Groundbreaking Mฤori โAnthropologist’s Oxford Work Re-examinedโข Nearly a Century Later
Oxford, โEngland – The legacy ofโ Makereti Papakura, a pioneering Mฤori scholarโข whose ethnographic research at Oxford University was tragically cut short in 1930, โขis experiencing a resurgence in academicโ adn public โฃinterest. Her posthumously published work,The Old-Time Mฤori,remains the firstโค ethnographic study authored by a Mฤori writer and continues to be a landmark achievementโฃ inโ anthropological literature.
Born inโ Aotearoa in 1837, Papakura embarked on studies at Oxfordโ University in 1927, โfocusing โขher research on the customs ofโข her iwi, Te Arawa, specifically from aโ woman’s outlook – a novel approach for the time. Herโ work garnered respect fromโข Oxford’s academic community,but โคher promising career โwas halted by her untimely death just weeksโ before her thesis โpresentation. Fellow anthropologist T.K.Penniman, a Rhodes Scholar, secured permission from Papakura’s whฤnau toโ publish โคher research, resulting in the 1930 release of The Old-timeโ Mฤori.
The New Zealand royal Society has formally recognized the significance of Papakura’s contribution, solidifying her place as aโฃ foundational figure in Mฤori scholarship. Recent โrenewed โattention to her work highlights the importance of Indigenous voices in academic research โฃand the enduring value of her unique perspective on Mฤori culture. Her story serves as an inspiration for contemporary Mฤori researchers and a reminderโฃ of the challengesโ facedโ by earlyโฃ Indigenous scholars navigating Western academicโค institutions.