Takatāpui: Reclaiming the Whakapapa of Gender Diversity in Aotearoa New Zealand
As Aotearoa New Zealand approaches Waitangi Day, the national consciousness turns once again to the foundational partnership between Tangata Whenua (people of the land) and the Crown. This annual commemoration, held on the 6th of February, is often viewed through the lens of land rights, political sovereignty, and resource management. However, a frequently overlooked dimension of Te Tiriti o Waitangi (The Treaty of Waitangi) is the protection of taonga (treasures), the intangible heritage that defines the Māori worldview. Among these treasures is the inherent understanding of gender fluidity and diverse sexualities that existed in pre-colonial society.
For the Pākehā (New Zealanders of British descent) ally and the wider Tauiwi (non-Māori) community, the days before the national Waitangi holiday offer a critical moment for reflection. It is an opportunity to move beyond performative acknowledgements and engage with the deeper, often uncomfortable, truths of our shared history. The imposition of a rigid gender binary was not merely a cultural misunderstanding; it was a deliberate mechanism of colonisation designed to fracture the collective strength of the whānau (family unit) and alienate Māori from their tikanga (customs).
This post serves as a resource for understanding the gender diversity within Te Ao Māori (the Māori world). It is written from the perspective of a Pākehā ally committed to decolonisation, acknowledging that while we cannot speak for Māori, we have a duty to stand alongside Māori and amplify the scholarship and oral histories that have survived centuries of suppression. By centring the narratives of Takatāpui, Whakawāhine, and Tangata Ira Tāne, Enby Meaning™ Media aims to support revitalisation efforts, challenge the heteronormative status quo, and celebrate the resilience of Indigenous identity.
Following the media attention of many other countries in the world (looking at you, Britain and America), New Zealand has seen recent attempts at suppressing gender fluidity and identity within New Zealand society. Read “NZ First’s Gender Definition Bill: What It Means for Trans Rights in Aotearoa New Zealand” for more information.
Ngā Ingoa: The Linguistic Landscape of Identity
Language is the DNA of a culture; it encodes the values, social structures, and philosophical understandings of the people who speak it. When we examine Te Reo Māori (the Māori language), we find a linguistic landscape that is fundamentally non-binary and inclusive. This stands in stark contrast to the highly gendered structure of English, where "he" and "she" enforce a division from the moment of birth.
The Gender-Neutral Foundation
In Te Reo Māori, personal pronouns are gender-neutral. The pronoun "ia" refers to a person regardless of gender. Similarly, the possessive pronouns tana and tona do not distinguish between "his" and "her." This linguistic feature is significant because it suggests that in pre-colonial Māori society, gender was not the primary identifier or the defining characteristic of an individual's social standing. One was defined by their whakapapa (genealogy), their mana (authority/prestige), and their contribution to the collective, rather than their biological sex.
This neutrality allowed for a fluidity in social roles that confused early European observers. It created a space where the wairua (spirit) could take precedence over the physical form. The absence of gendered pronouns serves as a constant, subconscious affirmation that humanity is not divided into opposing male and female categories, but rather exists on a continuum of being.
Takatāpui: Excavating the "Intimate Companion"
The term Takatāpui is central to the modern movement for Māori gender diversity. Its history is a microcosm of the colonial experience: existence, erasure, and reclamation.
The Historical Definition: The word Takatāpui is not new. It appears in the earliest comprehensive dictionaries of the Māori language, including that compiled by the missionary Herbert Williams in 1832. In this text, Takatāpui is defined as "an intimate companion of the same sex". In context, this term denoted a relationship characterised by profound emotional, spiritual, and, often, physical intimacy. It was used in waiata (songs) and oral histories to describe inseparable partners. Importantly, the term did not carry the stigma that Western society attached to homosexuality; it was a recognised and named relationship dynamic within the hapū (sub-tribe).
The Colonial Silence: As the influence of Victorian morality and Christianity spread throughout the 19th century, the term fell into disuse. The missionaries and, later, the colonial government enforced a strict heteronormative code. Relationships that did not fit the biblical model of man and wife were stigmatised or criminalised. Takatāpui remained in the dictionary, but its lived reality was driven underground, preserved only in the private knowledge of whānau or erased from public discourse entirely.
