It’s Tapu…not Taboo: Why Tapu cannot be translated
Ko te Tapu… kaua ko te Taboo: He aha e kore nei e taea te tapu te whakapākehā
Words by Brilie Monika Hoani (she/her) (Ngāpuhi/Te Rarawa, Ngāi Tūpoto/Ngāti Here)
Wherereia tahitia ai tātou katoa me te tapu, te tārai ai i ō tātou tuakiri, te aratakina ai ō tātou tūnga i te pāpori. He mana motuhake te tapu ki te ao Māori, kua tuituia i te ao tukupū. Ko tāna he whakatinana i te mana atua i tangata ai tātou, he whakatohu hoki i te mauri e here nei ki te tangata, ki te wāhi, ki te āhuatanga, ki te taputapu rānei.
Kāore e taea te tapu e te kupu ngāwari. I ngana te tangata whai ki te whakapākehā i te kupu ki te momo pēnei i te “taboo”, i te “rāhui”, i te “poropeihana” rānei. Heoti, ka whakawhāitihia tōna tikanga e ēnei whakapākehātanga, nā whai anō ka pōhēhē te Pākehā, he tiro nāna rā te arotahi Tauiwi. Ko te mea nei, e pīngore ana te tapu kei te āhua o te kaupapa, e urutau ana ki ngā tāngata, ki ngā wāhi, ki ngā tūāhuatanga hoki. E tō ana i te arorau me te whakapono — ko te arorau tōna pito mata, ko te whakapono tōna hononga ki te mana.
Hei tā te mātanga mātai tikanga, hei tā Hirini Moko Mead, ko te tapu te “mauri matawhaiaro” — koia te mauri o te mea e tautiakina nei. Me he maru mō te mana, kua piripiri te tapu, na, kua hōhonu te pānga ki te ahurea, te tuakiri, me te tikanga Māori.
Nō Te Pō rā anō tēnei, nō Ranginui rātou ko Papatūānuku, ko ā rāua tamariki. E ai ki ētahi atu, he whakapapa tōna ki a Io, te atua o te orokohanga, te paihere ai i te tapu ki te atua. Nā te titikaha ki te atua, e hāpai ana te tapu i te mana motuhaketanga o ngā tāngata, ngā wāhi, me ngā taputapu.
He pēnei tonu te tapu i te tukunga ihotanga o te whakapapa ki ngā reanga. Ko rātou nō te kāwai ariki, he whakapapa tōna ki a Ranginui rāua ko Papatūānuku, ka riro i a ia te tapu e whakakaha nei i tōna hononga ki te atua. Ko tā te tapu hoki he whakaaweawe i te pāhekoheko a te tangata — he wā ōna i karoa te hunga mana nui, he haukerekere, he mōrearea rānei nō tōna tapu.
E hia kē nei ngā whakanuitanga i te mana me te tapu. I ētahi wā, mā te kupu ā-waha, arā, mā te mea atu kua tapu tētahi tangata, tētahi taputapu rānei. I ētahi atu wā, ka rangona i te tū a te tangata, arā, ko tōna āhua me ōna whakaaweawenga hei tohu mō te whirinakitanga atu a ētahi anō. Mā te mana hoki te tapu e hura ake ai, mā te kaumātuatanga, mā te tūnga rānei i te hapu, pēnei i te ariki, te tohunga, te mātanga, te matatuhi hoki. Aini pea, kāhore i hōhonu ake i te rongonga ā-puku. Ka tomo atu ana koe ki tētahi wāhi e rērere nei te mauri i roto anō i a koe, he rongo ā-puku hoki nō tō tinana me tō pūnaha ioio e mōhio nei koe: ki konei ahau tūpato ai, ki konei whai tikanga ai āku mahi.
Arā tonu te tauaro o te tapu, ko te ‘noa’ - he rite tonu te whakamahuki ānō he “māori”, he “pātahi” he “herekore” rānei. Ko tā te noa he whakaū i te taurite, he noho hoki hei tūāpapa mō te ‘utu’ — he tikanga rautipu e ea ai hoki te rangimārie. Me he whakatauritenga, ka whakangāwarihia, ka hīkina rānei te kaha o tapu e te noa.
E kīia nei ko te tukanga e hīkina ai te tapu ko te ‘whakanoa’, he whakawhitinga ki te tūāhuatanga noa e waiwai ana ki te whakaūnga o te taurite. I ngā whānau, ngā hapū, me ngā iwi, e hirahira ana te noa i te kotahitanga ā-pāpori. Arā tonu tētahi ara māori e noa ai, ka kitea i te marae i te hākari, te kainga tahitanga e oti ai te hui. E waiwai ana tēnei ki ngā hui pēnei i te tangihanga, he noho tahi nā te hunga ora ki te hunga mate. He tapu te matenga, me te aha, e pēnā ana hoki te tūpāpaku me ngā taonga kei ōna taha. E taurite anō ai, ka tahuri te Māori ki te whakanoa, ki ngā tikanga e hīkina ai tapu, e whakaūngia ai hoki te taurite. Mā te kai pea tēnei e tutuki, mā te kai tahi, pēnei i te hākari, pēnei rānei i te kai tahi i muri i ngā whakapetonga ngoi o te rā. Mā te pure hoki pea — he tikanga whakamā ki ngā wai he rite tonu nei te kitea i ngā tomokanga o te urupā.
