Colonising Myths: Maori Realities―He Rukuruku Whakaaro

by Ani Mikaere

This book brings together a series of papers by Ani Mikaere that reflect on the effect of Pakeha law, legal processes and teaching on Maori legal thought and practice. She discusses issues such as the ability of Maori to achieve justice when Maori law is marginalised; the need to confront racism in thinking, processes and structures; the impact of interpretations of the Treaty of Waitangi; the difficulty of redressing harm to Maori within the Pakeha legal system; and the importance of reinstating tikanga at the heart of Maori legal thinking and practice.

Genres: Nonfiction

380 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2011

Reviews

[Gabrielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good at first I thought: bit academic this will be hard to recommend.

By the end I was highlighting whole pages shouting out “yes girl” to no one in particular.

“Māori and Pākehā are expected to negotiate their relationship on Pākehā terms, ignorant of the reality of the brutal colonial past that has shaped it.”

Yes girl.

[Octavia Cade · Rating 5 out of 5]

I must admit that I am generally disinclined to read books about law because the few that I've tried have been turgid beyond belief, but this was outstanding. Mikaere is a law academic here in New Zealand, and this book is a collection of her papers, all of which are themed around Māori law and the teaching of Māori law. It should be dry. It is not. It is angry and confronting and lucid - all academic prose should be this readable! It is also fascinating, and enormously informative. I live in New Zealand, and you'd think I would have grown up with a lot of this but, not being Māori, I was never expected to learn it and was therefore never taught it. That, frankly, is a disgrace, and one of the many legacies of colonialism that needs to be tossed as soon as possible.

Because Mikaere is an academic, a lot of the papers here revolve around teaching methods. Specifically, teaching Māori law to both Māori and Pakeha students, and the different challenges of doing both. One of the conclusions that she draws from this is that there are benefits to teaching these two groups separately, with the option of different tutorial streams within a paper, for instance, and given the stories that she tells from her own teaching experience that honestly seems like a rational alternative. Her time at Waikato University, for example, trying to help build a genuinely bicultural law school, comes across as challenging and frustrating, interspersed with small hopeful moments. As I said, I'm not familiar with law texts or law schools or anything like that, so a lot of this was outside my experience in a number of confronting ways, but I'm so glad I read it. What a stimulating book this is!

[Ocean Cresswell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book captured a perfect overview for those that aren’t familiar with or have never been exposed to Māori law & the “teachings” of Māori law, apart from what we are seeing and speaking about in the present.
All of this is based on Ani Mikaeres own papers and experiences as a law academic, she has a way of gracefully and unapologetically recreating a narrative from her own teachings, based around colonialism & all of it’s effects it has had and still having today between Māori & Pākeha law differentials. This is a must read 👌

[Thu · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish it was possible to give more than 5 stars. Ani Mikaere is a visionary. The introduction provided an excellent overview of how these pieces all fit together, and explained the progression through time of the pieces and how her own views and personal philosophy became more emphatic and Māori-centric rather than performing for Pākeha. This really was visible while reading the book, with the earlier essays, written in the 1990s, being much more carefully apologetic in tone and preemptively caveating her more explicit assertions to remain palatable to a wider (Pākeha) audience. In contrast, the second half of the book was a wildfire and I absolutely loved it. The essays that weaved together Māori cosmogony with the present struggle of decolonization were particularly incredible.

[The Bibliognost Bampot · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly inspiring, eye-opening and utterly honest. Very, very accessible, Mikaere’s collection of essays covers a period of about 20 years and allows you to catch glimpses into where she was in these moments of her life and her fight and vision. A lot of her thoughts are very hard hitting and will immediately alienate many Pākehā readers, but that is not her problem … and that’s the point. Eye-opening for me and lots and lots of things to dwell on and consider.

[Toni Duder · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m definitely not the first person to be moved by Ani Mikaere’s words. But she has a way of articulating what it means to be Māori in such a precise and revealing way that makes you feel seen and deeply understood. From her discussions around the standing of Māori women, to the corruption of Māori language and tikanga by the Christian missionaries - all of it speaks to a unique way of being in the world as a Māori that is so important to explore. I know I will return to this work again and again in my life.


