Te Kupenga. A woven methodology for collecting, interpreting, and stor(y)ing Māori women’s knowledges

Abstract

This article explores the use of an intersecting methodology termed Te Kupenga as a philosophical approach to gathering, interpreting, and storing mātauranga wahine. The research aimed to understand the ways of being and doing of physically active wāhine Māori and relate them to characteristics of atua wāhine. A kupenga is a type of open weave net used for fishing or gathering food. In this research, it represents the weaving together of three approaches: Whakapapa, Mana Wahine theory, and physical activity. While each offers a unique way to view the world and your position in it, their intersections offer important shared qualities that purposefully shape the research, its philosophy, and its methods. As a type of interfacing methodology, Te Kupenga weaves together philosophies and methods—keeping what is needed and allowing what is not required to pass through the gaps in the weave.