Whānau – the up-to-dateness of an important Māori term

The term “whānau” is translated into English meaning “family”, but in reality the definition behind the idea is more complex. “It includes physical, emotional and spiritual dimensions and is based on whakapapa. The ancestors’ traditions and history is adapted from the contemporary world through whānau. The term whānau encloses related family members as well as close friends.

           

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/337207090819135804/

In connection to current events the concept of whānau can be associated with what family means to people and in how far different family concepts are accepted in the world.

The legalization of same-sex marriage is on everyone’s lips these days because of the fact that the US Supreme Court made the decision to legalize gay marriage last Friday June 26th, 2015. Louisa Wall, a politician from the New Zealand Labour Party, called the Supreme Court decision “monumental”. Social networks like facebook, twitter or instagram are paved with posts about people expressing their joy at the legalization of same-sex marriage using the hashtag "lovewins".

 http://images.latintimes.com/sites/latintimes.com/files/styles/pulse_embed_breakpoints_theme_lt_desktop_1x/public/2015/06/26/love-wins-marriage-equality-support_7.jpg?itok=ZHWPVRNN

Wall was the one who submitted a bill to legalize same-sex marriage in New Zealand in May 2012. The Marriage Amendment Bill was passed into law after a voting in Parliament on April 17th, 2013. New Zealand was the 13th country in the world and the 1st in the Asia-Pacific region to legalize gay marriage. The first weddings in New Zealand took place on August 19th, 2013 and thousands of Australian same-sex couples took a chance to travel to New Zealand to get married. After the decision on the legalization of gay marriage had been announced, the supports of same-sex marriage sang the Māori love song “Pokarekare Ana”, a song referred to as the unofficial national anthem of New Zealand, to express their happiness towards the passing of the bill.

love song "Pokarekare Ana" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgRVK2ge1ys)

The Marriage Amendment Bill had many supporters of course. John Key, New Zealand’s Prime Minister, was one of them.

http://www.wired.com/2013/02/apple-google-facebook-supreme-court-same-sex-marriage/

But nevertheless there were and still are a lot of people opposed to gay marriage. Jonathan Young, Member of the Parliament and part of the National Party, was against the legalization of same-sex marriage because he was of the opinion that the “tradition of marriage should be remained”. New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters wanted a referendum because in a democracy the people should get a chance to participate in deciding on the legalization of same-sex marriage. Moreover, another opponent was Bob McCoskrie, the founder of a lobbying group called Family First, a “non-partisan non-profit organization” that stands for the protection of marriage and family in New Zealand. The organization is strictly against gay marriage and says only a marriage between a man and a woman is a “real” marriage.

There is one place on earth where people that although they have citizenship in New Zealand nonetheless cannot marry a person with the same sex. That is on the Cook Islands.

Sources:

http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/whanau-maori-and-family/page-1

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2013/04/17/new-zealand-legalises-gay-marriage

http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/americas/69758424/joyful-reactions-to-court-ruling-on-us-samesex-marriage

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/17/new-zealand-gay-marriage_n_3098762.html

http://www.protectmarriage.org.nz/

The Most Important Māori Terms

The Māori terms Taonga, Tino Rangatiratanga, Waka, Whakapapa & Tapu are often used to describe the Māori culture and its traditions.

The term Taonga translates into treasure in English and as a matter of fact describes anything highly prized. In the second article of the Treaty of Waitangi the term “taonga” was used to describe that it is ensured that the Māori can keep their property and their “taonga” even if they are put under British rule. In connection to all those descriptions people obviously start to question the meaning of “taonga”. What exactly is considered a treasure? Who makes the decision on whether something is entitled to be a treasure or not? And who decides what belongs to the Māori population? Nowadays the term “taonga” is used to name some of the Māori historical institutions and organizations.

Tino Rangatiratanga has recently been said to mean “absolute sovereignty”. Moreover, it is the name of the Māori flag which is said to be representing all Māori across New Zealand and was designed in 1990. The term “tino rangatiratanga” was emphasized after the inconsistency between the first and the second article of the Treaty of Waitangi had been revealed. The difficulties with the translations still lead to debates as to whether the Māori aimed at ceding their sovereignty to the British Crown by signing the Treaty of Waitangi. 

The Māori flag (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/30/Tino_Rangatiratanga_Maori_sovereignty_movement_flag.svg/2000px-Tino_Rangatiratanga_Maori_sovereignty_movement_flag.svg.png)

The term waka translates into “vehicle” or “container”. It is most frequently used to describe Māori canoes. The canoes were used for fishing and in wars. Today “waka” refers to cars or vehicles in general.

Traditional Māori Waka canoe (http://www.tourdispatch.com/shore-excursions/bay-of-islands-new-zealand/480-traditional-maori-waka-canoe.html)

Whakapapa means “to lie flat, “to place in layers” or “to recite in proper order”. The term is used to name the genealogies.  It is also used as a metaphor for the evolution and creation of the universe and all living creatures.

Tapu translates into “prohibited”, “restricted”, or “be sacred” and therefore as a Māori expression describes persons or certain objects that are sacred and stand under protection. Sometimes a “tapu” is to some extent a taboo issue and should not be spoken of. Violating a “tapu” was punished until the first Europeans came to New Zealand. The idea of “tapu” still exists to this day, but has become less strict.

Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taonga

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tinorangatiratanga

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waka_(canoe)

http://maaori.com/whakapapa/

http://maaori.com/whakapapa/whakpap2.htm

           http://www.maoridictionary.co.nz/