Re-imagining Menstruation as Connection & Wisdom

What a Maori menstrual history can teach us about the future of health

Jan 17, 2024

Hello and welcome to the sixth edition of Hysterical Health!

After taking a break to enjoy the New Zealand summer, I’m easing into 2024 by sharing some Maori perspectives on menstruation and reflecting on what they can teach us about connection and wisdom.

More Than a Story

As you know, I’m a big advocate for the power of storytelling in shaping our attitudes towards and experiences of health.

Maori knowledge about menstruation was passed down for centuries between female relatives through stories. However, the restrictions, assimilation and conflict brought about by colonisation meant that much of this knowledge was lost and attitudes towards periods began to change.

Ethnographic Bias Meets Healthcare Today

European ethnographers like Eldon Best recorded Maori stories and customs in the early 1800s but female-specific topics like menstruation are (unsurprisingly) absent.

Ethnographic accounts of indigenous knowledge are almost always tainted by personal bias - particularly when that bias is grounded in the belief that male, western thought systems are the most ‘rational’ way of thinking.

Side note: while studying for my BA in Social Anthropology, this was an uncomfortable part of the discipline and one of the many reasons I transitioned towards women’s health.

I’d argue this bias still prevails throughout healthcare systems today: the western, male body continues to be viewed as the standard, rational model’ to which everyone else is an inconvenient variation.

A Maori Menstrual Origin Story

Throughout Maori history, there are countless stories of the demigod Maui searching for immortality. In some versions, his antics spark the creation of menstruation.

Maui decides he wants to return to the womb of Hine-nui-te-po-te-ao (the goddess of night) in his quest for immortality. Some say he turned himself into a lizard in an attempt to enter her vagina and exit through her mouth, thus reversing the cycle of life.

However, Maui is never successful. In most versions, fantail birds either snitch on Maui to the goddess or laugh so loudly at his attempts to return to the womb that the goddess wakes up.

Furious at Maui’s audacity to try and change the natural order of things, she crushes him and Maui becomes the first menstruation to come into the world.

So, in some ways, Maui did succeed:

‘He became immortal through menstruation; reappearing like the moon in all women, flowing like an ancient river of time and binding generations’.

- Ngahuia Murphy, ‘An examination of stories, ceremonies and practices regarding menstruation in the pre-colonial Moari world’

Connection Between People, Land & Ancestors

This positive attitude towards menstruation is evident throughout traditional Maori storytelling and practices. When a girl’s first period arrived, the whole community would celebrate - including feasts, gift giving, singing, hair cutting and ear piercing.

Most importantly, there’d be ceremonial bleeding directly into the ground. This signified gratitude by returning blood to the earth and recognising the intrinsic link between people, land and ancestors. Some women still take part in this practice today!

The Maori belief that menstrual blood links the present with the past means women possess a unique connection to the ancestors and their knowledge of the world around us.

I love the idea that to menstruate is to be connected to others and access a special kind of intuition. It seems in direct conflict with modern, western depictions of periods as private, embarrassing and a nuisance to everyday life.

Instead of being considered hysterical or emotionally unstable, Maori believe menstruation provides women with wisdom and valuable life experience.

Traditional Attitudes in a Modern Context

There’s a common misconception that indigenous communities routinely banish women to ‘period houses’ during their bleed due to being unclean or unlucky.

However, the Maori tradition is that women would be allowed to take a step back and set limits on what they were and weren’t prepared to do during their period - with no guilt or shame attached. This was far more about choice and rest than restrictions.

“Imagine if women weren’t made to feel like they were weak - they’re actually going through something powerful and amazing and they’re going to take time for themselves. That’s empowering.”

- Michelle Wilson, founder of AWWA period underwear.

Founders like Michelle are reconnecting with the past to redefine the future of period care. By prioritising community and environmental connections, AWWA ensures traditional Maori attitudes towards menstruation aren’t lost. Instead, they’re re-imagined in a modern context.

The Takeaways

Storytelling has shaped attitudes towards health throughout history - both good and bad. As control over that narrative shifts and changes, so do our attitudes.
The hysterical woman trope isn’t universal: in Maori culture, women are considered more connected and knowledgeable thanks to their period.
Learning from (and reflecting on) the past should be an important part of building a sustainable future in women’s health.
Anything else to add?

Announcement!

Hysterical Health will be a bi-weekly publication in 2024. This is to ensure the project remains a source of joy for me, with more time to make each edition a great one and maintain a good work/life balance. Thank you as always for your continued support! 😊

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