The Renaissance: In the 1980s, a period of intense Māori political and cultural renaissance, the term was reclaimed. Many activists and scholars sought a term that could encompass one’s identity as both Māori and gay/lesbian/queer. They rejected the need to compartmentalise their identities or to rely solely on Western terms like "gay", which did not capture the cultural dimension of their experience. Today, Takatāpui is an umbrella term that embraces all Māori with diverse gender identities, sexualities, and sex characteristics. It is a political assertion of indigenous sovereignty over the body and the heart.
Beyond the Umbrella: Specific Identities
While Takatāpui serves as a unifying political identity, Te Reo Māori possesses a sophisticated vocabulary for specific experiences of gender variance. These terms demonstrate that the ancestors recognised the distinctions among biological sex, gender identity, and sexual orientation.
| Term | Literal Translation | Cultural & Contemporary Context |
|---|---|---|
| Whakawāhine | "To become like a woman" / "Creating woman" | Used by transgender women. The prefix whaka- implies an active process, a state of becoming, or an assumption of the essence. It suggests that womanhood is not just biological but a role and spirit one can assume. |
| Tangata Ira Tāne | "Person with the spirit of a man" | Used by transgender men. This term explicitly anchors gender in the ira (life principle/gene) and wairua (spirit), validating the internal experience over external anatomy. |
| Irawhiti | "Gender that changes" / "Crossing spirit" | A contemporary term for gender-fluid or non-binary individuals. Whiti means to cross over or change. It captures the dynamic nature of gender as a journey rather than a fixed destination. |
| Ira Kore | "No gender" | Used by agender people. Kore signifies the void, the potentiality, or the absence, suggesting an existence entirely outside the gender binary. |
| Taihemarua | "Two distinct sexual parts" | A traditional term for Intersex people. Unlike the Western medical model which often viewed intersex bodies as "defective," Māori terms described the physical reality without inherent judgment. |
The Pacific Context: A Regional Norm
To understand Māori gender diversity, one must view it within the broader context of Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa (the Pacific Ocean). Aotearoa is the southern point of the Polynesian triangle, and Māori share deep cultural roots with their Pacific cousins. Across the Pacific, gender diversity was the norm rather than the exception. The existence of these roles in cultures separated by thousands of miles of ocean proves that gender fluidity is an ancestral Polynesian trait, not a localised anomaly.
Fa'afafine of Sāmoa
Fa'afafine literally translates as "in the manner of a woman." Fa'afafine are assigned male at birth but embody feminine gender roles. They are a recognised third gender, often tasked with specific responsibilities within the family, such as caring for elderly parents. They are integral to the social fabric, not marginalised outsiders.
Māhū of Hawaiʻi and Tahiti
In ancient Hawaiian and Tahitian societies, Māhū were individuals who embodied both male and female spirits. They were highly respected as healers, genealogists, and hula teachers. Their gender fluidity was seen as a conduit for knowledge, granting them a perspective that binary individuals lacked.
Fakaleiti of Tonga
Similar to Fa'afafine, the Fakaleiti (or Leiti) play a crucial role in Tongan society, although they have faced significant challenges from the influence of conservative religious sects.
When we view Takatāpui alongside Fa'afafine, Māhū, and Fakaleiti, the colonial narrative that "heterosexuality is the natural order" crumbles. The "binary" was the import; fluidity was the reality. The suppression of these identities was a coordinated global project of colonisation, designed to colonise a specific European model of domesticity and control.
Ngā Pūrākau: Ancestral Precedents and Cosmological Fluidity
The Pūrākau, the ancient legends and stories of the Māori people, are not merely fairytales. They are the repositories of law, philosophy, science, and precedent. They explain the origins of the world and proper conduct within it. When we read these stories without the filter of Victorian prudery, we find ample evidence of gender fluidity and same-sex intimacy at the highest levels of the pantheon.
