Māori
Enable an AI agent to recognise Māori knowledge and cultural contexts, assess how well their meaning and authority are established, and determine appropriate handling with the relevant Māori people or communities.
Research draft, second pass
A second pass drafted this model: the structure a model of this thing needs, and what is known about it in the world. The line under this one says how the second half was obtained - researched against sources, or recalled without web access, in which case nothing here was read anywhere and every claim is a lead to verify. Unreviewed either way.
Researched by: Codex
Purpose and description
Enable an AI agent to recognise Māori knowledge and cultural contexts, assess how well their meaning and authority are established, and determine appropriate handling with the relevant Māori people or communities.
It can be Disambiguate a Māori-labelled resource and connect it to the appropriate neighbouring model.; Present Māori wording alongside attributed translations and unresolved interpretation choices.; Retrieve or summarise knowledge within its documented community, audience and use conditions.; Route a proposed publication, adaptation or AI use to the identified authority or review process.; Preserve differing accounts and apply attributed corrections without flattening them into a single Māori position..
Distinguishing features
A record identifies what Māori denotes in context; a language label alone does not establish collective identity or authority over knowledge.
Attribution distinguishes a named Māori source or community from a generic New Zealand, Indigenous or Polynesian association.
An interpretation identifies its applicable community and setting rather than presenting one account as the view of all Māori.
An English translation remains distinguishable from the Māori wording and the interpretation supplied by an identified speaker or source.
Availability to read or download is distinguished from permission to reproduce, translate, commercialise or use material for AI training.
Scope
+ Disambiguation of Māori as a reference to people, language, cultural identity or knowledge in a particular record.
+ Connections between knowledge or expression and its identified whānau, hapū, iwi or other relevant Māori context.
+ Te reo Māori names, wording, translations and locally identified language variation.
+ Context-specific tikanga, interpretation and conditions governing access, use and transmission.
+ Evidence of authority, consent, contested interpretation and community-described continuity.
- Individual identity, ancestry verification and membership adjudication.
- Full organisational models of iwi, hapū, trusts or representative bodies.
- A comprehensive grammar, dictionary or language-learning model for te reo Māori.
- Physical conservation and ownership records for taonga, buildings or landscapes.
- Determination of legal rights, Treaty claims or statutory obligations.
Characteristics
- Referent of Māori
- people or collective identity; te reo Māori; mātauranga Māori; cultural expression; multiple; unresolved Prevents the agent from applying language, identity or knowledge rules to the wrong referent.
- Attributed collective context
- Links to explicitly identified whānau, hapū, iwi or other relevant communities, with attribution evidence and disclosure limits. Locates an account without inferring affiliation or treating Māori as a single authority.
- Language and interpretation context
- Recorded Māori wording; source-identified variety; translation language; translator or interpreter; unresolved meaning. Makes translation choices and differences in usage visible.
- Validation state
- unreviewed; source-attributed; reviewed for a specified context; contested; superseded; unknown Separates the existence of an account from acceptance by people qualified to review that account.
- Authority for a proposed use
- Identified decision-maker or process linked to a specific resource, action, audience and period; unresolved where not established. Prevents expertise, authorship or possession from being treated automatically as permission to authorise every use.
- Use permission state
- permitted for specified use; conditional; pending; declined; withdrawn; unknown Supports an action decision without inventing universal Māori access rules.
- Community-described continuity
- Current practice, transmission, renewal or interruption as described by identified sources, with date and scope; unknown. Allows assessment of living knowledge without inferring its condition from online visibility.
Where this came from
wikidata · CC0 1.0
Drafted structure
Bundle to layer to finding to question, as the second pass will find it: 5 bundles · 10 layers · 10 findings · 22 questions.
Māori referent and collective context Establishes what the label Māori means in the particular case and whose context is represented.
The undefined registry label could otherwise conflate people, language and knowledge.
Referent boundary
Separates the meanings carried by Māori in a record.
Intended Māori referent
Record the evidenced meaning of Māori here and retain ambiguity where the source does not resolve it.
- Does Māori here denote people, te reo Māori, mātauranga Māori, a cultural expression or several of these? definition
- Which aspects require links to person, language or organisation models rather than being owned by this entry? boundary
Collective attribution
Locates an account in its explicitly identified Māori collective context.
Scope of a collective account
Record whose account is being represented and the limits of that attribution.
