📚 Stories Shape Our World
Every culture tells stories, but not all stories are structured the same way. Understanding narrative structure helps us both appreciate traditional stories and become better storytellers ourselves.
Comparing Story Structures
📘 Western Linear Structure
The classic "three-act" or "Freytag's pyramid" structure:
- Exposition — Setting, characters introduced
- Rising Action — Conflict builds
- Climax — Highest point of tension
- Falling Action — Events after climax
- Resolution — Problem solved, ending
Focus: Individual hero, cause and effect, clear ending
🌿 Māori Oral Tradition
Traditional Māori narratives often follow different patterns:
- Whakapapa frame — Story placed in genealogical context
- Cyclic structure — Themes return, patterns repeat
- Multiple threads — Several storylines interweave
- Community focus — Group, not just individual
- Open endings — Stories continue into present
Focus: Connection to ancestors, land, ongoing meaning
🌀 Elements of Māori Narrative
Key Features
- Whakapapa — Genealogical connections frame and ground the story
- Atua — Gods and supernatural beings interact with humans
- Whenua — The land is a character, has its own story
- Karakia — Prayers and incantations as part of narrative
- Repetition — Key phrases repeated for emphasis and memory
- Performance — Stories told with action, song, gesture
📜 Example: Māui and the Sun
Te Pūrākau o Māui
The story of Māui slowing the sun shows many features of Māori narrative:
- ✅ Whakapapa — Māui's birth and family established first
- ✅ Community benefit — He acts for everyone, not personal glory
- ✅ Supernatural elements — Magic ropes, talking to the sun
- ✅ Explanation of natural world — Why days are longer in summer
- ✅ Continuing significance — Still relevant today
🎭 Universal Story Elements
All Stories Need These
- Characters — Who? (People, animals, supernatural beings)
- Setting — Where and when?
- Conflict — What problem or challenge?
- Events — What happens?
- Theme — What deeper meaning?
✏️ Activities
Activity 1: Story Structure Analysis
Choose a traditional Māori story and identify:
- How does it begin? Is whakapapa established?
- Who benefits from the hero's actions?
- What supernatural elements appear?
- Does it explain something in the natural world?
- How does it end? Is it truly "finished"?
Activity 2: Write Your Own
Write a short story using Māori narrative elements:
- Start with whakapapa or connection
- Include the land as a character
- Focus on community benefit
- Use repetition for emphasis
My story opening:
👩🏫 Teacher Notes
Curriculum Links
- English: Narrative structure, creative writing
- Te Ao Māori: Pūrākau, oral traditions
- Media Studies: Story structures