Te Whare Tapa Whā & Maslow

Mason Durie's holistic wellness model (1985), Te Whare Tapa Whā, has been discussed before (here), but there is always more we can explore.  Health and government agencies in Aotearoa have used Te Whare Tapa Wha for forty years, including as a self-assessment tool for training new recruits in the Defence Forces (MAS Team, 2024). 

Te Whare Tapa Whā was created in 1982 (Durie, 1985), consisting of four pou, or pillars, for "life – te taha hinengaro (psychological health); te taha wairua (spiritual health); te taha tinana (physical health); and te taha whānau (family health)" (Careers New Zealand, 2020).

What is really interesting is that the four pou of Te Whare Tapa Whā align quite well with Maslow's Heirarchy of Needs (see the image accompanying this post (Purohit, 2024, p. 11). For example, te taha tinana (Durie, 1985) aligns with safety and psychological needs (Maslow, 1943); te taha whānau (Durie, 1985) with belonging and love needs (Maslow, 1943); te taha hinengaro (Durie, 1985) to esteem needs (Maslow, 1943), and te taha wairua (Durie, 1985) to self-actualisation (Maslow, 1943).

However, Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs (1943) has been taught in a very structured way: that until our physiological needs are met, we cannot move up the model to self-actualisation. Yet Maslow intended the five areas of his model to be rungs on a ladder not a pyramid (Bridgeman et al., 2019, more here). Our individual priorities might mean we meet some areas more than others: Maslow does not want to "give the false impression that a need must be satisfied 100 per cent before the next need emerges" (1943, p. 389). The following example shows that a person might reach "85 per cent in [their] physiological needs, 70 per cent in [their] safety needs, 50 per cent in [their] love needs, 40 per cent in [their] self-esteem needs, and 10 per cent in [their] self-actualization needs" (Maslow, 1943, p. 390). This, more accurate view of Maslow (1943), fits in better with Te Whare Tapa Whā (Durie, 1985). 

All four pou of Te Whare Tapa Whā can also be at differing stages of development (Durie, 1985). At different times of our life we will need to focus on different areas. Helping others to grow their “self-awareness is key to creating balance and harmony in all aspects of life, including career development” (Careers New Zealand, 2020), while embedding all four components over time will hopefully establish more “fulfilling and sustainable professional" working lives (Passmore, 2023). 

It is interesting to see the similarities across national divides of models, birthed within different philosophies, which can be used in similar ways to help others. 

And we have a national Taonga.

Courtnay & Sam

References:

Bridgman, T., Cummings, S., & Ballard, J. A. (2019). Who Built Maslow’s Pyramid? A History of the Creation of Management Studies’ Most Famous Symbol and Its Implications for Management Education. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 18(1), 81–98. https://doi.org/10.5465/amle.2017.0351

Careers New Zealand. (2020, October 18). Te Whare Tapa Whā. https://www.careers.govt.nz/resources/career-practice/career-theory-models/te-whare-tapa-wha/

Durie, M. H. (1985). A Maori perspective of health. Social Science & Medicine, 20(5), 483-486. https://doi.org/10.1016/0277-9536(85)90363-6

MAS Team. (2024). Well in every way - Te Whare Tapa Whā. Mas. https://www.mas.co.nz/hub/well-in-every-way-te-whare-tapa-wha/

Maslow, A. H. (1943). A theory of human motivation. Psychological Review, 50(4), 370-96. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0054346

Passmore, S. (2023, September 25). Applying Te Whare Tapa Wha to Career Wellbeing. https://www.pickapath.co.nz/post/applying-te-whare-tapa-wh%C4%81-to-career-wellbeing

Purohit, P. (2024). EPIC Transformations: Redefining Career Paths for Solo Parents in the New Era by Leveraging the Te Whare Tapa Whā Framework- a Māori Healthcare Model [Image]. In the Proceedings of the Asia Pacific Career Development Conference (APCDA). https://asiapacificcda.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/apcda_cp0001_03.pdf

