preview

The Theory Of K Ā Wanatanga

Better Essays
Since the early 18th century, Māori have challenged the theory of kāwanatanga (governance) which was introduced by the contradictory versions viewed in the Treaty of Waitangi. Māori, throughout history have fought to maintain their identity and save their settlements in many ways in Aotearoa. In this essay I will describe how kāwanatanga was first introduced in the Māori society and discuss the consequences of it such as Parihaka pacifist movement, along with challenges including land ownership. These disputes have been important as it signifies New Zealand’s history and some of the events have played major roles in what New Zealand is today.

Kāwanatanga caused disagreement and it first began from the translation in Article One of the
…show more content…
Since the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, Māori gave authority to the Crown like giving small proportion of mana to rule the upcoming colonizers but being promised tino rangatiratanga (chieftainship) to remain with them as they had no intention to give it away (Adams 1977:235, Fenton & Moon 2002:25). However this was a misunderstanding of kāwanatanga between Māori and the crown. Crown had thought they were receiving sovereignty over New Zealand from the Māori chiefs, on the other hand Māori thought they were only giving part of their mana to the Crown. Moreover, the chiefs implied that only partial control will be under the British but the land will still be owned by the Māori (Adams 1977:235, Fenton & Moon 2002:34). Further on, Hapū (sub-tribe) felt kāwanatanga was disobeyed. This was because Crown let go of the promises that Māori believed were made to them in terms of rights and authority. Along the passing decades, it was seen that the Crown went on requesting complete authority over Aotearoa with this form of "kāwanatanga", overcoming the tino rangatiratanga of Māori” Māori had no power in the native courts (Adams 1977:235, Fenton & Moon 2002:37). Further empowerment of British procedures, initiated the Māori challenge against kāwanatanga.
At this time Māori were facing difficult situations as they were exposed to harmful infectious diseases, which only started when Europeans arrived. Māori were trying to cope with new settlements along with new
Get Access