Te Whariki Tuakiri (the identity mat): Māori elite athletes and the expression of ethno-cultural identity in global sport

Māori (indigenous people of New Zealand) athletes who participate in elite-level sport are a very diverse social group, many of whom function adaptively in the high echelons of sport in Aotearoa New Zealand society and on the world stage. This article proposes one major question: how do Māori athlet...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sport in society 2014-07, Vol.17 (8), p.1061-1075
Main Authors: Erueti, Bevan, Palmer, Farah Rangikoepa
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Elites
Ethnic Identity
Indigenous Populations
Knowledge
Narratives
New Zealand
Race
Rituals
Sports
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Summary:Māori (indigenous people of New Zealand) athletes who participate in elite-level sport are a very diverse social group, many of whom function adaptively in the high echelons of sport in Aotearoa New Zealand society and on the world stage. This article proposes one major question: how do Māori athletes weave their Māori identity publicly and privately in a global sporting context? Utilizing an amalgamation of Kaupapa Māori theory, 1 critical race theory and narrative inquiry approaches exposes a negotiation of ethno-cultural identities in both public and private ways. The narratives of Māori elite athletes identify how they experience ethno-cultural identity through the implementation of tikanga Māori 2 and Matauranga Māori (Māori knowledge and cultural practices) and how these practices impact on their identities as Māori, athletes, New Zealanders and a team in the public domain of the Olympic and/or Commonwealth Games. The private rituals and personal explorations of ethno-cultural identity by Māori athletes in elite-level sport were also revealed. Both the public and private expressions of Māori identity were described and explained through a Māori concept referred to as mauri (individual life force), and the elements of ethno-cultural identity were visually represented as Te Whariki Tuakiri or the identity mat. The use of culturally appropriate concepts and metaphors provides a more in-depth and sensitive picture of what influences ethno-cultural identity for Māori athletes in elite-level sport in a way that will benefit Māori athletes and their ethno-cultural communities in general.
ISSN:1743-0437
1743-0445
DOI:10.1080/17430437.2013.838351