Rangi and Papa: Beyond the Patriarchal Interpretation
The creation narrative usually begins with Ranginui (Sky Father) and Papatūānuku (Earth Mother) locked in an eternal embrace, with their children trapped in the darkness between them. While this is often presented as a heterosexual union, deeper analysis reveals complexity.
Variations in Tradition: Iwi (tribe) and hapū (sub-tribe) variations of the creation story exist. In some southern traditions, the roles of the gods are fluid. Historical accounts recorded by ethnographers such as Edward Shortland describe various parentage and relationships, suggesting that the strict "Sky Father / Earth Mother" binary was solidified and standardised by European ethnographers seeking a single, coherent "Māori Bible".
The Fluidity of Wairua: All things descend from the Atua (gods). Therefore, every human being contains the essence of both Rangi and Papa. The physical sex of the body does not bind the wairua (spirit). This cosmological fact provides the spiritual justification for Whakawāhine and Tangata Ira Tāne. If the spirit is fluid and descends from a divine source that encompasses all possibilities, then the body can be altered or presented to match that spirit.
Tūtānekai and Tiki: The Love That Was Silenced
One of the most celebrated love stories in Aotearoa is the legend of Hinemoa and Tūtānekai. It is the Romeo and Juliet of the Māori world, the high-born Hinemoa swimming across Lake Rotorua to be with the lower-born Tūtānekai, guided by the sound of his flute. This story is often used to uphold the ideal of heterosexual romance.
However, older oral traditions and archival texts reveal a third figure in this story who has been systematically erased: Tiki.
The Hoa Takatāpui: In the original narratives, Tūtānekai had a male companion named Tiki. Their relationship was described as Takatāpui—an intimate companion. They were inseparable, and Tūtānekai’s love for Tiki was profound. The flute music that guided Hinemoa was often played by Tūtānekai and Tiki together, or by Tiki on Tūtānekai's behalf.
The Colonial Edit: When Sir George Grey and other colonial writers recorded these stories, they sanitised the relationship between Tūtānekai and Tiki. Tiki was relegated to a "friend" or a servant, and the homoerotic intensity of their bond was excised to make the story palatable to Victorian audiences.
The Significance: The presence of a Takatāpui relationship in the life of a celebrated ancestor like Tūtānekai is monumental. It proves that same-sex intimacy was not hidden; it was part of the lives of heroes and chiefs. It refutes the "conservative Māori argument" that homosexuality is a modern corruption.
Hine-nui-te-pō: The Trans-Formation of the Goddess
Perhaps the most powerful figure for understanding female agency and the rejection of patriarchal control is Hine-nui-te-pō, the Goddess of Night and Death. Her story is a narrative of transition and power.
Hinetītama: She began her existence as Hinetītama (The Dawn Maid), the daughter of Tāne Mahuta (God of Forests) and Hine-ahu-one (the Earth-formed woman). Tāne took his own daughter as his wife, but he did not reveal his identity to her.
The Revelation and Transition: When Hinetītama asked, "Who is my father?", and the truth was revealed—that her husband was her father—she was overcome with shame and trauma. But she did not submit. Instead, she took radical action. She fled to Rarohenga (the Underworld). In this descent, she transformed herself. She shed her identity as the Dawn Maid and became Hine-nui-te-pō, the Great Woman of the Night.
The Defiance of Tāne: Tāne followed her, begging her to return. She stopped him at the gates and issued a command: "Go back to the world of light and raise our children. I will stay here to gather them in." She asserted her autonomy, establishing a realm in which she was supreme, independent of the male deity who had deceived her.
Crushing the Patriarchal Ego: The demi-god Māui, a figure of supreme masculine confidence and trickery, sought to conquer death by entering Hine-nui-te-pō's body (via her vagina) while she slept and exiting through her mouth. This was an attempt to reverse the birth process and usurp female power. Hine-nui-te-pō awoke and crushed him to death with the obsidian teeth of her vagina (puapua).
Relevance to Takatāpui: Hine-nui-te-pō is a guardian for the marginalised. She represents the power to transition—to change one's state of being for survival and mana. She protects the threshold between worlds. For Whakawāhine and others who transition, she is an ancestor who modelled the courage to define oneself in defiance of the wishes of powerful men.