[Pille Pruulmann-Vengerfeld · Rating 5 out of 5]

#saatusesepp FB Lugemise väljakutse grupp
Ani Mikaere
Colonizing myths - Maori realities
He Rukuruku Whakaaro
2012, ebook by meBooks, Huia publishers, 348 lk.
Ani Mikaere on juristi haridusega ja see raamat on kogumik akadeemilistes väljaannetes varem avaldatud ja konverentsidel esitatud artiklitest, millele ta on lisaks kirjutanud pisut uut spetsiaalselt selle raamatu jaoks. See om raamat Maoridest, neile osaks saanud ebaõiglusest, aga mitte halisevas, vaid konstruktiivses, edasiviivas toonis. Või noh, võibolla mitte nii konstruktiivses toonis nende jaoks, kellele ei meeldi mõte, et Maoride maal võiks olla kõige aluseks Maoride seadus.
Selles raamatus on sissevaade sellesse, kuidas Maori müüdid on whakapapa kaudu seotud iga tänase maoriga. Kuidas koloniaalvõim tikanga Maorit meelevaldselt omatahtsi väärtõlgendab ja kuidas Te Tiriti o Waitangi polegi see sama asi, mis Treaty of Waitangi, kuigi sellist muljet püütakse jätta. See on lugu naistest ja naise rollist Maori kultuuris ja sellest, kuidas kaks valget meest, antropoloogi kirjutasid ümber Maori religiooni, kirjutades sinna sisse mingi meesjumal Io, kes maailma lõi ja kirjutades sealt välja, et inimesed on hoopis taeva ja maa lapsed, kusjuures taevas ja maa on võrdsed, täiendavad jõud, mitte nii, et isane taevas on emase maa ülem. Meestele meeldis lihtsalt palju rohkem versioon religioonist, kus oli üks ainuvõimas looja, mitte selline, kus oleks tasakaal. Ja siis, nagu ikka, said valged mehed maori kultuuri ekspertideks ja rääkisid Maoride ees tja Maoride kohta. Ja rääkisid ja kirjutasid puhast jama.
Ma tahaks öelda, et kõik peaksid neid lugusid lugema, kuigi ma tean, et see ei ole väga meeldiv raamat. Aga me peaks neid lugusid lugema sest see on olnud ka meie saatus. Ka meie kohta on kirjutanud teised lugusid, mis ei pruugi olla kooskõlas sellega, mis me ise endast ja maailmast arvasime. Ja ega ausalt, ka meie ise oleme kirjutanud lugusid teiste kohta (eestlased on siberi rahvaste uurimisele andnud olulise panuse), kujundades need lood sobivaks oma maailmavaate ja arvamuste järgi. Selles loos olid minu jaoks paralleelid Tartu rahu piiriküsimustega, Setu kultuuri tunnustamise ja Eesti isemääramisõigusega. Sama moodi nagu saatusesepp, mis mind koos Bill Brysoniga Austraaliasse juhatas, pani ka see raamat mind küsima, mida mina saaks teha, et see ebaõiglus oleks väiksem. Et Maorid saaksid ise oma kultuuri üle otsustada?
Ma arban, et me saame alustusek lihtsalt lugeda neid raamatuid, teadvustada seda olukorda ja teinekord mõelda, milline on meie whakapapa, kuhu me kuulume ja kellega meie elud läbipõimunud on. Whakapapa on genealoogia, millega maorid saavad end jumalateni välja mäletada ja kuna kõigel ja kõigil on whakapapa, siis on nad sellega ka seotud kogu elava loodusega. See on sügavalt ulatuv seos lähedaste, esivanemate, kogukonna, teadmiste ja ümbritsevate eludega. See on rohkem kui sugupuu, see on teadmiste vorm ja sellisena seob Maori kultuuri ja seadused kokku tervikuks. Nagu näete, mõtlemisainet küll ja veel. GR 5/5 (it was amazing)

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The Crown remains as ever, prepared to wield legislative power as a weapon against us in order to clothe its criminal acts with a show of legality" (157)