Kāwanatanga

Kāwanatanga - a loanword from the English word governorship - is a word in the Māori language of New Zealand. Kāwanatanga was first used in the Declaration of Independence of New Zealand, 1835.^[1] Kāwanatanga reappeared in 1840 in Article 1 of the Treaty of Waitangi, where the Māori text "te Kawanatanga katoa" corresponds to the English text "all the rights and powers of Sovereignty".

Some historians believe that there was no existing suitable word in the Māori language at the time; however, many Māori believe that the word mana would have provided appropriate meaning. One supposition is that if mana had been used instead of the new, transliterated kāwanatanga, the treaty would never had been signed.^{[citation needed]}

Origin and etymology[]

The first part of the word, Kāwana, is a transliteration into Māori of the English word governor. The suffix -tanga is very similar in meaning and use to the English suffix -ship, for example rangatiratanga (chieftainship) and kīngitanga (kingship). So a literal translation of the word would be governorship. From an idiomatic perspective, this word had little meaning to the chiefs signing the treaty, since the concept of being governed by an overseeing authority was alien to Māori. What understanding Māori may have had of the term was derived principally from the Bible and in particular Herod's Governorship.^[2] At the time the Bible was one of few long printed texts in Māori enjoying wide distribution.

Use in the Treaty of Waitangi[]

The meaning attached to this word, and in particular how it relates to rangatiratanga is vital to discussion of the Treaty of Waitangi. This treaty is still vitally important in modern New Zealand, and remains the object of much controversy and political debate. Māori constitutional lawyer Moana Jackson has stated that, because the New Zealand Government (identified as "Kawanatanga" in the Treaty text) is the body politic enforcing the Treaty and making settlements, "Kawanatanga" is the actual party to the Treaty, not the Crown.^[3]

See also[]

• Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi
• List of English words of Māori origin

References[]