Māori environmental knowledge and natural hazards in Aotearoa‐New Zealand

King, Darren N.; Goff, James; Skipper, A.

doi:10.1080/03014220709510536

Cited by 94 publications

(67 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…It could be argued that the sole purpose for which these stories were created was to inform future generations, through the medium of oral traditions, that tsunamis do routinely affect Baie Martelli and that it is safer not to live in the low-lying areas and to run uphill when tsunamis appear imminent. Comparable stories are found among other indigenous groups in tsunami-prone places (McMillan and Hutchinson 2002;King, Goff, and Skipper 2007).…”

Section: The Devil At Lonburas There Was Once a Devil (Named Ias) Whomentioning

confidence: 75%

Integration of indigenous knowledge and disaster risk reduction: A case study from Baie Martelli, Pentecost Island, Vanuatu

Walshe

Nunn

2012

Int J Disaster Risk Sci

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Despite reaching heights of >6 m and destroying a sizeable coastal settlement at the head of Baie Martelli (Pentecost Island, Vanuatu, South Pacific), the 26 November 1999 tsunamis caused only five fatalities from a threatened population of about 300 persons, most of whom fled inland and upslope before the waves struck. This remarkable survival rate is attributed to both indigenous knowledge, largely in the form of kastom knowledge, and information obtained from a video about tsunamis that was shown in the area three weeks earlier. Interviews with 55 persons who experienced this tsunami suggest that indigenous knowledge about tsunami risk and response in Baie Martelli was well known among key members of the community and was probably largely responsible for the appropriate response. Future strategies for disaster risk reduction should involve maintaining such indigenous knowledge in such communities and supplementing this where needed with scientific knowledge filtered through indigenous culture and language.

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Section: The Devil At Lonburas There Was Once a Devil (Named Ias) Whomentioning

confidence: 75%

Integration of indigenous knowledge and disaster risk reduction: A case study from Baie Martelli, Pentecost Island, Vanuatu

Walshe

Nunn

2012

Int J Disaster Risk Sci

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“…Proctor (2010) found that tikanga was a valued resource used by locals and concluded that 'tikanga Māori is an inherent part of … resiliency' (Proctor 2010). King et al (2007) and Lowe et al (2002) are the few who have explored the relationships between iwi and natural hazards. They found that iwi and hapū (sub-tribe) hold a store of information throughout oral narratives such as 'mōteatea (laments), pēpeha (quotations), whakatauki (proverbs) and waiata (songs)' (King et al 2007).…”

Section: Māori and Hazardsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…King et al (2007) and Lowe et al (2002) are the few who have explored the relationships between iwi and natural hazards. They found that iwi and hapū (sub-tribe) hold a store of information throughout oral narratives such as 'mōteatea (laments), pēpeha (quotations), whakatauki (proverbs) and waiata (songs)' (King et al 2007). These repositories of information not only tell stories but can contribute information on historical events and natural hazard occurrences to natural hazard management.…”

Section: Māori and Hazardsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These repositories of information not only tell stories but can contribute information on historical events and natural hazard occurrences to natural hazard management. King et al (2007) outlines three specific ways that Māori environmental knowledge can be applied to natural hazard management: (1) as described previously, stories, songs and place names hold a wealth of knowledge based on experiences and recollections of events; (2) the information extracted from these avenues can thus be mapped in relation to natural hazards; and (3) it can also provide for Māori involvement in planning for hazards.…”

Section: Māori and Hazardsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Reflections from an Indigenous Community on Volcanic Event Management, Communications and Resilience

Gabrielsen

Procter

Rainforth³

et al. 2017

Advances in Volcanology

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Ngāti Rangi, an indigenous tribe of Aotearoa New Zealand, live on the southern flanks of their ancestral mountain, Ruapehu, an active volcano. Ruapehu has erupted and caused lahars within living memory, and nearby Tongariro erupted as recently as 2012. Ngāti Rangi and other tribes affiliated to these mountains are intimately connected to and familiar with the moods, signs, and language of the mountains and have valuable knowledge to contribute to decision-making and warning systems during volcanic events. To date this knowledge or mātauranga Māori has been somewhat under-utilised, and Ngāti Rangi have not always been included in decision-making processes during volcanic events. But communication is improving, and Ngāti Rangi have begun a journey of building their own monitoring, information collection, and communication systems. Past and present monitoring, warning systems, communications and tribal civil defence resources are examined to determine how Ngāti Rangi and their tribal knowledge can be better recognised, communications with governmental volcanic hazard management agencies improved to ultimately work together to improve outcomes for the tribe and local community.

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“…Polynesian place names often represent an archive of intergenerational experiences of the environment (King et al 2007), and it is plausible therefore that the name Namu may represent the last remaining cultural evidence of a hastily dug mass burial site. Once the possibility of the Namu site being a mass burial is considered, several inconsistencies reported by the authors appear to be more logical:…”

Section: Namu Taumako Solomon Islandsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prehistoric Coastal Mass Burials: Did Death Come in Waves?

Cain

Goff

McFadgen

2018

J Archaeol Method Theory

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Recent large tsunamis in the twenty-first century have provided graphic reminders of the catastrophic impacts such natural hazards can have upon coastal communities. Death tolls in the thousands give rise to the rapid adoption of coastal mass burials for the interment of the dead. While recognised as a necessary practice in the aftermath of such contemporary tragedies, the paucity of coastal mass burial sites related to earlier tsunamis reported in the archaeological record is unusual. We establish a suite of criteria for identifying the geological and archaeological evidence of inundation by past tsunamis and review case studies from two well-documented prehistoric coastal mass burial sites in the Southern Hemisphere (Solomon Islands and Vanuatu). To varying degrees, both sites possess numerous characteristics that suggest direct correlation with previously reported catastrophic palaeotsunamis. In the Northern Hemisphere, we investigate palaeotsunami inundation as an alternative hypothesis for mass burial sites in Orkney and Shetland, a relatively tectonically inactive region where such an association is unlikely to have ever been considered. The nature, chronology and location of these mass burial sites fit well with the proposed archaeological evidence for palaeotsunami inundation, and they also appear to be contemporaneous with the as-yet poorly documented Garth tsunami (~5500 years BP). We suggest that a potentially key diagnostic criterion for determining a palaeotsunami linkage is the use of diatom testing on skeletal remains to establish whether death was caused by drowning in saltwater, a test which has never been applied in this context. J Archaeol Method Theory

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Māori environmental knowledge and natural hazards in Aotearoa‐New Zealand

Cited by 94 publications

References 9 publications

Integration of indigenous knowledge and disaster risk reduction: A case study from Baie Martelli, Pentecost Island, Vanuatu

Integration of indigenous knowledge and disaster risk reduction: A case study from Baie Martelli, Pentecost Island, Vanuatu

Reflections from an Indigenous Community on Volcanic Event Management, Communications and Resilience

Prehistoric Coastal Mass Burials: Did Death Come in Waves?

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