Tino rangatiratanga
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The most contentious phrase from the Treaty of Waitangi, tino rangatiratanga has become something of a rallying cry for proponents of Māori sovereignty.
A rangatira is a chief, the suffix -tanga implies the quality or attributes of chieftainship, and the addition of intensifier tino in this context means the phrase can be translated as 'absolute/unqualified chieftainship'. Its closest English translation is self-determination, although many also refer to it as 'absolute sovereignty' or Māori independence. Such a concept embraces the spiritual link Māori have with Papatuanuku (Earthmother) and is a part of the international drive by indigenous people for self determination. As such, the unofficial flag of the Māori peoples is often referred to as the Flag of tino rangatiratanga. The flag was designed by Hiraina Marsden, Jan Smith and Linda Munn in 1990.[1]
In article one of the Treaty's English text the Māori signatories ceded their sovereignty to the British Crown. The Māori text of the translation used the missionary neologism 'kawanatanga' (= 'governorship') to approximate this concept. This word was based on the transliteration "Kawana" (= 'governor'), which had been invented by Bible translators, to explain Pontius Pilate's authority in Judaea. Kawana was also used prior to 1840 to describe the Governor of New South Wales. Given the Australian treatment of Indigenous Australians and Pilates' treatment of the Jews, Kawanatanga does not seem to be intended to mislead Māori as to the nature of British sovereignty.
In article two of the Treaty, the Māori text assured the signatories that their tino rangatiratanga would remain undisturbed, along with their continued possession of their lands and other taonga.
This apparent inconsistency in the Māori text of the Treaty has led to much debate as to whether the Māori signatories intended to cede their sovereignty to the British Crown at all, with some Māori claiming vestigial Māori sovereignty remains.
Aside from the legal controversy of 'sovereignty' versus 'kawanatanga', many Māori see the Treaty as a charter to choose their own way of life within the framework of law, but free of external interference in taonga such as language and culture.
