Takatāpui: The Forgotten Queer Narratives in Māori History

A few months after I turned 18, I swallowed down the fear that had held me back for 2 agonizing years and told my dad that I liked girls.  

To my immediate relief, there was no dramatic outburst or heartfelt confession, just a quiet admission with watery eyes and a few uncomfortable conversations about the continuation of our family's whakapapa.  

Like me, many Māori are afraid to be truthful about their sexuality and gender due to some whānau adopting the mindset that early Māori were intolerant of any form of homosexuality and sought to eradicate it.  

But when I came out to my dad, I learned that the justification of hatred used by some Māori whānau is a total fabrication.  

My dad was understanding and loving towards me because it is one of the historic values of early Māori to accept all forms of sexuality, and he had not forgotten his roots. 

Before the arrival of Christian missionaries and Western ideals, Māori had constructed a culture that was incredibly liberated in understanding the different forms of sexual expression.  

While wāhine were expected to remain loyal to their husbands once married, when they were younger and unwed they were free to experience multiple relationships with men and women. Tāne were held to similar standards, and for both genders the word “takatāpui” was used to refer to “an intimate companion of the same sex”, as was defined by the missionary William Williams.  

A factual recounting of takatāpui in pre-colonial Māori culture is found in older retellings of one of New Zealand’s oldest and most famous love stories, the tale of Hinemoa and Tūtānekai. 

For those less familiar with the myth, it tells of the beautiful daughter of a high-ranking chief, Hinemoa, and her would-be suitor Tūtānekai. Because Tūtānekai is of lower status, the match is seen as unfavorable, and her iwi sabotages Hinemoa’s attempts to meet with her lover across the lake. Hinemoa eventually overcomes her obstacles through the clever use of some empty gourds, and the two are happily joined as husband and wife. But before Tūtānekai took Hinemoa as his wife, scholars such as the tribal leader Te Rangikāheke claim that there was another great love in Tūtānekai’s life.  

A character by the name of Tiki arises in some versions of the myth and Tūtānekai refers to him as “taku hoa takatāpui”. The phrase “Taku hoa” is used by Tūtānekai and the person telling the story to signify that Tiki is his friend. But by including takatāpui as a descriptor it is clear that the two share a deeper relationship than that of ordinary friendship. Further evidence of their love includes retellings featuring Tiki and Tūtānekai’s relationship being filled with references to the two “stricken with love” for one another and “sick with grief” over losing their relationship to Tūtānekai’s new marriage. 

There are many reports of sexual liberation in early Māori that were documented and preserved. However, much of this documentation has been discredited in various forms.  

A Māori whānau sending young men to have sex with sailors on the Endeavor, Captain Cook’s ship, was regarded as being a joke by the scientist Joseph Banks.  

When Reverend William Yate’s two-year cohabitation with his male lover was exposed, the Māori village they lived in did not bat an eyelid while his English peers disgraced and overshadowed his accounts to bury his contributions.  

Myths and folklore, carvings in artwork, and documented accounts all attest to a culture that understood the spectrum that is sexual and gender identity. But with the introduction and domination of pakeha influences, this understanding was lost.  

Tiki became a footnote in Hinemoa and Tūtānekai’s love story, a wingman who helped his friend win the girl. Artworks were dismantled and real-life tales silenced, until we reached the quiet misunderstandings and louder vitriol that some Māori LGBT+ face within their community. People like my dad, understanding and loving towards their whakapapa for what they are, became rarer within our communities. 

But recently, another cultural shift has been witnessed. Starting in the 1980s and reaching today, the word “takatāpui” has been reclaimed in a contemporary sense. The word now extends past its previous definition of a single “intimate friend” and is now used as an umbrella term for Māori who are members of the LGBT+ in any way. It has transformed into a word that melds the experiences of being queer and indigenous into one unifying identity. But most importantly, it tells our community, our society, and our country that we are here. We have always been here, and we will continue to be here until the world sees and loves us for what we are once more.