Gender Fluidity in the Pantheon
The examples continue throughout the whakapapa of the Atua:
Tangaroa: In some traditions, Tangaroa (the God of the Sea) has fluid relationships and gender characteristics that diverge from the standard "male god" trope.
Mahuika: The deity of fire, Mahuika, is female in Māori tradition (providing fire to her grandson Māui), whereas in other Polynesian traditions, the fire deity can be male. This variation underscores the lack of a rigid, universal gender binary across the Pacific.
These stories were the educational curriculum of pre-colonial Māori. Children grew up hearing about men who loved men, women who transformed themselves to gain power, and fluid deities. This upbringing created a psychological landscape where diversity was the norm. The colonial project required the rewriting of these stories to enforce a new, narrower reality.
Te Pō: The Mechanisms of Colonial Erasure (1840–1980)
The suppression of Māori gender diversity was not an accidental byproduct of colonisation; it was a structural necessity for the colonial project. To acquire the land, the colonisers had to dismantle the hapū (sub-tribe) and the whānau (extended family). To dismantle the whānau, they had to enforce the nuclear family model: one man, one woman, and their children, living on an individual plot of land.
The Missionary Influence: Sin and Shame
The arrival of missionaries in the early 19th century brought a new concept: Sin.
The William Yate Scandal: The Reverend William Yate, a prominent missionary, was dismissed in 1836 following allegations of sexual relationships with young Māori men. While the Church Missionary Society was horrified, contemporary accounts suggest that the Māori communities involved did not initially share this revulsion. The scandal, however, hardened the Church's resolve to stamp out "unnatural" behaviours. Missionaries began to equate indigenous sexuality, which was open and not shame-based, with savagery.
The Body as Shameful: Traditional Māori society celebrated the body and genitalia as sources of mana and fertility. Carvings often featured prominent genitalia. Missionaries ordered these carvings mutilated or hidden. They introduced clothing laws and taught that the naked body was shameful. This physical covering mirrored the psychological covering of diverse sexualities.
Legislative Violence: The Crown’s Tools
The British Crown utilised the law to enforce gender binaries and heteronormativity.
The Marriage Ordinance: Colonial law only recognised marriage between a man and a woman. This delegitimised the complex web of relationships that existed in Māori society, where polygamy and likely same-sex partnerships had functioned as economic and social alliances.
Anti-Sodomy Laws: The adoption of British criminal codes criminalised sexual acts between men. This placed a legal target on Takatāpui men, driving their relationships into the shadows. The fear of imprisonment or "hard labour" silenced a generation.
The Native Schools Act (1867) was perhaps the most damaging instrument. The Act required instruction in English, erasing Māori connection to Te Reo, and enforced strict British gender roles.
Gendered Curriculum: Girls were taught domestic skills (cooking, cleaning, sewing) to prepare them to be "good wives" for Māori men or to serve as servants for Pākehā. Boys were taught manual labour.
Suppression of Te Reo: Children were physically punished for speaking Māori. Since the language carried the gender-neutral conceptual framework, its suppression effectively severed the link to the gender diverse worldview.
The Sexual Violence of War
During the New Zealand Wars of the 1860s, sexual violence was used as a weapon of war. Indigenous women were raped by colonial soldiers, an act that served to humiliate the hapū and assert dominance. This violence was gendered; it enforced the vulnerability of women and the dominance of the colonial male. It fundamentally altered the status of Mana Wāhine, reducing women from leaders and warriors to objects of conquest.
The Sanitisation of Knowledge
By the early 20th century, the "Official History" of Māori was being written by Pākehā ethnographers like Elsdon Best and Percy Smith. They acted as gatekeepers, deciding what was "authentic" Māori culture.
Editing the Archives: As noted in the Tūtānekai story, these writers removed references to homosexuality or gender fluidity, deeming them "corruptions," or omitted them to protect Victorian sensibilities.
