Please find information below about my masterate and doctoral dissertations. PDF copies of the dissertations can also be obtained below.
Hua noa nei te ua i ako kamo: He Whakaputanga Whakaaro mō ngā Waiata
I completed a masterate in 1991 at Massey University, Palmerston North. New Zealand. My supervisors were Professor Mason Durie and Taiarahia Black. I would like to thank them for their assistance and guidance during the research and preparation of this dissertation. I would also like to thank Dr Wharehuia Milroy for examing the dissertation. I must also acknowledge my kaumātua Pāteriki Te Rei, Dr Tūkawekai Kereama and Ngārongo Iwikātea Nicholson for their considerable assistance during this research project. These are elders from Ngāti Raukawa and Ngāti Toarangatira who read the dissertation and offered much assistance and help.
The dissertation itself contains a discussion about the nature of waiata and mōteatea. It explores ways in which information about these traditional songs have been recorded over the years and presents thoughts about the retention of waiata/mōteatea in years to come. The central part of the disseration contains a discussion of twenty waiata from Ngāti Raukawa and Ngāti Toarangatira. There is also much historical material concerning the 19th century Ngāti Toa and Ngāti Raukawa migrations. The dissertation was written in Māori.
'Hua noa nei te ua i aku kamo: He Whakaputanga Whakaaro mō ngā Waiata'
Te Whare Tapere: Towards a New Model for Māori Performing Arts
In 1998, I completed a doctorate at Victoria University of Wellington in the then Department of Theatre and Film. my supervisor was Professor Phillip Mann and we were assisted by an advisory committee comprising Professor Whatarangi Winiata (Te Wānanga-o-Raukawa), Professsor Tīmoti Kāretu (Te Taura Whiri-i-te-reo-Māori/Māori Language Commission) and Dr Mīria Simpson (Alexander Turnbull Library). During the early stages of the project, Professor Ngāpare Hopa ofAuckland University also provided assistance and support. The thesis was examined by Professor Wharehuia Milroy of Waikato University and Professor Don McKenzie of Oxford University, England. My heartfelt thanks to my supervisors, mentors and examiners.
The dissertation contains a study of the traditional 'whare tapere', pā based houses of storytelling, dance, music, game and entertainment. However, the real purpose of the dissertation is to present a proposal for a new direction for contemporary Māori performing arts. Hence, Part Three of the dissertation presents a new model for Māori performing arts. Part One contains an analysis of the traditional Māori worldview and Part Two contains a study of the whare tapere in history.
Ōrotokare: Art, Story, Motion is an organisation that was established in 2004 to further the ideas developed in this dissertation. Read more here.