Ko te kaupapa ia o tēnei tuhituhinga he tātari i ta

te ao Māori rokohanga atu ki te mana o te tāne, ki te

mana o te wahine, tae atu ki te hua maio te mana o te

noho o te wahine Māori o ēra rau tau. E kōkiritia ai te

whakaaro ko te noho ngātahi o te tokorua nei i ahu

mai i ngā rārangi kōrero o Te Ao Tūroa. Kei roto i

ēnei whakataunga kōrero e kite ai tatau te kauae māro

hei takahi i tenei pae whakataunga kōrero. Ki te riro

ko tenei te ūmanaga māro mo te āhua o te wahine

Māori koia te mea hei pīkau i enei titiro e noho hāngai

tonu nei ki tenei aohurihuri. Ae rā kei konei, e taupae

ai tā te wahine Māori titiro. Ko te whakamutunga ia

he whakarihariha ana tā te wahine Māori noho ki tā

tauiwi wahine titiro. Atu i Aotearoa nei, inē te titiro

ki ngā tangata whenua, wahine o tawāhi ki Ahitereiria

ki te Tokerau o Amerika.

This paper explores the theoretical perspective of

a Māori world view as it relates to power relations

between men and women and the role of women in

customary society. It is argued that insights regarding

the nature of power relations may be gained from an

analysis of the cosmological narratives. Such analysis

provide theoretical understandings about the position,

status and role of Māori women in customary society.

The position of women as powerful, autonomous,

independent beings and as bearers of knowledge are

recurring themes that continue to have relevance today.

Definitions of mana wahine and mana whenua are

discussed drawing extensively on an analysis of the

cosmological narratives. This provides the basis for a

discussion on the development of Māori Women's

theories. It is concluded that mana wahine expresses

what counts as feminism for Māori women and that

western feminisms do not adequately address the needs

of Māori women. Finally, some comparative

perspectives with indigenous women from Australia

and North America are outlined.