Kōkiri Learn

Background reading · Health and Physical Education

Te Whare Tapa Whā: the four walls of hauora

A model of wellbeing from Aotearoa: four walls, and the land beneath.

Te Whare Tapa Whā is a model of hauora (wellbeing) developed by Sir Mason Durie in 1984. It pictures wellbeing as a wharenui, a meeting house, with four walls. If one wall is weak, the whole house is less stable.

The four walls

  • Taha tinana: physical wellbeing. Your body, sleep, food and movement.
  • Taha hinengaro: mental and emotional wellbeing. Your thoughts and feelings, and how you cope.
  • Taha whānau: family and social wellbeing. The people you belong to and who support you.
  • Taha wairua: spiritual wellbeing. What gives you meaning and a sense of who you are. This means different things to different people.

    • The land beneath

    The whenua (land) is the foundation the house stands on: your connection to place and where you come from.

    Using the model

    Hauora isn't about being perfect in every wall. It's about noticing which walls need care and making small changes that last. A change in one wall often helps others: a walk with a friend strengthens tinana and whānau.

    Your information is yours

    When you think about your own walls, you choose what to share and with whom.

    Sources and further reading

    Written for Kōkiri Learn students in our own words. Check facts against the sources.

    Used in: Te Whare Tapa Whā: Building Wellbeing, Hauora in Action