Whakapapa

Raymond Firth, an acclaimed New Zealand economist and anthropologist during the early 20th century, asserted that there are four different levels of Māori kinship terminology that are as follows:[2] Some scholars[who?]

Whakapapa is defined as the "genealogical descent of all living things from God to the present time.

[5] "Whakapapa links all people back to the land and sea and sky and outer universe, therefore, the obligations of whanaungatanga extend to the physical world and all being in it".

[5] Usually details of a client's whakapapa are not required since sufficient information can be obtained through their iwi identification.

[8] Additionally, since whakapapa is believed to be "inextricably linked to the physical gene",[9] concepts of tapu would still apply.

While most health professions are embracing technological advances of data storage, this may be an area of further investigation so that confidential information pertaining to a client's whakapapa cannot be disclosed to others.

Additionally, it may be beneficial to find out if the client is comfortable with whakapapa information being stored in ways that have the potential to be disclosed to others.