Ka whererei ana te tangata, kua tapu ia, kua whai mana hoki, arā, he mea riro i te tangata nō te whakapapa ā-tāngata, ā-atua hoki. Ehara i te mea kua totoka ēnei āhuatanga, kei te āhua o ngā mahi, ngā whakataunga, me ngā tūāhuatanga o te tangata te nui, te iti rānei o te tapu. I te nui haere o te mana, ka pēnā hoki te tapu, nā konā tāraia ai ngā hononga patuitanga o te ao Māori.
Ehara anake te tapu i te ture, i te rāhuitanga rānei, ehara hoki i tētahi tikanga nō te ao kōhatu anake. He mauri ora e rērere ana i ngā tāngta, i ngā wāhi, i te ao o ia rā. Ko te mārama ki tapu tērā hoki te mōhio ki te ūnga o te taurite, ki te tiakinga o te mana, ki te tāraitanga hoki o tātou e te whakapapa. He whakamaharatanga i a tātou ki ngā pānga o ia mahinga, ki ngā tikanga hoki o ia wāhi.
Aini pea koia tēnei ko te ngako hōhonu o te tapu ki a tātou: ki te mataara tā tātou hīkoi tahi me te tapu, kua tika tā tātou āta manaaki. Ka pēhea rā tō tātou ao ki te kore tātou e haere tahi me taua mataaratanga i ā tātou mahi katoa?
We are all born with personal tapu, shaping our identity and guiding our place in society. Tapu is a sacred force fundamental to Māori cosmology, woven into the universe. It embodies the sacred energy that fuels creation, signifying a force attached to a person, place, state of being, or object.
Tapu resists simple definition. The settlers tried to translate the word to things like “taboo”, “forbidden”, or “prohibition”. But such translations reduce its meaning and led European arrivals to misinterpret it through a Western lens. In reality, tapu is fluid and contextual, adapting to people, places, and situations. It draws on both reason and faith — reason seeing it as the potential for power, faith affirming its link to mana.
Anthropologist Hirini Moko Mead describes tapu as a “personal force field” that reinforces mauri — the life force of what it protects. As a safeguard of mana, tapu remains inseparable from it, deeply influencing Māori culture, identity, and customs.
Its origins trace back to Te Pō, to Ranginui and Papatūānuku and their children. Others see its roots in Io, the supreme force of creation, binding tapu to the atua (gods). Through dedication to an atua, tapu elevates the sacredness of people, places, and objects.
Just as whakapapa is passed through generations, so too is tapu. Those of ariki descent, who trace lineage directly to Ranginui and Papatūānuku, inherit heightened tapu that reinforces their divine connection. Tapu also dictates how people interact — those with immense mana were sometimes avoided, as their tapu could overwhelm or endanger others.
There are many ways mana and tapu can be recognised. Sometimes it is through word of mouth, being told directly that something or someone is tapu. Other times it is felt in a person’s presence, their āhua and influence marking them as someone others naturally lean on. Status can also reveal tapu, whether through age, as with kaumātua (elders), or rank within a hapū, such as ariki of senior descent or tōhunga, the experts and oracles. Perhaps the most profound way is by feeling. When you enter a space and the mauri courses through you, when your body and nervous system know instinctively: here I must be mindful, here what I do matters.
Often described as “ordinary”, “common”, or “free from restriction”, - ‘noa’ is tapu’s counterpart. Noa restores balance and underpins the concept of ‘utu’ -- a principle about retribution or harmony. As an equaliser, noa softens or lifts the intensity of tapu.
The process of lifting tapu is known as ‘whakanoa’, a transition into a state of noa essential for restoring harmony. Within whānau, hapū, and iwi, noa plays a vital role in social cohesion. A common way to achieve whakanoa could be observed on the marae during hākari, the ceremonial feast that ends hui. This is vital during ceremonies such as tangihanga, which involves being around the dead. Death is tapu, and so too is a person’s tūpāpaku (deceased body) and the taonga around them. To restore balance, Māori turn to whakanoa, acts that lift tapu and return harmony. This can be done through kai, shared at a hākari, or eaten after a hard day. Or through pure — a cleansing ritual with water often performed at the gates of an urupā (cemetery).
Every person receives tapu and mana at birth, inherited through whakapapa from both ancestors and atua. These attributes are not fixed, tapu rises and falls depending on one’s actions, decisions, and circumstances. As mana increases, so too does tapu, shaping relationships within Māori society.
Tapu is not simply a rule or restriction, nor a relic of the past. It is a living current that flows through people, places, and the everyday. To understand tapu is to understand how balance is held, how mana is protected, and how whakapapa continues to shape us. It reminds us that every action has weight, that every space carries meaning.
Perhaps the deepest lesson tapu offers is this: when we walk with awareness of the sacred, we are asked to act with care. What would our world look like if we carried that same mindfulness into all that we do?