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Taonga
Taonga or taoka (in South Island Māori) is a Māori-language word that refers to a treasured possession in Māori culture. It lacks a direct translation into English, making its use in the Treaty of Waitangi significant. The current definition differs from the historical one, noted by Hongi Hika as "property procured by the spear" [one could understand this as war booty or defended property] and is now interpreted to mean a wide range of both tangible and intangible possessions, especially items of historical cultural significance. It has been changed to suit agendas.[clarification needed] The 1820 Grammar and Vocabulary of the Language of New Zealand by Cambridge University professor Samuel Lee defined taonga as property procured by the spear. The second dictionary, was the Dictionary of the New Zealand Language by William Williams, published in 1844 four years after treaty was signed. This simply defined taonga as property.
Tangible examples are all sorts of heirlooms and artefacts, land, fisheries, natural resources such as geothermal springs and access to natural resources, such as riparian water rights and access to the riparian zone of rivers or streams. Intangible examples may include language and spiritual beliefs. The concept of taonga can also transcend into general New Zealand culture and non-Māori items; for example, the Ranfurly Shield is recognised as a taonga amongst the New Zealand rugby community.
Traditionally taonga represent the tangible and intangible links between Māori people and their ancestors and land. Taonga serve to reaffirm these genealogical connections to people and place known as whakapapa. Taonga serve as genealogical reference markers that help connect the living with their past. The intangible elements of taonga, such as the stories and genealogy that accompany them, are just as important as the object itself. Mina McKenzie described maintaining the connections between tangible objects, intangible properties, place and descendants as 'keeping the taonga warm.'
What is deemed to be a taonga has major political, economic and social consequences in New Zealand and has been the subject of fierce debates as the varying definitions and interpretations have implications for policies regarding such things as intellectual property, genetic engineering and allocation of radio frequency spectrum.
Fundamental to taonga are the relationships they exist in, including the people that made or cared for them, the communities they came from, and the ways they are connected to specific aspects of Maori culture.
The definition of taonga has potential constitutional significance in New Zealand because of the use of the word in the second article of the Treaty of Waitangi (Māori: te Tiriti o Waitangi). The English-language version of the treaty guaranteed the Māori signatories "full exclusive and undisturbed possession of their Lands and Estates Forests Fisheries and other properties". The Māori-language version of the treaty, which the vast majority of the signing parties endorsed (461 of 500 signatures), used the word taonga to translate the English phrase "other properties".
Section 6(e) of the Resource Management Act 1991 mandates decision-makers to "recognise and provide for the relationship of Māori and their culture and traditions with their ancestral lands, water, sites, wāhi tapu [sacred sites], and other taonga" as a matter of national importance.
Te Uenuku, or simply Uenuku is an important early Māori carving housed at Te Awamutu Museum. Te Uenuku (literally "The rainbow") represents the tribal god Uenuku.
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Taonga AI simulator
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Taonga
Taonga or taoka (in South Island Māori) is a Māori-language word that refers to a treasured possession in Māori culture. It lacks a direct translation into English, making its use in the Treaty of Waitangi significant. The current definition differs from the historical one, noted by Hongi Hika as "property procured by the spear" [one could understand this as war booty or defended property] and is now interpreted to mean a wide range of both tangible and intangible possessions, especially items of historical cultural significance. It has been changed to suit agendas.[clarification needed] The 1820 Grammar and Vocabulary of the Language of New Zealand by Cambridge University professor Samuel Lee defined taonga as property procured by the spear. The second dictionary, was the Dictionary of the New Zealand Language by William Williams, published in 1844 four years after treaty was signed. This simply defined taonga as property.
Tangible examples are all sorts of heirlooms and artefacts, land, fisheries, natural resources such as geothermal springs and access to natural resources, such as riparian water rights and access to the riparian zone of rivers or streams. Intangible examples may include language and spiritual beliefs. The concept of taonga can also transcend into general New Zealand culture and non-Māori items; for example, the Ranfurly Shield is recognised as a taonga amongst the New Zealand rugby community.
Traditionally taonga represent the tangible and intangible links between Māori people and their ancestors and land. Taonga serve to reaffirm these genealogical connections to people and place known as whakapapa. Taonga serve as genealogical reference markers that help connect the living with their past. The intangible elements of taonga, such as the stories and genealogy that accompany them, are just as important as the object itself. Mina McKenzie described maintaining the connections between tangible objects, intangible properties, place and descendants as 'keeping the taonga warm.'
What is deemed to be a taonga has major political, economic and social consequences in New Zealand and has been the subject of fierce debates as the varying definitions and interpretations have implications for policies regarding such things as intellectual property, genetic engineering and allocation of radio frequency spectrum.
Fundamental to taonga are the relationships they exist in, including the people that made or cared for them, the communities they came from, and the ways they are connected to specific aspects of Maori culture.
The definition of taonga has potential constitutional significance in New Zealand because of the use of the word in the second article of the Treaty of Waitangi (Māori: te Tiriti o Waitangi). The English-language version of the treaty guaranteed the Māori signatories "full exclusive and undisturbed possession of their Lands and Estates Forests Fisheries and other properties". The Māori-language version of the treaty, which the vast majority of the signing parties endorsed (461 of 500 signatures), used the word taonga to translate the English phrase "other properties".
Section 6(e) of the Resource Management Act 1991 mandates decision-makers to "recognise and provide for the relationship of Māori and their culture and traditions with their ancestral lands, water, sites, wāhi tapu [sacred sites], and other taonga" as a matter of national importance.
Te Uenuku, or simply Uenuku is an important early Māori carving housed at Te Awamutu Museum. Te Uenuku (literally "The rainbow") represents the tribal god Uenuku.