Tākiri mai te ata: Understanding whāngai and adoption

This book takes readers on a journey from the whakapapa-centred world of te ao Māori to the imposition of colonisation, and back again. Destroying whānau served the wider colonial goal of taking Māori land and assimilating the people who belonged to it. That destruction included outlawing the tikanga of whāngai, which helps grow strong and connected whānau, and replacing it with adoption and nuclear families. Drawing on interviews with over a hundred whāngai and Māori adoptees and their whānau and families, the book explores the impacts of these changes – on the wellbeing of individuals and whānau, on mātauranga and tikanga, on what it means to be Māori. Central to the book are the themes of disconnection, reconnection, and belonging.

Publication Details
Title: Tākiri mai te ata: Understanding whāngai and adoption
Contributors: Project Team - Ngā Ringa Rauhī: Ani Mikaere, Annabel Ahuriri Driscoll, Denise Blake, Helen Potter, Jenni Hohepa-Tupu, Jessica Hutchings, Kim McBreen, Maria Haenga-Collins, and the late Moana Jackson
Publishing details: Te Tākupu, Te Wānanga o Raukawa, Ōtaki, Aotearoa / New Zealand
Year: 2026

Physical Description
Type: Book
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-99-115329-6
No. of pages, Size (l x w x d): 380 pages; 28 cm x 15cm x 3cm
Language: English including some Te Reo Māori