Whāngai adoption

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Whāngai adoption, often referred to simply as whāngai (literally, "to nourish"), is a traditional method of open adoption among the Māori people of New Zealand. Whāngai is a community process rather than a legal process, and usually involves a child being brought up by a close relative, either because his or her parents have died or because they are unable to look after the child. The adoptive parent is known as a matua whāngai, and the child is called a tamaiti whāngai. The child knows both its birth and whāngai parents, and the local community and extended whānau is usually closely involved in the decision to adopt and in helping with the child's development. Whāngai may be temporary or permanent. The whāngai system developed before the development of New Zealand's current legal rules on adoption and fostering and operates parallel with it, but is recognised by New Zealand law. It does not follow the strictures of the Adoption Act of 1955, for example, which supported the idea of a complete...

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