Sense of place: Cross-cultural perspectives from Banks Peninsula, New Zealand

Sense of place is an important dimension in many people's lives. Through long residence in a region a person tends to become attached to that place, expressing both territoriality and affection for it. Bonding to a place is largely subconscious, however. If a person gains perspective by being distant from his or her place, a greater awareness of place bonds can build upon his or her sense of place, making it even stronger. Cultural influences can also build a sense of place, especially among indigenous people. Previous sense of place research has seldom been empirically based, and has tended to focus upon modern peoples, yet researchers make generalizations as if their research applies to all humanity. Cross-cultural research, founded in fieldwork, can both confirm and extend theory on sense of place. My research project has examined an indigenous people's sense of place, and contrasted it with that of a modern people. Banks Peninsula, New Zealand, has been my study area, where a large number of Maori (indigenous) and pakeha (modern, and of European descent) peoples were interviewed in depth to determine the character of their respective senses of place. My field research objectives were to learn about an indigenous people's sense of place, at the level of cosmology; to investigate how sense of place varies among people; to see how sense of place develops; and to uncover the essence of sense of place itself. Interviews formed the bulk of the data, with 270 Peninsula respondents interviewed at length in their homes, and another 80 Peninsula out-migrants interviewed elsewhere in New Zealand. Group interviews supplemented the Peninsula data base, as did less detailed talks with holiday home owners, long-term campers, tourists and school children. Community events, both Maori and pakeha, were attended throughout the fieldwork period, which extended from November, 1987, through to February, 1989. Results were analyzed primarily through qualitative means, as an ethnographic and phenomenological methodology directed my research. However, as a social survey was also conducted, quantitative analyses were done to ascertain the extent of trends among responses from interviews, as well as to find inter-relationships in those trends. Themes and insights became apparent in the qualitative analyses; respondents' insights are shown in the dissertation through excerpts from interviews. Theory was developed both during and after fieldwork, with self-reflection and comparison with previous research instrumental in that development. Major differences were identified between indigenous and modern peoples in the way in which each develops their sense of place. Maori are linked to the earth through cosmology, with creation myths centering them within the cosmos in one particular place. The tribal land upon which Maori dwell is both respected and loved; Maori belong to the earth, especially around their marae (meeting house and grounds), referring to that location as papa kainga (home ground) and thei