Kaitiaki, kaitiakitanga

In the original sense, a kaitiaki is a spiritual guardian, often appearing as an animal that acts as an intermediary or messenger between people and the spirit realms of ngā atua and the deceased.

In some areas of the country, including among the Ngāti Wai people of Whangaruru, these spiritual intermediaries were known as mana, not as kaitiaki.

The kaitiaki (or mana) is a messenger from beyond the realms of the here and now. It is appearing in this place at this time because it is bringing a message for a specific person either from ngā atua or from a deceased loved one. A person who is visited by a kaitiaki (mana) must decipher the meaning of this tohu (sign) appearing in the animal world.  

In 1992, a key paper was written for the Ministry for the Environment by Māori Marsden with Te Aroha Henare, Kaitiakitanga: A definitive introduction to the holistic world view of the Māori. Marsden and Henare took the elaborated concept of kaitiakitanga as a Māori metaphor for a notion of conservation of nature. This paper had long-term influence on the question of including Māori concepts into environmental policy but blurred the line between authentic and tokenistic expressions of culture.

IMAGE: Whai (stingray)