MA (Well) PhD (ANU)
Contact
Office 4S4 Richardson Building, South Tower
Tel +64 3 479 8676
Email michael.reilly@otago.ac.nz
Currently on research study leave, returning 1 June 2022.
Research
Professor Reilly’s research is motivated by his belief that peoples of the Pacific are connected by a common set of ideas about the past which remain important today. This idea of a shared inheritance is expressed by the Māori people of Aotearoa as “ngā taonga tuku iho” – the treasures passed down.
He is interested in a range of research topics, such as the study of historical language texts from Mangaia (Cook Islands) and Aotearoa/New Zealand; the activities and ambiguities in the work and lives of European collectors of Māori and other Pacific tradition, especially John White (Aotearoa) and William Wyatt Gill (Cook Islands); and, the contribution of indigenous collectors and scholars of traditions, such as Mamae of Mangaia.
Other topics in ancient Polynesian history include forms of leadership, the language of emotions, the narrative style of oral traditions and cultural landscapes. A key theme in his research is understanding the cultural metaphors and values presented in vernacular texts.
Teaching
Guest lectures in various papers including:
- MAOR 102 Māori Society
- PACI 101 Pacific Societies
- MAOR 202 Māori and Tikanga
- PUBH 204 Hauora Māori: Challenges and Opportunities
Supervision
Current
- Louise Kewene-Doig, PhD, He Kohinga Pao (Future Convergence): Creating an Interactive Archive of New Zealand Māori Popular Music starting with Māori Showband history, 1960–1970 (with Karyn Paringatai)
- Shona Kapea-Maslin,PhD, Kākahu: The Threads that Bind them all (with Michelle Schaaf and Anaru Eketone)
- Raphaël Richter-Gravier, PhD, Manu narratives of Polynesia: A Comparative Study of Birds in Maori and other Polynesian Traditions (with Michelle Schaaf and Bruno Saura, co-tutelle with Université de la Polynésie Française)
- Byron Rangiwai,PhD, A critical analysis of syncretism in Māori theology (with Murray Rae)
- Jenni Tupu, PhD, Being Adopted: The lifelong search for Self (with Karyn Paringatai and Lyn Carter)
- Justine Camp, PhD, Binaries and Trialectics: An Argument for Transformation of Māori Diabetes Management (with Anne-Marie Jackson)
- Rua McCallum, PhD, Beyond the Boundaries of Southern … Creation Mythology: An Inclusive Paradigm of Indigenous Knowledge, Quantum Science and Metaphysics (with Karyn Paringatai and Hilary Halba)
- Tania Bell, MA, The histories of Māori artefacts and Museums
Completed
- Tangiwai Rewi, PhD, Examining Traditional Maaori Knowledge Framewords and Intergenerational Knowledge Transmission (2018)
- Erica Newman, PhD, Colonial Intervention on Guardianship and ‘Adoption’ Practices in Fiji, 1874–1970 (2018) (Advisory Committee)
- Erica Anderson, PhD, Domestic violence and Society’s Response in the Cook Islands: the Psychological Impacts on Victims in “Paradise” (2015)
- Marsa Dodson, PhD, Mixed Blessings: Oral Histories of the War Children Born to US Servicemen and Indigenous Cook Islanders (2014)
- Karyn Paringatai, PhD, Kua riro ki wīwī, ki wāwā: The causes and effects of Māori migration to Southland (2013)
- Vaughan Bidois, PhD, Destabilising the Binary: Reframing Cultural Identity: Postcolonial Reflections in Aotearoa New Zealand (2012)
- Michelle Schaaf, PhD, Pacific Participation in Aotearoa / Niu Sila Netball: Body Image, Family, Church, Culture, Education and Physical Education (2011)
- Erica Newman, MA, Who am I? The Identity of Māori Adoptees (2011)
- Paerau Warbrick, PhD, The Māori Land Court, 1960-1980 (2010)
