The Phantom of the Maori by Tracey Tawhiao

Analysis of a poem:


The Phantom of the Maori by Tracey Tawhiao

Tracey Tawhiao's poem The Phantom of the Maori is constructed in the style of a straight forward narrative where the narrator is an audience member watching the Andrew Lloyd Webber production of The Phantom of the Opera. The narrator describes without reserve their counter culture reading and opinion of Webbers' musical, offering a broader perspective to show there are many different ways of seeing. Tawhiao has cleverly utilised the Phantom of the Opera and its associated cultural ideologies, as a vehicle of comparison with the lost culture of the indigenous Maori people living in post colonial New Zealand. Another theme presented in the poem is the power relations at play in New Zealand with considerable focus on the socio-economic differences between Maori and Pakeha and the issue of western privilege. In the poem, Tawhiao also examines the commodification of Maori culture and raises the issues of corruption with the temptation to sell out.

The author's intention becomes clear, as they move away from criticising The Phantom of the Opera to focus on what the poem is really about. The narrator acknowledges that the Maori tribes are not united, each iwi fighting over possession of “rights to the story”, in order to further their own financial position. The narrator describes the complexities of the Maori culture and their specific way of doing things, critical that the slow process of decision making hinders Maori progress in a Pakeha New Zealand. The line “There'd be endless hui to discuss whether to share this sacred history” shows how Maori opinion is divided over sharing their kura wananga with the Pakeha. The words “dispossession of mana” present a turning point in the poem, The word “dispossession” works twofold, firstly it describes losing something, that is loss of mana. Secondly it connotes the possessing of something, specifically where the Pakeha have possessed Maori culture and mana. The poem addresses possession and ownership and questions the right of appropriation of one culture by another. The narrator also shows how temptation for affluence produces an apathetic attitude, an indifference to selling out on one's culture.

The author has played on the word “phantom” and the importance of the title is made evident in the last stanza of the poem, that draws attention because of its relatively short two lines, “I started with the Phantom of the Opera but the interesting thing of course is the Phantom of the Maori”. The reader is asked to question the role of Maori in today's society and whether the culture has been completely lost, or is lurking somewhere in the shadows, like the Phantom in Webber's play.

The overall tone of Phantom of the Maori is of frustration, with a sense of loss, injustice and anger. It would appear that the poem addresses the Maori reader, as an appeal to form a united front in order to tap into the “magnificent” resource of their culture, rather than becoming apathetic and accepting of Eurocentric cultural norms, falling for the lure of commercialism and effects of a globalised world. The poem challenges the general acceptance of Eurocentric dominant discourse and asks where these ideologies belong in the multi-cultural society of New Zealand today.