Meaning of the treaty
A treaty of two texts
The treaty has two texts: one in te reo Māori and one in English.
Under the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975, the Waitangi Tribunal is tasked with determining the meaning and effect of the Treaty for the purposes of inquiring into Māori claims. However, the Māori text is not an exact translation of the English text. For this reason, the Treaty of Waitangi Act requires the Tribunal to ‘decide issues raised by the differences between them’.
What follows below is a general guide to the meaning of the treaty texts.
Preamble
The preamble to the English text states that the British intentions were to:
- protect Māori interests from the encroaching British settlement
- provide for British settlement
- establish a government to maintain peace and order.
The Māori text includes similar statements but has a different emphasis because it suggests that the Queen's main promises to Māori were to:
- secure tribal rangatiratanga
- secure Māori land ownership.
Article 1
In the Māori text of article 1, Māori gave the British ‘kawanatanga’, the right of governance, whereas in the English text, Māori ceded 'sovereignty'.
One of the problems that faced the original drafters of the te reo Māori text of the treaty was that 'sovereignty' had no direct equivalent in the context of Māori society. Rangatira (chiefs) exercised full authority (‘mana’) over land and resources on behalf of the wider community.
The term used in the te reo Māori text, 'kawanatanga', was a transliteration of the word 'governance', which was then in current use. Māori understanding of this word came from familiar use in the New Testament of the Bible (when referring to the likes of Pontius Pilate), and from their knowledge of the role of the Governor of New South Wales, whom they referred to as 'Kawana'.
Article 2
The Māori text of article 2 uses the word 'rangatiratanga' in promising to uphold the authority that tribes had always had over their lands and taonga. This choice of wording emphasises status and authority.
In the English text, the Queen guaranteed to Māori the undisturbed possession of their properties, including their lands, forests, and fisheries, for as long as they wished to retain them. This text emphasises property and ownership rights.
In the Māori text the chiefs agree to sell land to the Queen at agreed prices:
‘ka tuku ki te Kuini te hokonga o era wahi wenua e pai ai te tangata nona te Wenua-ki te ritenga o te utu e wakaritea ai e ratou ko te kai hoko e meatia nei e te Kuini hei kai hoko mona’.
By contrast, in the English text this was called the ‘exclusive right of Preemption’, which meant only the Crown could purchase land from Māori.
Scholars and the Tribunal have concluded Māori and the Crown held different interpretations of this provision.
Article 3
In article 3 of the English text, the Crown promises to Māori the benefits of royal protection and full citizenship. In the Māori text the Queen agrees to give Māori the same rights and duties of citizenship as the people of England:
‘nga tikanga katoa rite tahi kia ana mea ki nga tangata o Ingarani’
This article emphasises equality and equity.
The epilogue
The epilogue of the Māori text notes the chiefs had seen and accepted the words and agreed to record their names and tohu or marks:
‘ka kite nei i te ritenga o enei kupu, ka tangohia ka wakaaetia katoatia e matou, koia ka tohungia ai o matou ingoa o matou tohu.’
This is rendered in the English text as the signatories having entered into the ‘full spirit and meaning’ of the treaty.
Further information about the texts of the treaty can be found in chapter 7.5 ‘Te Tiriti and the Treaty: The Language’ on page 348 of the Waitangi Tribunal’s report He Whakaputanga me te Tiriti(external link).
How the Tribunal has interpreted the treaty
Each Tribunal panel is constituted to determine the meaning and effect of the treaty based on the claims before it. Readers interested in the Tribunal's interpretation of the treaty and its principles are directed to the Tribunal’s reports themselves.
Chapter 8 of the Waitangi Tribunal’s report He Whakaputanga me te Tiriti(external link) provides an account of previous Tribunal and court statements on the meaning of the treaty.