- Malia Lameta, MA, The changing role of Samoan women in Samoan society (2010)
- Marsa Dodson, PhD, Practising Tamariki ‘Angai: Mangaia’s Informal Island Adoption (2009)
- Moira Fortin, MA, The Development of Theatre in Easter Island (2009)
- Nathan Matthews, PhD, He Kura Maori, he Kura Hahi, he Kura Katorika, he Kura Motuhake Mo te iwi: Hato Paora College: a model of Maori-Catholic education (2007)
- Poia Rewi, PhD, Te Ao o te whaikōrero: the world of Māori oratory (2005)
- Rawinia Higgins, PhD, He Tānga Ngutu, He Tūhoetanga – Te Mana Motuhake o te ta moko wahine: the identity politics of moko kauae (2004)
- Lachlan Paterson, PhD, Ngā Reo o ngā Perehi: Māori language newspapers 1855–1863 (2004)
- Karyn Paringatai, MA, Poia mai taku poi: unearthing the knowledge of the past: a critical review of written literature on the poi in New Zealand and the Pacific (2004)
- Peter Clayworth, PhD, An indolent and chilly folk: the development of the idea of the ‘Moriori Myth’ (2001)
- Vernon Wybrow, MA, Constructing the Savage: Western intellectual responses to the Māori and Aborigine, first contact to 1850 (2001)
- Ilka Kottmann, MA, Te Waka! Life histories of two contemporary Polynesian voyaging canoes (2000)
- Danny Tuato‘o, MA, “Te Tahi o Pipiri”: Literacy and missionary pedagogy as mechanisms in change: The reactions of three rangatira from the Bay of Islands, 1814-1834 (1999)
- Rāwinia Higgins, MA, He Kupu Tuku Iho Mo Tēnei Reanga: Te Āhua o te tuku kōrero (1999)
- Jane Morgan, MA, A Social History of Drug Use in New Zealand and the “Manufacture of Consent”: A Dunedin Case Study, 1960-1989 (1997)
- Jim Williams, MA, Ko Te Kohika Turuturu (The Enduring Collection) (1996)
- Donella Bellett, MA, Contradictions in Culture, 8 Case Studies of Māori Identity (1996)
- Emma Stevens, MA, The Kaati Mamoe Hapuu of Mahitahi: A Question of Mana? (1994)
Publications
Reilly, M. (2023). Māui, Polynesian culture hero: A nineteenth century tradition from Ruapuke Island. Journal of New Zealand Studies, 35, 7-21. doi: 10.26686/jnzs.iNS35.8112
Reilly, M. (2022). Manuscript XXXIX: Mamae of Mangaia: Nineteenth century pastor and tribal historian. Journal of Pacific History, 57(2-3), 304-336. doi: 10.1080/00223344.2021.1998764
Reilly, M. P. J. (2022). Emotions in the Pacific. In K. Barclay & P. N. Stearns (Eds.), The Routledge history of emotions in the modern world. (pp. 204-219). Abingdon, UK: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781003023326
Reilly, M. P. J. (2020). Talking traditions: Orality, ecology, and spirituality in Mangaia's textual culture. In T. Ballantyne, L. Paterson & A. Wanhalla (Eds.), Indigenous textual cultures: Reading and writing in the age of global empire. (pp. 131-153). Durham, NC: Duke University Press. doi: 10.2307/j.ctv153k5kj.9
Mokaraka-Harris, J. J., Thompson-Fawcett, M., Reilly, M. P. J., & Kawharu, M. (2019, August). Sprouts of knowledge: Weaving new knowledge with the resonance of ancient rhythms. Verbal presentation at the School of Geography Postgraduate Symposium, Dunedin, New Zealand.
Reilly, M. P. J. (2009). Ancestral voices from Mangaia: A history of the ancient gods and chiefs. Auckland, New Zealand: Polynesian Society, 330p.
Authored Book - Research
Reilly, M. P. (2003). War and succession in Mangaia from Mamae's texts. Auckland, New Zealand: The Polynesian Society, 111p.
Authored Book - Research
Reilly, M., Duncan, S., Leoni, G., Paterson, L., Carter, L., Rātima, M., & Rewi, P. (Eds.). (2018). Te Kōparapara: An introduction to the Māori world. Auckland, New Zealand: Auckland University Press, 484p.
