Tino rangatiratanga
Tino rangatiratanga is a Māori language term that means "absolute sovereignty."[1] Sovereignty means absolute power to rule something without someone else interfering. In this case, it refers to the ability of the Māori people (the indigenous people of New Zealand) to rule themselves and be recognized as the owners of the land. "Tino rangatiratanga" shows up in the Māori version of the Treaty of Waitangi, which they signed with the British in 1840. They were promised that they would have tino rangatiratanga forever in the treaty. However, this concept was not respected since the British colonizers took a lot of things from the Māori people. To this day, people in New Zealand do not agree on what "tino rangatiratanga" means or what kind of things it is supposed to cover.[2][3]
Origin
[change | change source]A rangatira is a chief in the Māori culture. The suffix -tanga is added so rangatiratanga refers to the qualities of being a chief. "Tino" is a Māori word that means "most" or "absolute." So by using this term, the British were allowing Maori chiefs to have complete control and allow them to use their powers as chiefs.
Some people think that the term can be used to describe self-determination, autonomy, or Māori independence.
Here are the meaning of the terms from an online Māori dictionary:
- Tino: absolute ... used before a noun to indicate something is unrivaled or is true or genuine.
- Rangatiratanga: kingdom, realm, sovereignty, principality, self-determination, self-management.
Treaty
[change | change source]There is a lot of confusion about the Treaty of Waitangi because Articles 1 and 2 in the treaty say different things.
| English version | Māori version | |
|---|---|---|
| Article 1 | The Māori give away their sovereignty to the British Crown by signing the treaty. | The Māori give away their "kawanatanga" ("governorship") by signing the treaty. They did not have kings or queens, so this word was used to describe the concept of sovereignty. The Māori word "kawana" is from the English word for "governor" and was invented by Christian missionaries to describe Pontius Pilate's rule in Judea. It was also used before 1840 to describe the Governor of New South Wales. |
| Article 2 | The Māori are promised that their right to ownership of their land and property would be respected. | The Māori are promised that their tino rangatiratanga over their lands, kainga (homes) and other taonga (treasures) would be respected. |
According to the Māori version of the treaty, Article 1 is talking about kawanatanga (governorship) while Article 2 is talking about tino rangatiratanga (absolute chieftainship). To them, these are two totally different concepts. Therefore, they believe that they never gave away their land rights and ability to rule themselves. In fact, a tribunal that was created to focus on the Treaty of Waitangi said that the Māori can never give up those rights and never did.[4]
Flag
[change | change source]
There is a Tino rangatiratanga flag that is used to represent the Māori people.[5] It is red, white, and black. It was designed by Māori artists Hiraina Marsden, Jan Smith and Linda Munn in 1990 as part of a contest.[6]
Walter Erstich came up with the meaning for the flag. The elements of the national Māori flag represent the three realms. Black stands for Te Korekore - the realm of potential being. The colour symbolises the darkness from which the earth appeared from. It also represents Rangi, the heaven, floating, a passive force. White represents Te Ao Mārama, the realm of being and light. It symbolises the physical world, the harmony and purity, the balance. Red stands for Te Whai Ao, the coming into being. The colour represents Papatuanuku, mother-earth and the sustainer of all living things. It also symbolises the land and active forces. The spiral-like pattern, known as Koru, is the symbol of a curling fern frond and represents a new life, the process of renewal and the hope for the future.[7]
The Māori name given to the flag, Tino Rangatiratanga, is also filled with deep meaning. It can be translated as self-determination, sovereignty and Māori independence. This flag is flown next to the flag of New Zealand to show people that the land still belongs to the Māori. Sometimes, this flag is used in protests to show how certain issues are affecting Māori.
References
[change | change source]- ↑ "The Treaty of Waitangi and New Zealand Citizenship". New Zealand Centre for Political Research. 2017-01-29. Retrieved 2020-04-12.
- ↑ "1. – Treaty of Waitangi – Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand". Teara.govt.nz. 2012-07-13. Retrieved 2015-08-11.
- ↑ Orange, Claudia (13 July 2012). "Story: Treaty of Waitangi: Page 1 – Creating the Treaty of Waitangi". Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Wellington, New Zealand: Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Archived from the original on 2015-07-09. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
- ↑ "Treaty Signatories Did Not Cede Sovereignty in February 1840 – Tribunal". Te Roopu Whakamana i te Tiriti o Waitangi (Waitangi Tribunal). 2014-02-14. Archived from the original on 2017-04-06. Retrieved 2020-04-12.
- ↑ Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage. "Flags of New Zealand Page 6 – The national Māori flag". New Zealand History. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
- ↑
Dignan, James. "Tino Rangatiratanga flag". Flags of the World. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
It was designed in 1990 by Hiraina Marsden, Jan Smith and Linda Munn, and was the winning design in a national contest to find a "Māori Flag".
- ↑
"national-maori-flag". twinkl. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
The elements of the national Māori flag represent the three realms. The explanation of the meaning of the flag was written by Walter Erstich.
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