 * Courtnay Fraser has kindly prepared much of the material for this post

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Te Whare Tapa Wha

Te Whare Tapa Whā is Māori holistic health model unique to Aotearoa New Zealand, arising from some mahi done by Professor Mason Durie (1985), reflecting important aspects of Māori culture, or tikanga, consisting of four pillars symbolising the four walls of the wharenui, the meeting house which shelters and sustains us, and connects us to our whenua. The four areas are: te taha tinana or physical wellness; te taha hinekaro, emotional wellness; te taha wairua, spiritual wellbeing; and te taha whānau, or family wellbeing. These can be better defined as:

1. Te Taha Tinana: This is our "capacity for physical growth and [optimal] development". "Our physical 'being' supports our essence and shelters us from the external environment". The "physical dimension [...] cannot be separated from the aspect of mind, spirit and family" (Hauora Māori, 2008)
2. Te Taha Hinekaro: This is our "capacity to communicate, to think and to feel mind and body are Inseparable". Our "thoughts, feelings and emotions are Integral components" of who we are. "This [element] is about how we see ourselves in this universe, our Interaction" with who we want to be, and "the perception that others have of us" (Hauora Māori, 2008)
3. Te Taha Whānau: This is our capacity [for belonging], to care and to share where individuals are part of wider social systems". "Whanau provides us with the strength to be who we are", to have authenticity. This forms "our ties with the past, the present and the future" (Hauora Māori, 2008)
4. Te Taha Wairua: This is our "capacity for faith and wider communication", relating to "unseen and unspoken energies". "The spiritual essence of a person Is their life force. This determines us as Individuals and as a collective, who and what we are, where we have come from and where we are going" (Hauora Māori, 2008). 

This model is also known as Haoura (total wellbeing): there are four walls to the house and each of those walls represent a balanced aspect of our lives. Remaining centred and in balance, as the structure of Whare tūpuna (an ancestral Māori house) must remain in balance, is essential. If there too much focus on one aspect the whare could not be in harmony (Careers New Zealand, 2017; O'Neill, 2009).

While Te Whare Tapa Whā can be applied to any population, it "reflects the unified perspective of the universe that is fundamental to the Māori worldview" (Rochford, 2004, p. 49). Further, although it is a healthcare model, it is used as a career model by considering each of the four concepts of tinana, hinekaro, whānau, and wairua when making career decisions (Rochford, 2004).

When making decisions about our own future, or the future of those around us, considering physical, emotional, spiritual, and whānau wellbeing is likely to ensure that the choices we make are balanced. We are likely to make better, more even decisions.

And we are less likely to regret them..

Sam

References:

Careers New Zealand. (2017, May 01). Te whare tapa whā. https://www.careers.govt.nz/assets/pages/docs/Final-career-theory-model-te-whare-tapa-wha-20170501.pdf

Durie, M. H. (1985). A Māori perspective of health. Social Science & Medicine, 20(5), 483-486. https://doi.org/10.1016/0277-9536(85)90363-6

Hauora Māori. (2008). Te Whare Tapa Whā: Maori Health Model. Ministry of Health. http://www.hauora.co.nz/assets/files/Maori/maori_health_model_tewhare.pdf

Health Navigator. (2022). Te whare tapa whā and wellbeing [image]. http://www.healthnavigator.org.nz/healthy-living/t/te-whare-tapa-wh%C4%81-and-wellbeing/

O’Neill, H. (2009). Māori Models of Mental Wellness. Te Kaharoa, 2, 96-115. https://openrepository.aut.ac.nz/bitstream/handle/10292/3325/47-134-1-PB%5B2%5D.pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y

Rochford, T. (2004). Whare Tapa Whā: A Māori model of a unified theory of health. Journal of Primary Prevention, 25(1), 41-57. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:JOPP.0000039938.39574.9e

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