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Enhancing Food Security and Physical Activity for Māori, Pacific and Low-income Peoples(custom, rule, principles) and te reo (Māori language), as vehicles for health promotion.The underlying emphasis of the initiative is on successful and regular engagement inhealth and fitness programmes.Tāia Te Kawa incorporates five central kaupapa:1. the utilisation of a distinctive approach to healthy living based on Māori healthframeworks including tikanga, kaupapa and kawa2. a purpose-built health and fitness facility3. engagement in customised exercise programmes incorporating cardiovascularand resistance elements and based on pre-assessment and analysis withongoing evaluation4. provision of lifestyle modification strategies, including promotion of healthyeating, smoking cessation strategies and support, weight management strategiesand support, and risk management advice, and5. integration of both theoretical and practical aspects of the programme into anacademic curriculum.FeasibilityTikanga, and the philosophies behind it, is inherent to many Māori. Māori areincreasingly seeing the value of using tikanga to guide a variety of practices. 12 Utilisingtikanga as a mechanism to aid Māori to be more physically active appears to havemerit. 19-26 For example, the ‘Health Through the Marae’ initiative, developed by Ngāti TeAta, utilises their marae (Tahuna marae) and tikanga as a forum to promote physicalactivity and health promotion. 26 Part of the appeal of this programme is that it is basedon manaakitanga, with the added emphasis on promoting good health, as the foundingprinciple of the programme. 11Te Papa Takaro of Te Arawa also promotes healthy lifestyles through exercise andsports events which are marae based. Such activities include mahinga kai for exampleseafood gathering and eeling, mau rākau wānanga (traditional weaponary trainingsessions), tī rākau (traditional stick game), kapa haka and Pā Wars (sport, intellectualand cultural competitions between the different hapü of each iwi). 11 The phenomenon ofPā Wars is not limited to Te Arawa with many iwi engaging in Pā Wars and gatheringsignificant support from their people.It is important to note that not all activities held on the marae that are enabling moreMāori to be physically active are traditional based activities. Tahuna marae, mentionedpreviously, has a programme called ‘maraerobics’. Maraerobics is a form of aerobicsthat is performed on the marae using traditional Māori movements and is framed in aMāori world view. 20 This example of the combination of Māori traditional domains beingcombined with more contemporary forms of activity is not limited to Tahuna marae withmany marae-based non-traditional activities being promoted around the country.Furthermore, there has been an explosion of other cultural activities (eg, Tai Chi andLine-Dancing) also being utilised in the marae setting.The marae is completely central to the Māori way of life and is a focal point for thosewho share kinship, ie, whānau, hapū and iwi. 6 One of the traditional functions of themarae was to act as vehicle for whānaungatanga and whakapapa which promotes asense of relatedness. 11 Relatedness to each other and the hapū or iwi in physicalactivity programmes provides a sense of belonging 26 and acts as a motivational driver for185
Enhancing Food Security and Physical Activity for Māori, Pacific and Low-income PeoplesMāori to be physically active. 27 Further to whānaungatanga is another fundamentalconcept of marae, manaakitanga. Manaakitanga is primarily about caring for each otherand is vital for creating a sense of belonging in a group. 11 The combination ofwhānaungatanga and manaakitanga or relatedness and belonging are key aspects thatare required to obtain group cohesion. 11 Cohesion is promoted on the marae via groupand team work, as there is a strong emphasis on whānaungatanga, manaakitanga andkōtahitanga in order to maintain the mana of the marae and hapū. 12 Maintaining themana of the marae is based on correctly carrying out the tikanga of the marae to care forits visitors and provide a culturally safe environment for both the tāngata whenua andtheir manuhiri. It is important to note that a strong body of evidence exists that shows themore cohesive a group is the more likely its members will exhibit increased attendanceand motivation to attend. 11Although the previous examples are based in a marae setting, they have been used asan example of how tikanga can aid in providing more opportunities for Māori to bephysically active. It seems fair to assume that the successes of the aforementionedprogrammes are more than likely due to the use of tikanga and the underpinningphilosophies. Hence, it is more than likely that programmes that are not held on themarae and are not based on traditional activities have every chance of increasing thenumber of Māori who are physically active if they are based on tikanga.SustainabilityThere is high level political support for the use of Māori principles and values in the formof He Korowai Oranga: Māori Health Strategy. 2 The overall aim of He Korowai Orangais whānau ora: Māori families supported to achieve their maximum health and wellbeing.The Crown acknowledges that this requires an approach that recognises and builds onthe integral strengths and assets of Māori both individually and collectively. 28 One of thekey threads of this strategy is ‘rangatiratanga’. This provides recognition that whānau,hapū and iwi have the right to have direct control over the direction and shape of theirown institutions, communities and development as a people. Furthermore, itacknowledges that Māori communities need to be supported to develop initiatives thatmeet their needs across the social, economic and cultural sectors. 29 The main point thatneeds to be considered is how is this policy being implemented and is it having ameaningful influence on the provision of culturally-appropriate programmes for Māori.Effects on equityThere is currently a large body of literature that describes tikanga 1-8 and how variousphilosophies of tikanga are linked to health and reducing inequalities. 6-11 However, thereappears to be little research into utilising tikanga as a vehicle to improve Māori physicalactivity rates. This is an area that requires more research.Potential side effectsThe utilisation of tikanga as a vehicle to increase physical activity in Māori has the19 25 30 31potential to have both negative and positive side effects. In the realm ofmainstream physical education the introduction of tikanga primarily through the use of‘Te Reo Kori’ has been met with mixed reactions. Te Reo Kori has been described asthe combination of aspects of Māori cultural values, language, movement and music viathe use of a range of Māori activities. 32 Satler saw Te Reo Kori as an opportunity forMāori students to access traditional knowledge, values and practices while affirmingpersonal identity and self-worth in the context of mainstream education. In addition, hebelieved it provided non-Māori students with the opportunity to access culture and186
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