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The Formation and the Meanings of the Treaty.
At some stages in our lives the formation and meanings of the Treaty of
Waitangi have been a debatable issue which has enabled us to discuss the
history and early beginnings of the indigenous people of New Zealand, as well
as the early European settlers. This essay will explore some of the British
government’s intentions of the Treaty, the differences between the Maori and
English versions of the Treaty, the meanings of the terms ‘rangatiratanga’,
‘kawanatanga’, ‘sovereignty’, and the Maori understandings of the Treaty in
1840.
In 1840, the British government appeared to have set intentions on the treaty.
Orange (1987) mentions that Hobson, a British governor understood what the
British government required – a cession of sovereignty, complete control over
all land properties, and authority to enforce law and order on both Maori and
non-Maori. As a result, British missionary William had committed to British
plans of making New Zealand a Crown colony (Moon, 2002). It can be seen that
the commitment made by William allowed the British government to apply
their rules to Maori and emigrant alike in the colony. Walker (2004) suggests
that Hobson was instructed to gain the surrender of that sovereignty to the
British Crown by the free and innocent consent of the natives. The instructions
given to Hobson were to achieve the authority and power of the British
government over the whole or part of the islands that the natives were willing
to cede. Adams (1977) strongly emphasize that in the context of the treaty and
on the foundation alone, that her Majesty’s title to sovereignty in New
Zealand. Apparently, the Queen’s intentions have been demonstrated clearly
in the English version of the treaty document, “Maori give sovereignty to the
British Queen”.
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Furthermore, there is likely to be vast differences between the Maori and
English versions of the treaty. The New Zealand Ministry of justice (n. d) argues
that in the English version of the Treaty of Waitangi, Maori had given
sovereignty to the British Queen which means absolute control and authority
of the British government over the Maori people. In the Maori version of the
treaty, it does not say that Maori would give ‘rangatiratanga’ to the British, but
the Maori give ‘kawanataga’ to the British which explicitly shows to us that
Maori who agreed to sign the Treaty of Waitangi expected the British
government to govern – to make laws about behaviour. Despite these
differences, the rangatira (chiefs) who signed the Treaty of Waitangi
misunderstood that they would keep their rangatiratanga over their lands and
everything else. Walker (2004) clarifies that the first draft of the Treaty was
translated by Henry Williams while Hobson spent his time reviewing the
document. The results of these combined efforts were four English versions
and a translation into Maori which matched no meaning at all. Consequently,
the English version of the treaty lodged with the Colonial office does not have
the exact meaning in the Maori version. Orange (1987) suggests that there
were some certain exclusion that had occurred in both versions; for example,
William replaced the words ‘sovereign authority’ and ‘civil government’ to the
word ‘kawanatanga’ in the Maori version. It can be seen that the
misinterpreting of the word ‘kawanatanga’ may have created an unequal
meanings in the English version. Orange indicates that the word ‘kawanatanga’
is not the precise meaning of sovereignty. In the Maori version, the absence of
the words ‘forests and fisheries’ seemed to have been a huge difference
between the two versions. The Ministry for Culture and Heritage (2014) shows
that in the English version of the treaty, Maori had ceded the sovereignty of
New Zealand to Britain; Māori had given the Crown an exclusive order to buy
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lands they wished to sell and, in return, were guaranteed full rights of
ownership of their lands, forests, fisheries and other possessions – Māori had
been given the rights and privileges of British subjects. The Treaty in Māori
conveys the meaning of the English version, but there are fundamental
differences. Most importantly, in the Māori version the word ‘sovereignty’ had
been translated as ‘kawanatanga’ meaning governance. Some Māori had
thought that the governor would have power over the settlers alone; others
believed that they were giving up their lands to the government but keeping
the right to control their own affairs. The English version provides ‘undisturbed
posession’ of all properties, but the Māori version provides ‘tino
rangatiratanga’ – full authority – over ‘taonga’ – treasures, which can be
intangible (Ministry of culture and Heritage, 2014).
Moreover, there are some key words that are vital to look at in both versions
such as ‘sovereignty’,’ kawanatanga’ and’ rangatiratanga’. The New Zealand
Ministry of Justice (n.d) defines sovereignty as the authority to create and
enforce law. With reference to the English version of the treaty, ‘Maori give
sovereignty to the British Queen’ demonstrates power of control over the
Maori. The Ministry for Culture and Heritage (2014) argues that the word
‘sovereignty’ expresses no exact meaning in Maori; which, in no doubt, most
Maori would not have signed the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840. Orange (1987)
suggests that the concept of sovereignty could be interpreted in different
ways, including the right to exercise a jurisdiction at international and national
level. Moon (2002) believes that the word ‘kawanatanga’ was a missionary
neologism based on the English word ‘governor’. Similarly, some Maori would
have partially understood that the meaning of ‘kawanatanga’ preferred to
those who had undergone missionary education. Walker (2004) defines that
the word ‘kawanatanga’ drawn from a transliteration of governor into
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‘kawana’ with the addition of the suffix ’tanga’ forming the word governance.
The New Zealand Ministry of Justice (n.d) states that the word ‘kawanatanga’,
usually found in the Bible translation and in the Book of Common Prayer, as
the specific meaning of the English word ‘governance’. Moon (2002) suggests
that the word ‘rangatiratanga’ refers to the power, rights and authority of the
chief which demonstrates a full sovereign power on its own. Orange (1987)
conveys that ‘rangatiratanga’ was of Maori derivation with an associate
meaning of chiefly power that was common to Maori concepts. It can be seen
that the best approximation of the word ‘sovereignty’ relatively close to the
concept of ‘rangatiratanga (chieftainship) whereas ‘kawanatanga’ (governance)
define no meaning to the previous words.
However, with reference to the above explanations of the Treaty of Waitangi,
there appears to be a few understandings of Maori towards the treaty in 1840.
Orange (1987) asserts that the Maori version had failed to show the full
meaning of the national sovereignty being granted. Clear explanations could
have been done to overcome the confusion towards the Treaty of Waitangi.
Orange reports that the chiefs had predicted that there was a good spiritual
aspect ties with sovereignty that could bring the same law and spiritual
elements to both Maori and British. With reference to Hobson’s greetings ‘He
iwi tahi tatou’, the meaning of it is ‘we are now one people’, so chiefs
interpreted the concept of the treaty in spiritual terms. In the same way, some
chiefs had understood the treaty as a special form of covenant with the Queen
which ties all the spiritual connotations of the biblical covenants (Orange,
1987).
In conclusion, this essay has examined issues related to the formation and
meaning of the Treaty of Waitangi with some specific factors such as British
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intentions for the treaty, the differences between the two versions of the
treaty, the Maori terms ‘rangatiratanga’, ‘kawanatanga’ and sovereignty, as
well as the Maori understanding of the treaty in 1840. So, because of these
different aspects and perspectives of the treaty, it is still an ongoing issue here
in Aotearoa.
References
Adams, P. (1977). Fatal necessity: British intervention in New Zealand, 1830-1847. Auckland:
Auckland University Press.
Moon, P. (2002). Te ara ki te tiriti: The path to the treaty of waitangi. Auckland, N.Z: David
Ling.
Orange, C. (2004). An illustrated history of the treaty of waitangi. Wellington, N.Z: Bridget
Williams Books.
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