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Wayne Te Kaawa 2020 Image 1xBTheol (Otago), MMin(Otago), PhD(Otago)

I am Revd Dr Wayne Te Kaawa, originally from the Eastern Bay of Plenty towns of Kawerau and Whakatane. I whakapapa to Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Awa and Tuhoe. I completed my PhD in Theology at the University of Otago in 2020 and was Lecturer in Māori Theology in the Theology Programme at Otago from 2020 to 2024. I continue to be an External Supervisor for the Theology Programme in the area of Māori Theology.

I am a very proud product of the University of Otago having completed my undergraduate degree and post-graduate degrees here in Theology. I am also a licensed and ordained minister of the Presbyterian church of Aotearoa New Zealand.

My research areas include Māori and indigenous theology.

Current postgraduate students

  • Christopher Douglas-Huriwai (PhD)  Te Oro Atua: Taonga Puoro and the Indigenisation of the Liturgy
  • Michael Tamihere (PhD) Matakite, Tohunga, Ariki / Prophet, Priest, and Paramount Chief: Toward a Māori Ecclesiology

Publications

Te Kaawa, W. (2023). Give nothing to racism: Tangata Whenua, people of the land, a Canaanite woman, and Jesus. In J. Havea & Y. T. Vinayaraj (Eds.), Transgressing race: Readings, theologies, belongings. (pp. 113-128). Eugene, OR: Pickwick. Chapter in Book - Research

Te Kaawa, W. (2023). Tangihanga. Tui Motu, (287), 6-7. Retrieved from https://tuimotu.org/a/XnP2gyQ Journal - Professional & Other Non-Research Articles

Te Kaawa, W. (2023). Defacing of Māori Jesus a troubling step too far for NZ. Otago Daily Times, (17 November), 9. Retrieved from https://www.pressreader.com/new-zealand/otago-daily-times/20231117/page/9 Journal - Professional & Other Non-Research Articles

Te Kaawa, W. (2023, November-December). Tūpāpakurau: How are we to live in this land? Keynote presentation at the Association of Practical Theology in Oceania (APTO) Conference, [Hybrid]. Conference Contribution - Verbal presentation and other Conference outputs

Te Kaawa, W. (2023). Revisioning Christianity through an Oceania lens. In U. Lumā Vaai & M. A. Lamport (Eds.), Restoring identities: The contextualizing story of Christianity in Oceania. (pp. 51-64). Eugene, OR: Cascade Books. Chapter in Book - Research

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