values in the new zealand curriculum - Ministry of Education

environment, Durie (1998) states that damage to animate and inanimate objects can
cause not only physical but also spiritual damage and has the ability to impact on the
mauri of other objects (people included). Mutu (2002) also discusses the impact when
mauri is disturbed or inadequately protected or looked after. In the context of the role of
kaitiaki, Mutu cites Te Whānau Moana and Ngati Kahu kaumatua, McCully Matiu, noting
that “tangata whenua are warned of the onset of the depletion of mauri of their ancestral
lands when the characteristics of the hau kainga 1 start to change as they do with any
major development” (p. 88).
Ihi. Ihi has been described as being a “vital force or personal magnetism which, radiating
from a person, elicits in the beholder a response of awe and respect” (Marsden, 2001, p.
118). Marsden goes on to state that ihi is a psychic force, as opposed to a spiritual force.
Mana. Similar to mauri, mana is multi-faceted in its meaning and application. Pere (1997)
further defines mana as mana atua – which acknowledges the “absolute uniqueness of the
individual” (p.14). Mana has been translated in a number of other contexts, such as mana
motuhake, which can be defined as absolute power. Marsden (2001) states that mana
denotes spiritual authority which distinguishes it from the physical force of ihi. Specifically,
Marsden states that, because authority is a spiritual gift from the gods, man is always the
“agent or channel – never the source of mana” (p. 119).
Attached to authority within the context of mana is the notion of power. According to
Marsden, it is important to recognise that authority and power (through mana) require the
recognition of one’s limitations (either spiritual or delegated). Failure to do so will result in
an inability to control power and thus loss of authority, or mana. Te Whānau Moana and
Ngati Kau kaumatua, McCully Matiu (cited in Mutu, 2002) also refer to the consequences
of misuse of mana:
Human beings who are descended from the gods are likewise imbued with mana
although that mana can be removed if violated or abused. There are many forms
and aspects of mana, of which one is the power to sustain life (p. 87).
Increasingly, mana is used to mean status. Common examples refer to the mana of the
All Blacks or other top sportspeople. However, in this context mana is referred to only in
1 Mutu translates hau kainga as winds of home.
Values in the New Zealand Curriculum: A Literature Review 21