Rahui
How the custom of Rahui has changed over time.
In Maori society a rahui is a prohibition or restriction on a thing or place. It is part of the broader concept of tapu. This essay will cover how the custom of rahui changed over time. The essay will include a description and brief discussion of the concepts tapu, rahui, kaitiaki and tohunga. It will describe the method used to instate and lift traditional rahui and how early European contact and colonisation affected Maori and the custom of rahui. The Tohunga Suppression Act, 1907 and its role in the decline of traditional rahui is discussed and the significance of rahui in modern society is also explored.
Rahui is a conferment of the broader concept of tapu. Maori Marsden describes tapu as: “The sacred state or condition in which a person, place or thing is set aside by dedication to the gods and thereby removed from profane use. This tapu is secured by the sanction of the gods”(1975, p 197).
Tapu is important in Te Ao Maori as it involves practical rules that protect people and maintain community and spiritual standards (Durie, 1994).
Rahui can be viewed as the specific application of tapu applied to a particular place or resource. When an area of land, water or forest needed protection, a rahui was placed. This meant that community access to that area was restricted or prohibited (Durie, 1994). “A Rahui was used to conserve a dwindling resource, to warn off intruders, to protect valued items of food, or to discourage entry into a dangerous situation” (Durie, 1994, p 9).
In traditional Maori communities only Tohunga (Maori priests) could place rahui and invoke the power of the gods into its application. The most basic definition of the Tohunga is “expert” (Stephens, 2001). A Tohunga was an individual chosen by the gods to represent them and was appointed as being the agent by which the gods demonstrated their operations in the natural world by signs of power- tohu mana (Marsden, 1975, p 207).
In Maori society a rahui is a prohibition or restriction on a thing or place. It is part of the broader concept of tapu. This essay will cover how the custom of rahui changed over time. The essay will include a description and brief discussion of the concepts tapu, rahui, kaitiaki and tohunga. It will describe the method used to instate and lift traditional rahui and how early European contact and colonisation affected Maori and the custom of rahui. The Tohunga Suppression Act, 1907 and its role in the decline of traditional rahui is discussed and the significance of rahui in modern society is also explored.
Rahui is a conferment of the broader concept of tapu. Maori Marsden describes tapu as: “The sacred state or condition in which a person, place or thing is set aside by dedication to the gods and thereby removed from profane use. This tapu is secured by the sanction of the gods”(1975, p 197).
Tapu is important in Te Ao Maori as it involves practical rules that protect people and maintain community and spiritual standards (Durie, 1994).
Rahui can be viewed as the specific application of tapu applied to a particular place or resource. When an area of land, water or forest needed protection, a rahui was placed. This meant that community access to that area was restricted or prohibited (Durie, 1994). “A Rahui was used to conserve a dwindling resource, to warn off intruders, to protect valued items of food, or to discourage entry into a dangerous situation” (Durie, 1994, p 9).
In traditional Maori communities only Tohunga (Maori priests) could place rahui and invoke the power of the gods into its application. The most basic definition of the Tohunga is “expert” (Stephens, 2001). A Tohunga was an individual chosen by the gods to represent them and was appointed as being the agent by which the gods demonstrated their operations in the natural world by signs of power- tohu mana (Marsden, 1975, p 207).