Is Matariki a part of my culture?
Tihei Māuri ora
Ben Gray
Son of Mary and Vincent Gray
Husband of Lynne
Father of Thomas married to Rachel
And of Georgia married to Clement, Grandfather of Fergus Matariki Remy Aussenac
Born in England of American and English parents moved to NZ aged 14.
Worked in Waitara and intimately involved with Waitangi Tribunal Hearing
Worked at NUHS and gifted cloak on leaving
Member of this congregation of 29 years.
What is culture?
Harari
- Stories that explained the world;
- Stories that were developed to enable living together in larger groups.
- Stories describing “right behaviour”.
A culture is a dynamic system of rules—explicit and implicit—
established by groups to ensure survival,
involving attitudes, values, beliefs, norms, behaviours, shared by a group,
but harboured differently by each [individual] within the group,
communicated across generations,
relatively stable but with the potential to change across time
I am part of many “cultures”…Medicine, choral singing, academic
Am I a Presbyterian (put up culture definition slide)
Do I accept the Bible’s origin story?
Matariki includes looking back in order to move forward.
My cultural background:
Mother American Naval family descended from Mayflower settlers. Grandfather captain Arizona, sister’s both married service men, brother in the navy.
Father grew up in a poor family in London. My grandfather died when he was 12 Nana brought up him and his three younger siblings alone running a servant’s agency. Dad raised a Catholic, made his way via scholarships to Cambridge University.
Post World War 2 the previous cultural norms were being questioned there must be a better way.
My father rejected the church and became an active communist. My mother rejected her family background and married a communist and had a life time as an activist, local body politician. They chose to develop a new set of values and beliefs because those they grew up with were not those they could accept.
What is my culture? American? British? Member of the dominant Western culture?
I find myself in the same position as my parents. The dominant global culture is bankrupt and has led us even closer to the brink of chaos than the culture pre World War 2.
I have adopted many elements of Māori tikanga.
I prefer the Māori origin story
The Māori creation narrative describes a movement from Te Kore (the void) and Te Pō (darkness) into Te Ao Mārama (the world of light), initiated through the separation of Ranganui (sky father) and Papatūānuku (earth mother) by their children. From this act, the natural world emerges, with atua (deities) such as Tāne (forests), Tangaroa (oceans), Tāwhirimatea (winds), and Rūamoko (earthquakes) representing distinct environmental domains. people descend from the same genealogical lines as the atua and the natural world, creating relationships based not on separation but on kinship and shared ancestry, forests, waterways, lands, and wider environments are understood not simply as resources or external entities, but as relations to whom responsibilities and obligations are owed.
Whanaungatanga (whakawhanaungatanga)
Manaakitanga (care and hospitality): Emphasises the importance of nurturing relationships, generosity, and respect for others.
Aroha
Mana
Tangata whenua land/placenta
Te Whare tapa wha as a definition of health.
Rangatira
“The fundamental difference between the respective values of the first law and the second law was really that one was predicated on personal connectedness (and through that group autonomy) and the other was predicated on personal autonomy (and through that group welfare)” (Joe Williams)
Law Commission documenting the laws of our country that were part of a third law combining tikanga with British law.
The focus on biculturalism, having Te Tiriti of Waitangi as our founding document and gathering accurate ethnicity statistics have been vital stories that have led to the Māori renaissance.
As tikanga becomes more embedded in the broad NZ culture there are some difficulties with these stories that need considering.
I am considered tangata Tiriti as part of a bicultural description of NZ. The only thing I share in common with all tangata Tiriti is that I am not Māori. Implied in this is that our ethnicity is the sole descriptor of our culture and that it is fixed…Māori are Māori and tangata Tiriti are ????
Ethnicity
Until 1976 questions were about “Race” changed to Ethnic Origin.
Inclusion in Ethnic origin was “half or more”
1991 “what ethnic group do you belong to”
“Ethnicity is the ethnic group or groups that people identify with or feel they belong to. Ethnicity is a measure of cultural affiliation, as opposed to race, ancestry, nationality or citizenship. Ethnicity is self-perceived and people can affiliate with more than one ethnic group. An ethnic group is made up of people who have some or all of the following characteristics: a common proper name• one or more elements of common culture• which need not be specified, but may include religion, customs or language unique community of interests, feelings• and actions a shared sense of common origins or• ancestry, and a common geographic origin• Source: Statistics New Zealand 2005
The value of measuring ethnicity is the ability to track the outcome for ethnic minorities compared to “Europeans”
Ethnicity is a loaded term, tends to be used to refer to ethnic minorities (e.g. Ministry of Ethnic Affairs)
The Government’s expectation that public services should be prioritised on the basis of need, not race
My problem is that my ethnicity is a small part of how I think of myself. I am a New Zealander with a deep love of the land, who has adopted many beliefs and values which are not included in a description of my ethnicity. I cannot be Māori.
I welcome the development of “Co-governance” with a greater input from Māori, because it is right for tangata whenua to be at the table, but also because it includes the values that I care for in governance.
When the current government goes through legislation to erase reference to Tikanga I of course mind because it is an assault on Māori, but I mind just as much because it is an assault on what I believe and value.
Ethnicity is a simplistic tool that has some merits but is a poor measure of how many of us accept and value tikanga.
Cultural Appropriation?
I support greater integration of Tikanga into our governance because of our obligations to Māori, but just as much because I think it is a better set of stories to lead us into an uncertain future, and we need to stand up for this for ourselves as well as for Māori.
Matariki is my grandson, it is unequivocally part of my culture.
Matariki has been gifted to us all.
For those who might want to read more I have just published a paper with Hoani Smith from Lincoln https://www.mdpi.com/2078-1547/17/2/18
This is an open access journal so anyone can access this piece.
For those who are keen there are two other papers I published with the journal
Gray, B. and H. Smith (2026). “Tikanga Māori as a Relational Framework for Cultural Change in Aotearoa New Zealand.” Challenges 17(2): 18.
Gray, B. (2021). “How Should We Respond to the Global Pandemic: The Need for Cultural Change.” Challenges 12(1): 8. https://www.mdpi.com/2078-1547/12/1/8
Gray, B. (2019). “(Bio)Ethics in a Pluralistic Society.” Challenges 10(1): 12. http://www.mdpi.com/2078-1547/10/1/12
Audio of selected readings and reflections
Audio of the complete service
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