Tino rangatiratanga
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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]
The tino rangatiratanga movement draws its name from an apparent inconsistency arising between Article One and Article Two of the Treaty of Waitangi:
- In the English text of Article One of the Treaty, the Māori signatories cede their sovereignty to the British Crown. For the Māori text, since there was no direct Māori translation for the idea, the missionary neologism 'kawanatanga' (= 'governorship') was used to represent the concept of sovereignty. 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.
- In the English text of Article Two of the Treaty, signatories are assured that the full exclusive and undisturbed possession of their Lands and Estates Forests Fisheries and other properties would remain for so long as they chose. In the Māori text, signatories are assured that their tino rangatiratanga will remain undisturbed, along with the continued possession of their lands and other taonga (te tino rangatiratanga o ratou wenua o ratou kainga me o ratou taonga katoa, literally the absolute chieftainship of your lands, your homes, and all your treasures/taonga).
Based on the Māori text alone, in Article One the signatories appear to be ceding kawanatanga or governorship; while in Article Two the signatories are promised that their tino rangataritanga or absolute chieftainship would remain undisturbed. This apparent inconsistency 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.
