Work · Indigenous Philosophies
God, Man and Universe: A Māori View
An essay in Michael King’s collection “Te Ao Hurihuri” that sets out the Māori world view from the creation traditions: a cosmos unfolding by genealogy from the void and the night into the world of light, and the concepts of mana, tapu, mauri and hau that order it.
Introduction
Marsden’s essay appeared in 1975 in “Te Ao Hurihuri: The World Moves On”, a collection edited by Michael King in which Māori authors wrote about their culture; it was reprinted in later editions and in “The Woven Universe” (2003). Marsden contrasts the Māori approach to reality with the Western one: the world is known not only through detached reason but through participation, in ritual, story and genealogy. The creation traditions describe a process from Te Kore, the void of potential, through Te Pō, the night, to Te Ao Mārama, the world of light, in which everything is related by whakapapa. On this basis he explains mana as authority and power that derive from the divine, tapu as the state of being set apart, and mauri as the life principle of every being. The essay became a standard text for teaching the Māori world view in schools, universities and public institutions in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Connections
Taken up in
- The Woven Universe: Selected Writings2003 · Māori Marsden
More works by Māori Marsden
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