Internalised Colonisation: Over generations, Māori internalised these colonial values. By the mid-20th century, many Māori elders, educated in Native Schools and Church institutions, came to believe that homosexuality was indeed a "Pākehā disease" or a sign of moral decay. The memory of Takatāpui was locked away, creating a disconnection between modern Māori and their heritage.
Te Ao Mārama: The Renaissance and Reclamation (1980s–Present)
The darkness of colonisation could not extinguish the flame of identity; it only hid it. The last forty years have witnessed a powerful renaissance, a "coming out" of the culture itself.
The 1980s: Reclaiming the Word
The 1980s were a pivotal decade. The Māori political renaissance (the Waitangi Tribunal's expansion and the Kōhanga Reo movement) coincided with the global Gay Liberation movement.
The Rediscovery: Activists and scholars such as Ngahuia Te Awekotuku and, later, Elizabeth Kerekere began scouring the archives. They found the word Takatāpui in the old texts. They dusted it off and breathed new life into it.
A Political Identity: Takatāpui became more than a descriptor; it became a shield. It allowed Māori LGBTQI+ people to say, "I belong here. My sexuality is not a betrayal of my culture; it is an expression of it." It refuted the need to choose between being Māori and being gay.
The AIDS Crisis: The arrival of HIV/AIDS necessitated culturally specific health promotion. The New Zealand AIDS Foundation (now Burnett Foundation) recognised that Western models of "gay identity" didn't fit many Māori men. They funded the Takatāpui project, institutionalising the term and providing resources for community building.
Wai 262: The Claim for Intellectual Property
The Wai 262 claim, often referred to as the "Flora and Fauna" claim, was the first whole-of-government inquiry. Released in 2011 as Ko Aotearoa Tēnei, the report established that Māori culture, including language and social constructs, is a taonga that the Crown has a duty to protect. This laid the legal groundwork for arguing that the state must support Takatāpui identity as part of its Treaty obligations.
Academic and Cultural Leadership
The work of Dr Elizabeth Kerekere has been instrumental. Her PhD thesis, Part of the Whānau: The Emergence of Takatāpui Identity, provided the first comprehensive academic framework for this identity. She created the Whāriki Takatāpui, a model of well-being that integrates sexuality, culture, and whānau. This academic rigour provided the ammunition needed to challenge government policy and health funding models.
The Waitangi Tribunal: Wai 2766 (Mana Wāhine Inquiry)
Currently, the most significant battlefield for gender justice is the Mana Wāhine Kaupapa Inquiry (Wai 2766). This ongoing inquiry examines the prejudice to wāhine Māori (Māori women) arising from Crown breaches of the Treaty. Crucially, the inquiry has explicitly included the voices and experiences of Takatāpui and Whakawāhine.
The Evidence of Erasure
Witnesses have presented compelling evidence that the degradation of women and the erasure of gender diversity are two sides of the same colonial coin.
Dr Leonie Pihama: In her evidence, Dr Pihama argued that the colonisers' definition of "appropriate sexual behavior" was part of a broader "gender reorganisation" aimed at destroying Māori society. She explicitly linked the suppression of Takatāpui to the imposition of "civilised" values.
Rukuwai Allen: Giving evidence at Terenga Parāoa marae, Rukuwai Allen spoke of the "Pākehā lens" that places men above women, a hierarchy that did not exist in the same way before colonisation. She emphasised that genitals did not determine mana.
Restoring the Balance: The inquiry posits that pre-colonial society was grounded in a balance between Tāne (male) and Wāhine (female) energies, both essential to the well-being of the whole. The colonial patriarchy disrupted this balance. Restoring Mana Wāhine, therefore, requires restoring the acceptance of gender variance, as Whakawāhine embody the fluidity of that balance.
