the healing. The healers also mediate relationships between people, both alive and dead, as well as with plants in order to facilitate, and contribute to, the healing of the patient. The role of healers as mediators in healing aligns with previous research showing Māori healers believe they are simply a vessel or a channel for the healing (Mark, 2008; Mcleod, 1999)." (p. 88)

• Māori Health and Development
• Medicine
• Social Sciences
• Indigenous Studies
• Indigenous Health
• Traditional Healing