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Pākehā (or Pakeha; /ˈpɑːkɛhɑː, -kiːhɑː, -kiːə/; Māori pronunciation: [ˈpaːkɛhaː]) is a Māori-language word used in English, particularly in New Zealand. It generally means a non-Polynesian New Zealander or more specifically a European New Zealander. It is not a legal term and has no definition under New Zealand law. Papa'a has a similar meaning in Cook Islands Māori.

Etymology and history

The etymology of Pākehā is uncertain. The most likely sources are the Māori words pākehakeha or pakepakehā, which refer to an oral tale of a "mythical, human like being, with fair skin and hair who possessed canoes made of reeds which changed magically into sailing vessels". When Europeans first arrived they rowed to shore in longboats, facing backwards. In traditional Māori canoes or waka, paddlers face the direction of travel. This is supposed to have led to the belief that the sailors were supernatural beings.

There have been several dubious interpretations given to the word Pākehā. One claims that it derives from poaka, the Māori word for pig, and keha, one of the Māori words for flea, and therefore expresses derogatory implications. There is no etymological support for this notion—like all Polynesian languages, Māori is generally very conservative in terms of vowels; it would be extremely unusual for pā- to derive from poaka. The word poaka itself may come from the proto-Polynesian root puaka, known in every Polynesian language (puaka in Tongan, Uvean, Futunian, Rapa, Marquisian, Niuean, Rarotongan, Tokelauan, and Tuvaluan; it evolved to the later form puaʻa in Samoan, Tahitian, some Rapa dialects, and Hawaiian); or it might be borrowed or mixed with the English 'porker'. It is hard to say, since Polynesian peoples populated their islands bringing pigs with them from East Asia, but did not bring pigs to New Zealand. The more common Māori word for flea is puruhi. It is also sometimes claimed that Pākehā means 'white pig' or 'unwelcome white stranger'. However, no part of the word signifies 'pig', 'white', 'unwelcome', or 'stranger'.

The term was in use by the late 18th century. In December 1814, the Māori children at Rangihoua in the Bay of Islands were "no less eager to see the packaha than the grown folks".

Meaning and use

The Oxford Dictionary of English (2011) defines 'Pakeha' as 'a white New Zealander'. The Oxford Dictionary of New Zealandisms (2010) defines the noun Pākehā as 'a light-skinned non-Polynesian New Zealander, especially one of British birth or ancestry as distinct from a Māori; a European or white person'; and the adjective as 'of or relating to Pākehā; non-Māori; European, white'.

Māori in the Bay of Islands and surrounding districts had no doubts about the meaning of the word in the 19th century. In 1831, thirteen rangatira from the Far North met at Kerikeri to compose a letter to King William IV, seeking protection from the French, "the tribe of Marion". Written in Māori, the letter used the word Pākehā to mean 'British European', and the words tau iwi to mean 'strangers (non-British)'—as shown in the translation that year of the letter from Māori to English by the missionary William Yate. To this day, the Māori term for the English language is reo Pākehā. Māori also used other terms such as tupua (supernatural, or object of fear, strange being), kehua (ghosts), and maitai (metal or referring to persons foreign) to refer to some of the earliest visitors.

However, The Concise Māori Dictionary (Kāretu, 1990) defines the word Pākehā as 'foreign, foreigner (usually applied to white person)', while the English–Māori, Māori–English Dictionary (Biggs, 1990) defines it as 'white (person)'. Sometimes the term applies more widely to include all non-Māori. No Māori dictionary cites Pākehā as derogatory. Some early European settlers who lived among Māori and adopted aspects of Māoritanga became known as 'Pākehā Māori'.

In Māori, plural noun-phrases of the term include ngā Pākehā (the definite article) and he Pākehā (the indefinite article). When the word was first adopted into English, the usual plural was 'Pakehas'. However, speakers of New Zealand English are increasingly removing the terminal 's' and treating the term as a collective noun.

