Te Hihiri: A process of coming to know

Abstract

Indigenous wisdom traditions regard knowledge as an active and creative process of coming to know. Descriptions of the emergence of knowledge are found in cosmological whakapapa narratives, which reflect and inform an Indigenous worldview. Outlined in this article is an Indigenous Mäori research paradigm that is underpinned by the cosmological whakapapa and describes knowledge creation as a relationship with experience. A Mäori methodological framework, Te Hihiri process, is offered as a research tool to keep researchers grounded in Indigenous wisdom, guided by ancestral knowledge and entrenched in spirit. Tracing the cosmological whakapapa through the stages of development and growth, Te Hihiri process promotes meaningful research, practice and theory as holistically and spiritually tied to experience.