Missing in translation: Maori language and oral tradition in scientific analyses of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK)

• Published in: Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand Vol. 39; no. 4; pp. 201 - 204
• Main Authors: Wehi, Priscilla M., Whaanga, Hēmi, Roa, Tom
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis Group 01-12-2009
• ISSN: 0303-6758; 1175-8899
• DOI: 10.1080/03014220909510580

Recent conceptual shifts in ecology towards integration of humans into ecosystems requires all possible sources of ecological knowledge available. Maori traditional ecological knowledge of natural systems (TEK) can add valuable ecological data to more conventional scientific studies as the former tends to be diachronic, based on a cum-mulative system of understanding the environment founded on observations and experience, while the latter is frequently synchronic, with experiments that may explore causal effects in ecological patterns. However accessing TEK can be both difficult and time-consuming, as demonstrated by the 14-year research project Kia Mau Te Titi Mo Ake Tonu Atu (the 'Keep the TTH Forever' research project; Moller et al. 2009a). We argue that oral traditions offer a wealth of information that is frequently overlooked, in part because of a lack of knowledge of te reo Maori (the Maori language) and, further, a lack of recognition of the inextricable link between biological and cultural diversity.