Edited Book - Research
Hokowhitu, B., Kermoal, N., Andersen, C., Petersen, A., Reilly, M., Altamirano-Jiménez, I., & Rewi, P. (Eds.). (2010). Indigenous identity and resistance: Researching the diversity of knowledge. Dunedin, New Zealand: Otago University Press, 264p.
Edited Book - Research
Herda, P., Reilly, M., & Hilliard, D. (Eds.). (2005). Vision and reality in Pacific religion: Essays in honour of Neil Gunson. ACT, Australia: MacMillan Brown Centre for Pacific Studies/Pandanus Books, 343p.
Edited Book - Research
Ka'ai, T. M., Moorfield, J. C., Reilly, M. P. J., & Mosley, S. (Eds.). (2004). Ki te Whaiao: An introduction to Māori culture and society. Auckland, New Zealand: Pearson Longman, 272p.
Edited Book - Research
Reilly, M., & Thomson, J. (Eds.). (1999). When the Waves Rolled in Upon Us: Essays in Nineteenth-Century Māori History. Dunedin: University of Otago Press, 223p.
Edited Book - Research
Reilly, M. P. J. (2022). Emotions in the Pacific. In K. Barclay & P. N. Stearns (Eds.), The Routledge history of emotions in the modern world. (pp. 204-219). Abingdon, UK: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781003023326
Chapter in Book - Research
Reilly, M. P. J. (2020). Talking traditions: Orality, ecology, and spirituality in Mangaia's textual culture. In T. Ballantyne, L. Paterson & A. Wanhalla (Eds.), Indigenous textual cultures: Reading and writing in the age of global empire. (pp. 131-153). Durham, NC: Duke University Press. doi: 10.2307/j.ctv153k5kj.9
Chapter in Book - Research
Reilly, M. (2018). Te Tīmatanga mai o te Ao: The beginning of the world. In M. Reilly, S. Duncan, G. Leoni, L. Paterson, L. Carter, M. Rātima & P. Rewi (Eds.), Te Kōparapara: An introduction to the Māori world. (pp. 12-29). Auckland, New Zealand: Auckland University Press.
Chapter in Book - Research
Reilly, M., & Olssen, E. (2018). Te Tūtakitanga o ngā Tāngata: The meeting of peoples. In M. Reilly, S. Duncan, G. Leoni, L. Paterson, L. Carter, M. Rātima & P. Rewi (Eds.), Te Kōparapara: An introduction to the Māori world. (pp. 158-179). Auckland, New Zealand: Auckland University Press.
Chapter in Book - Research
Walter, R., & Reilly, M. (2018). Ngā Hekenga Waka: Migration and early settlement. In M. Reilly, S. Duncan, G. Leoni, L. Paterson, L. Carter, M. Rātima & P. Rewi (Eds.), Te Kōparapara: An introduction to the Māori world. (pp. 65-85). Auckland, New Zealand: Auckland University Press.
Chapter in Book - Research
Reilly, M. P. J. (2010). Rediscovering the hidden heritage from ancient Mangaia. In B. Hokowhitu, N. Kermaol, C. Andersen, A. Petersen, M. Reilly, I. Altamirano-Jiménez & P. Rewi (Eds.), Indigenous identity and resistance: Researching the diversity of knowledge. (pp. 125-138). Dunedin, New Zealand: Otago University Press.
Chapter in Book - Research
Reilly, M. P. J. (2006). Leadership in ancient Polynesia. In T. Ballantyne & B. Moloughney (Eds.), Disputed histories: Imagining New Zealand's pasts. (pp. 43-63). Dunedin, New Zealand: Otago University Press.
Chapter in Book - Research
Reilly, M. (2005). 'Te 'Orama a Numangatini' ('The Dream of Numangatini') and the reception of Christianity on Mangaia. In P. Herda, M. Reilly & D. Hilliard (Eds.), Vision and reality in Pacific religion: Essays in honour of Neil Gunson. (pp. 106-131). ACT, Australia: MacMillan Brown Centre for Pacific Studies/Pandanus Books.
