Story: Whakapapa – genealogy

Historicised whakapapa

Historicised whakapapa

This whakapapa given by S. Percy Smith is an example of an over-historicised genealogy. Ancestors from Polynesia and New Zealand have been assigned specific dates gained by averaging out generations – whakapapa that did not coincide with scholarly theories tended to be ignored or reworked.

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Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

Source: S. Percy Smith, Hawaiki: the original home of the Maori, with a sketch of Polynesian history. Christchurch: Whitcombe and Tombs, 1904, p. 175

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How to cite this page:

Rāwiri Taonui, 'Whakapapa – genealogy - Scholars and whakapapa', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/whakapapa/30907/historicised-whakapapa (accessed 23 April 2024)

Story by Rāwiri Taonui, published 5 May 2011, updated 1 Jul 2015