Pōwhiri: The ritual of encounter

Abstract

A primary task for refugee families and children who are resettling in a new country is to develop a sense of belonging in that place, time and context. This article theorises the pōwhiri, the traditional Māori ceremony of welcome or ritual of encounter, as a metaphor for refugee families and children coming to belong in Aotearoa New Zealand. The theory-building is derived from observation of pōwhiri at the Mangere Refugee Resettlement Centre, where refugees live on their first arrival in Aotearoa New Zealand; pedagogical documentation from the Early Childhood Centre at the Auckland University of Technology Centre for Refugee Education; collaborative discussions with the co-researcher, Ruth Ham, who is the kaiako (‘head teacher’) at the Early Childhood Centre; and recordings of discussions with interpreters. The next phase in this research will be to trial and evaluate this theory and strategies of belonging in three different early childhood centres, two of which include refugee families, and the third, immigrant families.

Refugee children and families’ positioning within resettlement and early childhood education policies in Aotearoa New Zealand

“…Notably, the Refugee Resettlement Centre welcomes each refugee intake with a pōwhiri, the traditional Māori ceremony of welcome or ritual of encounter. Rameka et al (2021) theorise the pōwhiri as a metaphor for refugee families and children coming to belong in Aotearoa New Zealand. They argue that:…”

“…We have explored this question in other publications and presentations (e.g. Mitchell 2019Mitchell , 2020Rameka et al 2021) in relation to pedagogy within the ECE settings in the study. In this article, we discuss the development of systems and staffing initiatives that aimed to bridge understanding between refugee families, the ECE community and wider world, in reciprocal ways that invite and value contributions of refugee families.…”

Learning from newly settled families in an Aotearoa New Zealand playgroup

“…Early childhood settings and schools that regard families as knowledge holders (Si‘ilata et al, 2023) are well-positioned to value the complexities of belonging for newly settled families and their children and their flexible navigation of linguistic and cultural borders (Mitchell and Bateman, 2018; Rameka et al, 2023). Literacy, narrowly defined, is dismissive of the transcultural and transnational realities of children’s lives (Compton-Lilly et al, 2019; Jacobs et al, 2021) and the competencies and dispositions shaped by their lived experiences (Orellana, 2016; Orellana and D’warte, 2010).…”

“…In Aotearoa New Zealand, educational researchers have documented the early childhood education experiences of children and families from (im)migrant and refugee backgrounds, exploring notions of identity and belonging (Guo, 2017; Mitchell and Bateman, 2018; Mitchell et al, 2020; Rameka et al, 2023), funds of knowledge (Cooper and Hedges, 2014; Si‘ilata, 2019) and parent perspectives (Archard and Archard, 2016; Kindon and Broome, 2009). In a community-based qualitative study with Congolese families, Mitchell and Ouko (2012) found that parents wanted early childhood educators to see them as partners who could explain cultural values and experiences and act as interpreters for their children.…”