Chapter in Book - Research
Reilly, M., & Herda, P. (2005). Vision and reality in Pacific religion: An introduction. In P. Herda, M. Reilly & D. Hilliard (Eds.), Vision and reality in Pacific religion: Essays in honour of Neil Gunson. (pp. 1-18). ACT, Australia: MacMillan Brown Centre for Pacific Studies/Pandanus Books.
Chapter in Book - Research
Ka'ai, T. M., & Reilly, M. P. J. (2004). Rangatiratanga: Traditional and contemporary leadership. In T. M. Ka'ai, J. C. Moorfield, M. P. J. Reilly & S. Mosley (Eds.), Ki te Whaiao: An introduction to Māori culture and society. (pp. 91-102). Auckland, New Zealand: Pearson Longman.
Chapter in Book - Research
Olssen, E., & Reilly, M. P. J. (2004). Te tūtakitanga o ngā ao e rua: Early contacts between two worlds. In T. M. Ka'ai, J. C. Moorfield, M. P. J. Reilly & S. Mosley (Eds.), Ki te Whaiao: An introduction to Māori culture and society. (pp. 140-150). Auckland, New Zealand: Pearson Longman.
Chapter in Book - Research
Reilly, M. P. J. (2004). Te tīmatanga mai o ngā atua: Creation narratives. In T. M. Ka'ai, J. C. Moorfield, M. P. J. Reilly & S. Mosley (Eds.), Ki te Whaiao: An introduction to Māori culture and society. (pp. 1-12). Auckland, New Zealand: Pearson Longman.
Chapter in Book - Research
Reilly, M. P. J. (2004). Whanaungatanga: Kinship. In T. M. Ka'ai, J. C. Moorfield, M. P. J. Reilly & S. Mosley (Eds.), Ki te Whaiao: An introduction to Māori culture and society. (pp. 61-72). Auckland, New Zealand: Pearson Longman.
Chapter in Book - Research
Reilly, M. P. (2000). Imagining our pasts: Writing our histories. In B. Dalley & B. Labrum (Eds.), Fragments: New Zealand's Social and Cultural History. (pp. 14-38). Auckland: Auckland University Press.
Chapter in Book - Research
Reilly, M. P. J. (1999). Introduction. In M. Reilly & J. Thomson (Eds.), When the Waves Rolled In Upon Us: Essays in Nineteenth-Century Māori History. (pp. 9-14). Dunedin: University of Otago Press.
Chapter in Book - Research
Reilly, M. (1996). Te matakite hou o nga korero nehe no Nui Tireni: revisioning New Zealand history. In P. Spoonley, D. Pearson & C. Macpherson (Eds.), Nga Patai: Racism and Ethnic Relations in Aotearoa/New Zealand. (pp. 81-96). Palmerston North: Dunmore Press.
Chapter in Book - Research
Reilly, M., & Heke, J. I. C. (1995). Identity and authority: a dialogue on Māori history. In E. Greenwood, K. Neumann & A. Sartori (Eds.), Work in Flux. (pp. 200-219). Parkville, Australia: History Department, University of Melbourne.
Chapter in Book - Research
Reilly, M. (2018). Introduction to Part One. In M. Reilly, S. Duncan, G. Leoni, L. Paterson, L. Carter, M. Rātima & P. Rewi (Eds.), Te Kōparapara: An introduction to the Māori world. (pp. 9-11). Auckland, New Zealand: Auckland University Press.
Chapter in Book - Other
Reilly, M. (2023). Māui, Polynesian culture hero: A nineteenth century tradition from Ruapuke Island. Journal of New Zealand Studies, 35, 7-21. doi: 10.26686/jnzs.iNS35.8112
Journal - Research Article
Reilly, M. (2022). Manuscript XXXIX: Mamae of Mangaia: Nineteenth century pastor and tribal historian. Journal of Pacific History, 57(2-3), 304-336. doi: 10.1080/00223344.2021.1998764
Journal - Research Article
Reilly, M. P. J. (2018). Moving through the ancient cultural landscape of Mangaia (Cook Islands). Journal of the Polynesian Society, 127(3), 325-357. doi: 10.15286/jps.127.3.325-357
Journal - Research Article
Reilly, M. (2016). Narrative features and cultural motifs in a cautionary tradition from Mangaia (Cook Islands). Journal of the Polynesian Society, 125(4), 383-410. doi: 10.15286/jps.125.4.383-410
Journal - Research Article
Reilly, M. P. J. (2015). Ngaru: A culture hero of Mangaia. Journal of the Polynesian Society, 124(2), 147-187. doi: 10.15286/jps.124.2.147-187
Journal - Research Article
Reilly, M. P. J. (2012). Grief, loss and violence in ancient Mangaia, Aotearoa and Te Waipounamu. Journal of Pacific History, 47(2), 145-161. doi: 10.1080/00223344.2012.666825
Journal - Research Article
Reilly, M. P. J. (2012). The early years of Māori studies at Victoria and Waikato universities. He Pukenga Kōrero, 11(1), 4-10.
