In the culture of the

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

of New Zealand, a tohunga (tōhuka in

Southern Māori dialect Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express ...

) is an expert practitioner of any skill or art, either religious or otherwise. Tohunga include expert priests, healers, navigators, carvers, builders, teachers and advisors. A tohunga may have also been the head of a

whānau Whānau () is the Māori word for the basic extended family group. Within Māori society the ''whānau'' encompasses three or four generations and forms the political unit below the levels of hapū (subtribe), iwi (tribe or nation) and waka (mi ...

(family) but quite often was also a

rangatira In Māori culture, () are tribal chiefs, the leaders (often hereditary) of a (subtribe or clan). Ideally, were people of great practical wisdom who held authority () on behalf of the tribe and maintained boundaries between a tribe's land ( ...

(chief) and an

ariki An ariki (New Zealand, Cook Islands), ꞌariki ( Easter Island), aliki (Tokelau, Tuvalu), ali‘i (Samoa, Hawai‘i), ari'i (Society Islands, Tahiti), Rotuma) aiki or hakaiki ( Marquesas Islands), akariki (Gambier Islands) or ‘eiki (Tonga) is o ...

(noble).Mead, S. M. (1997). ''Landmarks, bridges and visions: Essays''. Wellington, New Zealand: Victoria University Press. (p. 197). The equivalent and cognate in Hawaiian culture is ''

kahuna Kahuna (; ) is a Hawaiian word that refers to an expert in any field. Historically, it has been used to refer to doctors, surgeons and dentists, as well as priests, ministers, and sorcerers. Background A may be versed in agriculture,Archiv ...

'', tahu'a in Tahitian.

Callings and practices

There are many classes of tohunga (Best 1924:166) including: *Tohunga ahurewa: highest class of priest *Tohunga matakite: foretellers of the future * Tohunga whakairo: expert carvers * Tohunga raranga: expert weavers *Tohunga tātai arorangi: experts at reading the stars *Tohunga kōkōrangi: expert in the study of celestial bodies (astronomer) *Tohunga tārai waka: expert canoe builders *Tohunga wetereo: expert in

the language "The Language" is a song by Canadian rapper Drake from his third studio album ''Nothing Was the Same'' (2013). "The Language" was produced by frequent collaborator Boi-1da, along with additional production by Allen Ritter and Vinylz. It also fea ...

(linguist) *Tohunga tā moko: expert in

tā moko ' is the permanent marking or tattooing as customarily practised by Māori, the indigenous people of New Zealand. It is one of the five main Polynesian tattoo styles (the other four are Marquesan, Samoan, Tahitian and Hawaiian). (tattooi ...

(tattooist) *Tohunga mahi toi: expert artist *Tohunga tikanga tangata: expert in the study of humans (

anthropologist An anthropologist is a scientist engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropologists study aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms, values ...

) *Tohunga o Tumatauenga: expert in weapons or war party chaplain *Tohunga kiato: lowest class of priest Each tohunga was a gifted spiritual leader and possessed the natural ability of communicating between the spiritual and temporal realms through

karakia Karakia are Māori incantations and prayer used to invoke spiritual guidance and protection.pātere (chants) or performing waiata (songs) that had been passed down to them by tohunga before them. However, their rites were mainly in the specific fields in which they practiced, as outlined above.

Practices and knowledge

Tohunga held knowledge of most spiritual and temporal rites, and knowledge in general was passed down through many generations by oral communication at wananga (places of learning/schools). Tools they also used were

taonga pūoro Taonga pūoro are the traditional musical instruments of the Māori people of New Zealand. The instruments previously fulfilled many functions within Māori society including a call to arms, dawning of the new day, communications with the gods ...

for the purpose of calling on divine intervention or assistance from the gods. Although Māori had high respect for the knowledge and skills of tohunga, witchcraft was feared by both superstitious Maori and Europeans alike. Settler prejudices, the risk of charlatans taking advantage of vulnerable people, and because many forms of traditional Māori medicine were no longer effective against introduced European diseases, this combination of factors led to the enactment of the

Tohunga Suppression Act 1907 The Tohunga Suppression Act 1907 was an Act of the New Zealand Parliament aimed at replacing tohunga as traditional Māori healers with western medicine. It was introduced by James Carroll who expressed impatience with what he considered regr ...

