Tino rangatiratanga

***Tino rangatiratanga*** is a Māori language term that means "absolute sovereignty." Sovereignty means absolute power to rule something without someone else interfering. In this case, it refers to the ability of the Māori people (the indigenous people of New Zealand) to rule themselves and be recognized as the owners of the land. "_Tino rangatiratanga_" shows up in the Māori version of the Treaty of Waitangi, which they signed with the British in 1840. They were promised that they would have _tino rangatiratanga_ forever in the treaty. However, this concept was not respected since the British colonizers took a lot of things from the Māori people. To this day, people in New Zealand do not agree on what "_tino rangatiratanga_" means or what kind of things it is supposed to cover.

## Origin

A _rangatira_ is a chief in the Māori culture. The suffix -tanga is added so _rangatiratanga_ refers to the qualities of being a chief. "_Tino_" is a Māori word that means "most" or "absolute." So by using this term, the British were allowing Maori chiefs to have complete control and allow them to use their powers as chiefs.

Some people think that the term can be used to describe self-determination, autonomy, or Māori independence.

Here are the meaning of the terms from an online Māori dictionary:

- Tino: absolute ... used before a noun to indicate something is unrivaled or is true or genuine.

- Rangatiratanga: kingdom, realm, sovereignty, principality, self-determination, self-management.

## Treaty

There is a lot of confusion about the Treaty of Waitangi because Articles 1 and 2 in the treaty say different things.
||English version|Māori version|
| --- | --- | --- |
|Article 1|The Māori give away their sovereignty to the British Crown by signing the treaty.|The Māori give away their "kawanatanga" ("governorship") by signing the treaty. They did not have kings or queens, so this word was used to describe the concept of sovereignty. The Māori word "kawana" is from the English word for "governor" and was invented by Christian missionaries to describe Pontius Pilate's rule in Judea. It was also used before 1840 to describe the Governor of New South Wales.|
|Article 2|The Māori are promised that their right to ownership of their land and property would be respected.|The Māori are promised that their _tino rangatiratanga_ over their lands, _kainga_ (homes) and other _taonga_ (treasures) would be respected.|

According to the Māori version of the treaty, Article 1 is talking about _kawanatanga_ (governorship) while Article 2 is talking about _tino rangatiratanga_ (absolute chieftainship). To them, these are two totally different concepts. Therefore, they believe that they never gave away their land rights and ability to rule themselves. In fact, a tribunal that was created to focus on the Treaty of Waitangi said that the Māori can never give up those rights and never did.

## Flag

There is a Tino rangatiratanga flag that is used to represent the Māori people.  It is red, white, and black. It was designed by Māori artists Hiraina Marsden, Jan Smith and Linda Munn in 1990 as part of a contest.

Walter Erstich came up with the meaning for the flag.  The elements of the national Māori flag represent the three realms.  Black stands for Te Korekore - the realm of potential being. The colour symbolises the darkness from which the earth appeared from. It also represents Rangi, the heaven, floating, a passive force.
White represents Te Ao Mārama, the realm of being and light. It symbolises the physical world, the harmony and purity, the balance.
Red stands for Te Whai Ao, the coming into being. The colour represents Papatuanuku, mother-earth and the sustainer of all living things. It also symbolises the land and active forces.
The spiral-like pattern, known as Koru, is the symbol of a curling fern frond and represents a new life, the process of renewal and the hope for the future.

The Māori name given to the flag, Tino Rangatiratanga, is also filled with deep meaning. It can be translated as self-determination, sovereignty and Māori independence.
This flag is flown next to the flag of New Zealand to show people that the land still belongs to the Māori. Sometimes, this flag is used in protests to show how certain issues are affecting Māori.