Journal - Research Article
Reilly, M. P. J. (2011). Maori Studies, Past and Present: A Review. Contemporary Pacific, 23(2), 340-369.
Journal - Research Article
Reilly, M. P. J. (2011). The beginnings of Māori Studies within New Zealand universities. He Pukenga Kōrero, 10(2), 4-9.
Journal - Research Article
Reilly, M. P. J. (2010). Tuakana-Teina relationship and leadership in ancient Mangaia and Aotearoa. Journal of Pacific History, 45(2), 211-227. doi: 10.1080/00223344.2010.501698
Journal - Research Article
Walter, R., & Reilly, M. (2010). A prehistory of the Mangaian chiefdom. Journal of the Polynesian Society, 119(4), 335-375.
Journal - Research Article
Reilly, M. (2008). Mangaia in the colonial world, 1863-1899. Pacific Studies, 31(1), 1-30.
Journal - Research Article
Reilly, M. (2007). Lost priests in ancient Mangaia. Journal of Pacific History, 42(1), 21-36.
Journal - Research Article
Reilly, M. P. J. (2007). Gifts from the sea: The two iron axes of Mangaia. Journal of the Polynesian Society, 116(3), 287-308.
Journal - Research Article
Reilly, M. P. J. (2007). Transforming Mangaia's spiritual world: Letters from the early christian community of Oneroa. Journal of the Polynesian Society, 116(1), 35-57.
Journal - Research Article
Reilly, M. P. (2001). Sex and War in ancient Polynesia. Journal of the Polynesian Society, 110(1), 31-57.
Journal - Research Article
Reilly, M. P. (2001). Women in Mangaian Society: A historical portrait. Journal of Pacific History, 36(2), 149-161.
Journal - Research Article
Reilly, M. P. (2000). Secret writers in foreign lands: John White and William Wyatt Gill. New Zealand Journal of History, 34(1), 34-45.
Journal - Research Article
Reilly, M. (1996). Entangled in Māori History: a report on experience. Contemporary Pacific, 8, 387-408.
Journal - Research Article
Reilly, M. P. (1996). Inter-views of New Zealand history. Southern Review, 29(3), 267-276.
Journal - Research Article
Reilly, M. (2018). [Review of the book Tears of Rangi: Experiments across worlds]. Journal of Pacific History, 53(1), 115-117. doi: 10.1080/00223344.2018.1440898
Journal - Research Other
Reilly, M. (2016). [Review of the book The Polynesian iconoclasm: Religious revolution and the seasonality of power]. Journal of Pacific History, 51(1), 75-76. doi: 10.1080/00223344.2015.1129041
Journal - Research Other
Reilly, M. P. J. (2016). [Review of the book Entanglements of empire: Missionaries, Māori and the question of the body]. Journal of Pacific History, 51(1), 93-95. doi: 10.1080/00223344.2016.1162082
Journal - Research Other
Reilly, M. (2013). [Review of the book Tangata o le Moana: New Zealand and the people of the Pacific]. Journal of Pacific History, 48(2), 235-236. doi: 10.1080/00223344.2013.776221
Journal - Research Other
Reilly, M. (2013). [Review of the book Tuhituhi: William Hodges, Cook's painter in the South Pacific]. New Zealand Journal of History, 47(1), 81-83. [Book Review].
Journal - Research Other
