Te Āheinga pū reretahi: A foundational Māori perspective of the wairoro

Abstract

Wairoro is a te reo Māori term for the brain, and it is a concept grounded in Māori origins (Hīroa, n.d.). This paper is based on the lead author’s master’s research, in which he created Te Āheinga Pū Reretahi—a model developed to provide a structural and functional foundation of understanding the wairoro. Māori life expectancy is increasing (Ministry of Health, 2019), and Māori are now also experiencing the complications of wairoro illnesses that are associated with an ageing population (Dudley et al., 2014, 2019). This research builds upon Dr Margaret Dudley et al.’s (2014, 2019) and Dr Hinemoa Elder’s (2015, 2017) research pertaining to literature that focuses on Māori perspectives of wairoro. The aim of this paper is to identify and introduce Te Āheinga Pū Reretahi as a Māori health model to symbolise an Indigenous understanding of the wairoro. Kaupapa Māori theory and atuatanga were the methodological approaches. The main contribution of this paper is the introduction of Te Āheinga Pū Reretahi, and this will provide additional understandings of Māori perspectives of wairoro.