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Whakawhanaungatanga Building Connections

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Whakawhanaungatanga Building Connections

Read the scenario and complete the activities. Use the kupu in context, and explain your thinking respectfully. You may draw on different whānau structures and experiences.

A new kapa haka group

A group is preparing a performance for a community celebration. Some members have known one another for years; others have just joined. At the first practice, they introduce themselves, listen to each other’s experiences, agree how to give feedback, and make space for everyone to contribute. They are practising whakawhanaungatanga: building and maintaining relationships through connection, respect and shared responsibility.

1.In your own words, explain whakawhanaungatanga as it is used in the scenario. Give two details from the scenario that support your explanation.

2.Which action most clearly shows shared responsibility for building relationships in the group?

Only the longest-serving members decide how practice will run.
Members agree how to give feedback and make room for everyone to contribute.
New members are expected to learn everyone’s names without introductions.
The group avoids discussion so that practice can finish sooner.

3.True or false: Whakawhanaungatanga is only relevant when people are already related by whakapapa. Explain your answer briefly.

Whānau, whakapapa and connection

Whānau can include relationships of whakapapa as well as people connected through care, shared commitments and community. Whakapapa can locate relationships across generations and connections to people, place and the natural world. Understandings and practices differ among whānau, hapū and iwi; there is no single template that fits everyone.

4.Match each kupu or phrase with the closest meaning in this worksheet.

whakawhanaungatanga
whānau
whakapapa
hapū

genealogical relationships and connections across generations
building and maintaining relationships
a kinship group or subtribe
family and wider networks of care and connection

5.A new member says they are unsure whether they should share personal whakapapa details with the group. Write a respectful response that supports connection while recognising their choice and boundaries.

6.Complete the sentence with a suitable kupu: “To build trust, the group listens with and gives feedback respectfully.”

7.The group has a disagreement about a performance idea. Describe two steps they could take to work through it in a way that strengthens relationships.

8.Why might introducing oneself or sharing a pepeha help people connect? Include one reason, and note why people should not be pressured to share details they consider private.

9.Choose one practice from the scenario—listening, agreeing on feedback, or including everyone. Explain how it could support both the group’s relationships and its performance.

10.Create a three-step plan for welcoming someone new to a group. Include one action that helps people get to know each other, one way to make participation safe and inclusive, and one way to keep the connection going.