The Spirit of Manaaki - by Stephanie Mines (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Maori elder Maata Wharehoka's teachings on birth, death, climate, and healing

- Reveals how Maata integrated her own experiences of trauma and colonialism with traditional Māori wisdom to develop modern teachings

- Shares Māori practices around birth, death, and healing, and Maata's ritual of Kahu Whakatere to embrace bereavement, transition, and loss

- Tells the story of Parihaka, the birthplace of nonviolent protest, and how its teachings speak to humanity today

Entering the Māori worldview is like stepping into a verdant landscape where humans and plants, animals, the land, rain, and mountains are united. This may sound like a step into a distant past, but it is the model of living that matriarch Maata Wharehoka has been sustaining her entire life in Aotearoa, New Zealand.

The Māori word manaaki means to protect, to show respect, and to take care. This is the essence of Maata Wharehoka's wisdom. Transmitting Maata's wisdom to the world is the task Stephanie Mines set for herself as she shares in this book Maata's pioneering efforts in healthcare, parenting, and social justice as well as her interpretations of traditional Māori teachings. Stephanie reveals how Maata used her experiences of trauma and colonialism, along with generational Indigenous wisdom, to develop teachings for our times. Readers will learn Maata's Māori practices around healing, death and dying, and relationship to elders as well as her views on the sanctity of birthing, parenting, kuiatanga (the way of the kuia, or women elders), inclusive healthcare, and the Earth. Maata's practice of Kahu Whakatere--a ritual to embrace bereavement, transition, and loss--shows how death can be a peacemaker and unifier. And lastly Stephanie lets us see and understand the Māori view of the climate crisis and how to address it with nature-informed consciousness.

With reflective exercises that share the hard-won wisdom of an elder, this book allows Maata's spirit of manaaki--protection, respect, and care--to reach beyond Aotearoa to the world.

Review Quotes

"The Spirit of Manaaki contains timeless Maori wisdom that reminds us of universal truths on a profound cellular level. These truths provide the guidance we need to mend what has been broken and move forward together as one human family, creating peace on Earth."-- "Sierra Sugrue, N.D."

"The Spirit of Manaaki is a lyrical catalogue of the impact of a Maori woman rooted in self-determination and dedication to her people. As a Pakeha (settler) woman in Aotearoa (New Zealand) who aspires to become a regenerative health leader, I find the stories and wisdom in this book to be invaluable teachings on my path. I am thrilled to have this book for myself, and appreciate that, through it, Maata's legacy will continue to positively affect the world, reaching everwidening circles for the benefit of all life."-- "Chloe Waretini, trauma therapist, Aotearoa"

"The Spirit of Manaaki is a profound revelation, an awakening that nurtures hope for real, positive change in your life, the world, and our planet."-- "Antonella Sansone, Ph.D., creator of the Prenatal Mindfulness Relationship-Based program"

"The Spirit of Manaaki is a rare and welcome creation of integrative storytelling. Stephanie Mines skillfully, humbly, and lovingly bridges our shattered, dominant worldview with the relationally aware and intact Indigenous worldview of the Maori, while centering Maata's guidance for cultivating our own capacities for stewarding life, finding belonging, and forgiving the unforgivable as a path to love of self and others. This journey into the Maori world may sound like 'a step into a distant, or even a fantasy, past, but it is actually a view of the future.'"-- "Lisa Reagan, founder of Kindred World and editor of Kindred Magazine"

"Born homesick, I am the child of many cultures, displaced and yearning to be rooted in my own ancestral homeland. . . . I felt the hands of Maata were weaving along with my heart and hands a story of redemption, of forgiving, for all the generations of my people who lost their authentic customs and way of life. . . . Thank you, Maata; thank you, Stephanie; thank you, all our ancestors; and all our future generations to come--our love is the revolution of peace on Earth."-- "Ibu Robin Lim, founder of Bumi Sehat and 2011 CNN Hero of the Year"

"If we are to survive these challenging times, we must read The Spirit of Manaaki and imbibe the worldview of the elder wisdom of Maata Wharehoka that we desperately need."-- "Cherionna Menzam-Sills, Ph.D., author of The Prenatal Shadow"

"Stephanie Mines conveys the story of Maata Wharehoka with reverence and responsibility, offering a bridge between generations, cultures, and worlds in service to a future rooted in ancestral truth. This book is a sacred act of remembrance that transcends the page."-- "Kristy King, M.D., Regenerative and Environmental Medicine, and women's health advocate"

"The courage and inspiration of the Maori people is unending. This book and its author inspire and remind us of our spiritual core and our mandate to do the righteous work."-- "Winona LaDuke, activist and author of To Be a Water Protector, Last Standing Woman, and The Winona L"

"This book is a reverent offering to Maata Wharehoka and the living legacy of Parihaka--a place where ancestral memory, nonviolent resistance, and cultural sovereignty are tended through daily practice. Through story, ritual, and the weaving of feminine and landbased wisdom, it reveals a vision of leadership rooted not in control, but in sacred reciprocity and collective care."-- "Allie Davis, Ph.D., maternal ecotherapist and creator of the Mother Tree Method"

About the Author

Stephanie Mines, Ph.D., earned her doctorate in neuropsychology at the Union Institute. She is the author of six books, including The Secret of Resilience, that reflect more than three decades of research as a neuro-scientist, embryologist, and climate activist. She is the founder of The TARA Approach, a nonprofit dedicated to providing sustainable health options to individuals and communities, and the founder of Climate Change and Consciousness, a global network to accelerate regenerative responses to the climate crisis.