. Some tohunga declined to pass on their oral traditions after the Act was enforced in New Zealand, leaving Māori people bereft of much of their traditional base, beliefs and practices. The Act was repealed in 1962, but by this time, much of the language and traditions had been either corrupted or lost, but a few kaumatua and kuia continued to orally communicate their knowledge through the generations. The importance, role and practices of female tohunga have been to some extent been ignored, or only briefly touched upon by twentieth century scholars, and have only been explored with greater depth in modern times.

Tohunga under tapu

Tapu was, and still is, one of the most deeply ingrained beliefs and religious customs of Māori. The word tapu may be translated as "sacred" or "forbidden", but Māori tapu has a host of variations. There was a personal tapu and local tapu; tapu of one kind or another faced the Māori everywhere. It often served a purpose similar to some of the Jewish laws of prohibition and quarantine. Tohunga were imbued with the mysterious essences of the tapu because of their knowledge of ancient and potent

karakia Karakia are Māori incantations and prayer used to invoke spiritual guidance and protection.atua Atua are the gods and spirits of the Polynesian people such as the Māori or the Hawaiians (see also ). The literal meaning of the Polynesian word is "power" or "strength" and so the concept is similar to that of '' mana''. Many of the atua ...

(gods and spirits). All

also had a strong personal tapu which prevented any common person eating out of the same food basket or using anything belonging to the chief. The remains of the sacred dead and all connected therewith were highly tapu and anyone who had been engaged in handling the dead or bones of the dead would be extremely tapu and would not dare to touch food with the hands. Consequently, such persons had to be fed in the manner shown in the painting here. This was painted from life at an old-time

pā The word pā (; often spelled pa in English) can refer to any Māori people, Māori village or defensive settlement, but often refers to hillforts – fortified settlements with palisades and defensive :wikt:terrace, terraces – and also to fo ...

(village) in the Wanganui district. The outer palisaded fence of the pā, with its roughly carved posts, usually

tōtara ''Podocarpus totara'' (), commonly known as the , is a species of Podocarpus, podocarp tree endemism, endemic to New Zealand. It grows throughout the North Island, South Island and rarely on Stewart Island, Stewart Island / Rakiura in lowland, ...

, is shown in the background. The tohunga is kneeling on mats in front of a

raupō ''Typha orientalis'', commonly known as bulrush, cumbungi, or raupō, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the genus ''Typha''. It is native to Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Mongolia, Myanmar, Philippines, China and th ...

whare A wharenui (; literally "large house") is a communal house of the Māori people of New Zealand, generally situated as the focal point of a ''marae''. Wharenui are usually called meeting houses in New Zealand English, or simply called '' whare' ...

(house) in a remote corner of the settlement.{{Citation needed, date=January 2021

References

* Best, Elsdon,
Māori Religion and Mythology
'.

Dominion Museum The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is New Zealand's national museum and is located in Wellington. Usually known as Te Papa ( Māori for ' the treasure box'), it opened in 1998 after the merging of the National Museum of New Zealand a ...

, Bull. 10, 1924 *

T. R. Hiroa Sir Peter Henry Buck ( October 18771 December 1951), also known as Te Rangi Hīroa or Te Rangihīroa, was a New Zealand anthropologist and an expert on Māori culture, Māori and Polynesian cultures who served many roles through his life: as a ...

(Sir Peter Buck), ''The Coming of the Māori''. Second Edition. First published 1949. Wellington:

Whitcombe and Tombs Whitcoulls 2011 Limited, or simply Whitcoulls, is a major New Zealand book, stationery, gift, games and toy retail chain. Formerly known as Whitcombe & Tombs, it has 54 stores nationally. Whitcombe & Tombs was founded in 1888, and Coulls Somerv ...

1974. Māori culture Māori mythology Māori religion Māori society Māori words and phrases Austronesian spirituality