Emotional intelligence from a Te Ao Māori perspective
Hone Thorpe, the Business School’s kaiārahi, talks to us about emotional intelligence.
“We could argue that emotions for Māori and Europeans are similar in many ways, but, you could also argue that cultural differences, beliefs, experiences and prior histories before colonisation may impact the expression and interpretation of emotions.
“For example, if European emotion can be measured using emotional intelligence this suggests that maybe emotions are located in the head. Māori emotions on the other hand are said to occur in the torso, in a place called your kare-ā-roto or the seat of your emotions. This shows two quite different ways of thinking about emotion; through your head or through your torso.
“The one big thing about Māori culture is that people are centred around the whānau or the group of extended family members. The word whānaungatanga is about those relationships that hold the whānau together. So, interdependence is strong. You will find that emotion for Māori is more about the group rather than the individual. You can see this in a kapa haka performance. Members of the group have emotions that are connected to others. There are thus, shared emotions. In contrast to Europeans whose emotions are possibly more individualistic. The emphasis is on an individual person’s emotion. European emotions are expressed more through the personal emotions of the individual. Māori emotions are expressed through the group.
“Another factor that probably has a bearing on Māori emotions is that of mana. Mana in Māori culture is vital for the individual but also for the group. If an individual does something frowned upon by the group such as an act of anger or violence then there will be a loss of mana with the group as well as with the person himself/herself. If an individual’s mana grows then so too does the mana of the group. Thus, an individual is very aware of his/her personal power and prestige. He/she will always act in ways that serve to protect that personal mana because that is connected to group mana. Once again watch a kapa haka performance, the mana of the group can be seen in the mana of the individual.
“In Māori society it is our old people who hold our mātauranga Māori or Māori knowledge and pass it on to the young ones. To lose them is to lose valuable information and to stop knowledge transmission as well as lose a loved one. This is an example of Māori individuals acting collectively for collective well-being. During the pandemic we saw Māori leaders set up road blocks to stop the spread of Covid-19. Why did they do this? Because they were concerned that their old people would be compromised first. Because the old people are such an important part of Māori society through their whānau they had to be protected at all costs. The mana of the group is protected through the actions of individuals who are connected to the whānau. Māori groups remembered the mate and mamae (deaths and hurt) caused by earlier pandemics such as the influenza pandemic of the early 1900s. This is what motivated them to take collective action.
“When you think about the location of emotions in the two cultures, the head contains just one organ, the brain. The torso contains many organs. Maybe European emotions are expressed through the brain whereas Māori emotions are expressed through the many organs of the body, meaning that Māori emotions are dependent on many parts similar to the group being made up of many individuals.
“For a leader of a Māori team, they need to think about how to look after the whole group. They need to be aware of the collective emotion of the group and the preservation of mana; both individual and collective. They need to think about the two different cultural ways for expressing emotions before deciding on what actions and plans to put in place.”
Hone Thorpe (Te Āti Awa) is the University of Auckland’s Business School’s Kaiārahi. He helps the Business School develop strategy to bring a Te Ao Māori view into the foreground so that Māori can succeed as Māori at the Business School.
13 February 2023
