The Meaning of the Treaty

• The Treaty recognised that Māori already had occupation of New Zealand. It records an agreement between Māori and the British Crown, with Māori giving the Crown rights to govern and to continue settling the country with British immigrants. The Crown in return guaranteed Māori full protection of and tribal authority over their lands, fisheries, forests, villages, culture and treasures, and extending to Māori the full status and rights of British citizenship.
• The Treaty consisted of three articles or sections. Article I covers the future government of the land, Article II confirms the protection of Māori chiefs and their authority over their land, and the sale of land, and Article III confirms the protection and citizenship of the people of New Zealand, including the Māori.
• Because the Treaty was written in both Māori and English, and the translators did not always find an exact match in Māori for an English word, it is possible to read different meanings into each version.
• The English text states that the Māori agree to acknowledge the sovereignty of the British Queen (Queen Victoria). Instead of using the closest Māori word to sovereignty, (mana or rangatira), the word chosen by the translators was 'kāwanatanga', which means 'governorship'. The European concept of a governor was one that did not mean much to Māori — they used instead 'rangatiratanga' or chieftainship.
• The Māori version of the Treaty said the Māori would let Britain have 'governorship', enabling the British to set up a government, but that Māori would keep their role of 'chieftainship' over their lands, villages and treasures (taonga).
• During the discussions that took place before the signing of the Treaty, Māori gained the expectation that they would share authority with the Europeans and that they would keep their control over tribal matters. Within the concept of 'governorship', the British Crown would keep order between Māori and European, guarantee Māori control of land and other resources they wished to keep, and protect Māori tribal lore and customary rights.
• It has been suggested that the translators deliberately did not use the Māori words closest to the meaning of the English text because they knew that Māori would not have agreed to those provisions in the Treaty, particularly the issue of sovereignty .
• Another area of difference between the two languages is in the understanding of the words 'treasures' and 'taonga'. The English text of the Treaty limits 'treasures' to property and possessions, compared to the Māori taonga, which includes all things held precious, including language and culture.
• Another area of dispute was over the right of Māori to sell land to buyers other than the Crown. The way the Māori text was interpreted was that the Crown was to be offered the chance to buy land first, but if it was not interested in buying it, then the land could be offered to other buyers.
• One explanation of the Treaty was made to his people by Nopera Panakareao at Kaitaia. He said: "Only the shadow of the land passes to the Queen. The substance stays with us, the Māori people".
• The majority of the chiefs who signed the Treaty signed the Māori text, with only 39 signing the English text. Because of this, the differences in the understanding of some of the words have become an important part of the issue of what the Māori did agree to.

For a discussion of the text of the Treaty of Waitangi see: http://www.treatyofwaitangi.govt.nz/

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