The Mana Wāhine inquiry is historic because it legally frames transphobia and homophobia as Treaty breaches. If the Tribunal finds in favour of the claimants, it could compel the Crown to actively fund revitalisation initiatives for Takatāpui as a form of reparations.
| Inquiry / Claim | Focus | Relevance to Gender Diversity |
|---|---|---|
| Wai 262 (Ko Aotearoa Tēnei) | Flora, Fauna, Intellectual Property | Established Māori culture (including identity) as a taonga protected by the Treaty. Laid legal groundwork for state support of Takatāpui. |
| Wai 2766 (Mana Wāhine) | Prejudice against Māori Women | Investigates how colonization imposed patriarchy and erased the mana of women and gender-diverse people. Frames transphobia as a Treaty breach. |
| Wai 2700 | The overarching Mana Wāhine Inquiry | The parent inquiry for claims regarding the status and well-being of wāhine and irawhiti. |
Contemporary Culture and Arts (2025–2026)
As we approach Waitangi Day 2026, Takatāpui culture is experiencing a vibrant explosion in the arts. This sector often leads the way, creating visions of the future that politics has yet to catch up to.
FAFSWAG: World-Building in the Digital Void
The arts collective FAFSWAG has redefined what it means to be Indigenous and Queer in Aotearoa. Born out of the Vogue ballroom scene in South Auckland, they utilise digital media, photography, and performance to reclaim space.
FAFSWAG artists are described as "realm builders." They are not just documenting reality; they are creating new digital realities in which Tākatāpui are the norm, not the exception. They merge traditional Polynesian aesthetics with cyberpunk and high-fashion imagery, asserting that Indigenous identity is not stuck in the past; it is the future.
Kapa Haka: Breaking the Lines
The traditional performing arts, Kapa Haka, became highly gendered under colonial rule, with men at the front performing the “aggressive” haka and women at the back performing the “graceful” poi.
Groups like Angitū Kapa Haka have challenged this. In recent competitions, they have featured Takatāpui performers in roles that align with their gender identity. Men have performed with poi, and women have taken lead roles in haka. This is not a "modernisation" but a return to older traditions in which wāhine like Hine-nui-te-pō were fierce and formidable.
Literature and Resources
The availability of resources for rangatahi (youth) has exploded.
"Growing Up Takatāpui": This resource series shares whānau stories to help parents understand and accept their gender-diverse children.
Online Hubs: Websites such as Takatāpui.nz and RainbowYOUTH provide an immediate sense of community for isolated youth in rural areas.
Allyship and The Future: A Call to Action
For the Pākehā ally, the challenge is to move from "paralysis" to "participation." The "Pākehā paralysis" refers to the fear of engaging with Māori topics, for fear of making a mistake or being labelled racist. This silence, however, maintains the status quo.
Decentring Whiteness
True allyship involves decentring the Pākehā experience.
Reframing History: Do not frame LGBTQI+ rights solely through the lens of Stonewall or Western pride. Acknowledge that Māori had these rights before 1840.
The Treaty Obligation: Under the Treaty, Pākehā have a role to play. We are Tangata Tiriti (People of the Treaty). Our presence here is contingent on upholding the partnership. Fighting for the rights of Takatāpui is a way to honour that partnership.
Practical Steps for Celebrating Waitangi Day
Digital Activism: Use your platforms to share Takatāpui stories. The "algorithm" is biased toward Western content; flood it with Indigenous keywords. Use the full terms Whakawāhine and Takatāpui to help search engines index them.
Support the Arts: Attend FAFSWAG exhibitions. Buy literature by Māori queer authors. Funding is a form of allyship.
Challenge "Anti-Woke" Rhetoric: When you hear claims that gender diversity is a "modern madness," use the facts in this report. Cite William Williams' 1832 dictionary. Cite the story of Tūtānekai and Tiki. Knowledge is the weapon against erasure.
Create Safe Spaces: In your workplaces and communities, ensure that policies explicitly protect gender identity. Acknowledge that for a Māori person, a gender transition is often also a cultural reclamation.
Waitangi Day is more than a holiday; it is a checkpoint. It asks: How far have we come in fulfilling the promises of 1840? The revitalisation of Takatāpui identity is a beacon of hope. It reminds us that culture is resilient, that the ancestors are patient, and that the binary world imposed by colonisation was only ever a temporary eclipse. The sun is rising again, and in its light, we see the full, diverse spectrum of humanity that Aotearoa was always meant to hold.
Ka mua, ka muri — We walk backwards into the future, with our eyes fixed on the lessons of the past.
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