- Which whānau, hapū, iwi or other Māori context does the source explicitly identify? provenance
- What supports the account's applicability beyond its named speakers, community or setting? boundary
Te reo Māori and meaning Preserves Māori wording and the context needed to interpret it.
Recognition and action can fail when names, language variation or translation choices are silently normalised.
Wording and local usage
Captures the form actually supplied and any source-identified language context.
Attested Māori form
Retain names, spelling, macrons and alternative forms with their attribution rather than imposing an unexplained correction.
- What Māori wording or name does the source use, including macrons and any stated alternative spelling? provenance
- Is a difference identified as local usage, historical spelling, transcription error or an unresolved variation? definition
Translation and interpretation
Separates source language from explanatory interpretation.
Attributed interpretation
Record who supplied a translation or explanation and where its meaning remains limited or disputed.
- Who supplied or reviewed this translation, and for which Māori usage and audience? provenance
- Which meanings or relationships would be lost if the agent substituted only an English gloss? boundary
Mātauranga provenance and relationships Locates knowledge in its attributed transmission and relevant relationships.
An isolated statement may omit the relationships and conditions needed to understand what it means or how it may be used.
Knowledge transmission
Records how an account reached its present form without assuming that publication establishes authority.
Account and transmission history
Distinguish the knowledge holder, speaker, recorder, translator and publisher where known and appropriate to disclose.
- Through which identified speakers, records, translations or publications did this account reach the agent? provenance
- Which changes, omissions or uncertainties in that transmission affect interpretation? boundary
Whakapapa and place context
Retains relevant relationships to people and place when supplied and authorised for this purpose.
Context-bearing relationships
Record the minimum disclosed whakapapa or place relationships needed to interpret an account without reconstructing private genealogies.
- Which relationships to whakapapa, whenua, waters or named places does the source identify as necessary to understand this account? definition
- Which of those relationships may be recorded or shown to the intended audience, and under whose stated conditions? action
Tikanga, authority and use Connects a proposed action with applicable tikanga and an evidenced decision process.
The agent needs context-specific grounds for acting; Māori attribution alone does not establish either permission or prohibition.
Applicable tikanga
Identifies guidance relevant to this material, setting and audience.
Context-specific handling
Record attributed handling requirements, including any locally specified significance of tapu or noa, without assigning those categories independently.
- What tikanga or handling conditions have relevant sources specified for this material and setting? provenance
- How do those conditions affect quotation, naming, display, translation or circulation to this audience? action
Decision authority
Establishes who can decide about the proposed use and what their decision covers.
Permission for a specific action
Record the basis and limits of authority and consent for each materially different use.
- Who is identified as able to authorise this use, and what evidence establishes that role for this particular material? provenance
- Does the decision cover the proposed publication, adaptation, commercial use or AI training, including its audience and duration? action
- What must the agent do if authority is disputed, permission is withdrawn or the proposed use changes? action
Living context and review Tracks current applicability, differing accounts and community-defined evidence of continuity.
A model must avoid freezing Māori knowledge in a historical account or treating visibility as a measure of vitality.
Current and differing accounts
Keeps review status and differences tied to their sources and scope.
Situated review state
Record whether an account is current and reviewed for its stated context while preserving attributed alternatives.
- Who has reviewed this account, when, and for which community, purpose or setting? provenance
- Do differing accounts reflect distinct local contexts, historical change, translation choices or an unresolved disagreement? boundary
Continuity and transmission evidence
Assesses continuity through indicators chosen or endorsed for the relevant context.
Community-defined continuity
Record scoped evidence of use and transmission without equating restricted access or scarce digital records with loss.
- Which indicators do relevant Māori sources consider meaningful for the continuity of this language use, knowledge or practice? measurement
- What period, population and collection limits apply to those indicators? measurement
- What support or transmission activities have the relevant people requested or authorised the agent to assist with? action
What the second pass must settle
- Does the registry intend Māori to denote a people, te reo Māori, mātauranga Māori or an umbrella knowledge context, and does an existing world model already own that referent?
- Which Māori-authored sources and relevant reviewers should establish the initial scope and terminology without implying a single pan-Māori account?
- How should authority and review be represented when several communities have relationships to the same material and their decisions differ?
- Which whakapapa, place and transmission details are necessary for recognition, and which should remain unrecorded or accessible only under specific conditions?
- Which community-defined indicators can support a useful assessment of continuity without reducing knowledge vitality to publication counts, online presence or externally selected measures?