Māori economies have unique foundations, which differ fundamentally from Eurocentric economies, making it difficult to identify appropriate epistemological and methodological approaches to understanding them. Critical Māori economies scholars emphasise the importance of whakapapa-based approaches to understanding Māori economies. In this article, whakapapa is conceptualised as a way of both knowing (epistemology) and coming to know (methodology) Māori economies. It introduces a whakapapa-based episto-methodological framework based on four key tenets—dimensionality, relationality, obligations, and multi-temporality—to understand Māori economies from a te ao Māori perspective.

Ko te tino kaupapa o te tuhinga nei hei whakaatu i ngā rautaki a te Maori mō ngā rākau taketake e kainga ana e te ngāngara. Kua whakaputaina mai ngā rautaki e rima nei; pūrākau, rāhui, karakia, tohu, me te mahitahi. I ahu mai ngā rautaki katoa i te mātauranga Māori. Ahakoa, he rerekē ētahi o ngā āhuatanga mō ia rautaki, kotahi noa te whakaakoranga ka puta i ngā rautaki katoa—ko te hononga o ngā mea katoa. Koirā te kitenga matua o te rangahau. Nā te mea, ko tātou ngā tāngata o te ao tūroa, ngā tamariki o te moana, o ngā roto, o ngā awa, o ngā ngahere hoki.

He tuhinga tēnei hei whakamārama i te whakatewhatewhatanga i ngā raru o ngā kaipupuri whenua kei ngā whenua tarahiti. Arā noa atu ngā hua kei ngā whenua e takoto ana, heoi anō, arā noa atu ngā aupēhinga ka piri ki ngā whānau kia huihui rātau mō ō rātau whenua. Ko tēnei rangahau ka whai whakaaro mō ngā raru kei roto i ngā Taitara Whenua Māori. Me pēhea e taea ai te whakapakari i ngā hiahia o te whānau kia kore ai e warea te one tapu? 1.4666 miriona heketea o ngā whenua kei ngā ringa o Māori e pupuri ana. E hāngai ana tēnei ki te 5.5% o te katoa o Aotearoa.

Writings on traditional Māori economies have highlighted the value system that philosophically underpins them and the relational nature of trading interactions. Further, the significance of mana in sustaining economic relationships has been emphasised, leading to the concept of an “economy of mana”. In this paper, we explore traditional Māori economies, the concept of mana and the limited exploration of an economy of mana in order to propose future research directions for Māori economic research.