Attitudes to the term

A survey of 6,507 New Zealanders in 2009 showed no support for the claim that it is associated with a negative evaluation; however, some reject it on the ground that they claim it is offensive, or they object to being named in a language other than their own. In 2013, the New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study carried out by the University of Auckland found no evidence that the word was widely considered to be derogatory; however, only 12 per cent of New Zealanders of European descent actively chose to be identified by the term, with the remainder preferring 'New Zealander' (53 per cent), 'New Zealand European' (25 per cent) or 'Kiwi' (17 per cent).

European New Zealanders vary in their attitudes toward the word when it is applied to themselves. Some embrace it while others object to the word, sometimes strongly, saying it is offensive or derogatory, carrying implications of being an outsider, although this is often based on false information about the meaning of the term. Some believe being labelled Pākehā compromises their status and their birthright links to New Zealand. In the 1986 census, over 36,000 respondents ignored the ethnicities offered, including Pākehā, writing-in their ethnicity as 'New Zealander', or ignoring the question completely. A joint response code of 'NZ European or Pakeha' was tried in the 1996 census, but was replaced by "New Zealand European" in later censuses because it drew what Statistics New Zealand described as a "significant adverse reaction from some respondents". Sociologist Paul Spoonley criticised the new version, saying that many Pākehā would not identify as European.

The term Pākehā is also sometimes used among New Zealanders of European ancestry in distinction to the Māori term tauiwi (foreigner), as an act of emphasising their claims of belonging to the space of New Zealand in contrast to more recent arrivals. Those who prefer to emphasise nationality rather than ethnicity in relating to others living in New Zealand may refer to all New Zealand citizens only as 'New Zealanders' or by the colloquial term 'Kiwis'.

Historian Judith Binney called herself a Pākehā and said, "I think it is the most simple and practical term. It is a name given to us by Māori. It has no pejorative associations like people think it does—it's a descriptive term. I think it's nice to have a name the people who live here gave you, because that's what I am." New Zealand writer and historian Michael King wrote in 1985: "To say something is Pakeha in character is not to diminish its New Zealand-ness, as some people imply. It is to emphasise it."

See also

• Europeans in Oceania
• Pākehā privilege
• Pākehā guilt

References

1. Deverson, Tony; Kennedy, Graeme, eds. (2005), "Pakeha", The New Zealand Oxford Dictionary, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-558451-6
2. "Pākehā: New Zealander of European descent". Kupu.maori.nz. Archived from the original on 15 August 2017. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
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10. Binney, Judith (2007). Te Kerikeri 1770–1850, The Meeting Pool, Bridget Williams Books (Wellington) in association with Craig Potton Publishing (Nelson). ISBN 978-1-877242-38-0 . Chapter 13, "The Māori Leaders' Assembly, Kororipo Pā, 1831", by Manuka Henare, pp 114–116.
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17. ^ Mulgan, R.G. and Aimer, P. "Politics in New Zealand Archived 15 September 2017 at the Wayback Machine" 3rd ed., Auckland University Press pp.29–31
18. ^ "Research busts myth that 'Pākehā' is a derogatory term". University of Auckland. 5 February 2013. Retrieved 19 May 2024 – via Scoop.
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20. ^ Bell, Avril (1996). "'We're just New Zealanders': Pakeha identity politics". In Spoonley, Paul; Pearson, David G.; Macpherson, Cluny (eds.). Nga Patai: Racism and Ethnic Relations in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Palmerston North: Dunmore. pp. 144–158, 280–281. Archived from the original on 6 May 2018. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
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Further reading

• Hoani Nahe, "The Origins of the Words 'Pakeha' and 'Kaipuke'", Journal of the Polynesian Society, vol. 3, December 1894

External links

• Pakeha, its origin and meaning

• Māori words and phrases
• Ethno-cultural designations
• European diaspora in New Zealand