Taonga

For the New Zealand TV series, seeTaonga (TV series).

Taongaortaoka(inSouth Island Māori) is aMāori-languageword that refers to a treasured possession inMāori culture.It lacks a direct translation into English, making its use in theTreaty of Waitangisignificant. The current definition differs from the historical one, noted byHongi Hikaas "property procured by the spear" [one could understand this aswar bootyor defended property] and is now interpreted to mean a wide range of both tangible and intangible possessions, especially items of historical cultural significance.

Tangible examples are all sorts ofheirloomsandartefacts,land,fisheries,natural resources such as geothermal springsand access to natural resources, such asriparian water rightsand access to theriparian zoneof rivers or streams. Intangible examples may include language and spiritual beliefs. The concept oftaongacan also transcend into generalNew Zealand cultureand non-Māori items; for example, theRanfurly Shieldis recognised as ataongaamongst the New Zealand rugby community.

Traditionallytaongarepresent the tangible and intangible links betweenMāoripeople and their ancestors and land.Taongaserve to reaffirm these genealogical connections to people and place known aswhakapapa.Taongaserve as genealogical reference markers that help connect the living with their past. The intangible elements oftaonga,such as the stories and genealogy that accompany them, are just as important as the object itself.Mina McKenziedescribed maintaining the connections between tangible objects, intangible properties, place and descendants as 'keeping the taonga warm.'

What is deemed to be ataongahas 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 engineeringand allocation of radio frequency spectrum.

Relationships

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.

Treaty of Waitangi and te Tiriti o Waitangi

The definition oftaongahas potential constitutional significance inNew Zealandbecause of the use of the word in the second article of theTreaty 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 andother properties".TheMāori-languageversion of the treaty, which the vast majority of the signing parties endorsed (461 of 500 signatures), used the wordtaongato 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.

Artifacts

Te Uenuku,or simplyUenukuis an important earlyMāori carvinghoused atTe Awamutu Museum.Te Uenuku(literally "The rainbow" ) represents the tribal godUenuku.

Korotangi(bird of sorrow) is a carving of a bird made in serpentine stone. Some Māori ofTainuiallegiance believe that it was brought to the country fromHawaikiin their ancestralwaka.

Waitangi Tribunal claims

A number of claims have been made to theWaitangi Tribunal,relating to the protection oftaonga.

Māori language

In June 1985 a claim was lodged asking that the Māori language receive official recognition. It was proposed that the language be official for all purposes enabling its use as of right in Parliament, the Courts, Government Departments, local authorities and public bodies.

Radio frequencies

In June 1986, the Waitangi Tribunal received the Wai 26 claim that theTreaty of Waitangiwas breached by the Crown proceeding to introduce legislation related to Māori language before the delivery of the Tribunal's "Report on the Te Reo Maori Claim", and as a consequence, the Māori people would be denied their claims for radio frequencies and a television channel.In June 1990 claim Wai 150 was lodged by SirGraham Latimeron behalf of theNew Zealand Maori Council.The claim was in respect of theirrangatiratangaover the allocation of radio frequencies; the claim being that in the absence of an agreement with the Māori, the sale of frequency management licences under the Radiocommunications Act 1989 would be in breach of theTreaty of Waitangi.The Waitangi Tribunal amalgamated the Wai 26 with the Wai 150 claim,with the final report of the Tribunal recommending that the Crown suspend the radio frequency tender process and proceed to negotiate with the iwi.

Spiritual places and burial sites

In November 1996, various members of Te Roroa filed a claim with the Waitangi Tribunal concerning the Maunganui block, the Waipoua Forest, Lake Taharoa and surroundings, and the Waimamaku Valley in Northland. A part of the Wai 38 claim related totaonga,in particular: wahi tapu "spiritual places of special significance to tangata whenua", and wakatupapaku (burial chests deposited in ana (caves and crevices)).

The Tribunal report delivered on 3 April 1992 found that the Crown had allowed Te Roroa'staongato be violated.

Māori knowledge of flora and fauna

The Wai 262 claim in the Waitangi Tribunal is a claim of rights in respect ofMātauranga Māorior Māori knowledge in respect of indigenous flora and fauna. The claimants commissioned a report from Professor D. Williams ontraditional ecological knowledge,ethnobotany and international and New Zealand law on intellectual property and conservation.

On 2 July 2011 the Tribunal released its report into the Wai 262 claim: "Ko Aotearoa Tēnei" (‘This is Aotearoa’ or ‘This is New Zealand’)."Ko Aotearoa Tēnei" considers more than 20 Government departments and agencies and makes recommendations as to reforms of "laws, policies or practices relating to health, education, science, intellectual property, indigenous flora and fauna, resource management, conservation, the Māori language, arts and culture, heritage, and the involvement of Māori in the development of New Zealand’s positions on international instruments affecting indigenous rights."The First Chapter of volume 1 (of the full 2 volume report) considers the relationship betweentaongaworks and intellectual property. The Tribunal provides a working definition of a ‘taonga work’ as being that:

"A taonga work is a work, whether or not it has been fixed, that is in its entirety an expression of mātauranga Māori; it will relate to or invoke ancestral connections, and contain or reflect traditional narratives or stories. A taonga work will possess mauri and have living kaitiaki in accordance withtikanga Māori."(Vol 1, 1.7.3 p. 96)

These working definitions involve concepts which are described by the Tribunal as being: Mauri is having a living essence or spirit.Kaitiaki can be spiritual guardians that exist in non-human form; kaitiaki obligations also exist in the human realm. The related concept is that "Kaitiakitanga is the obligation, arising from the kin relationship, to nurture or care for a person or thing it has a spiritual aspect, encompassing not only an obligation to care for and nurture not only physical well-being but also mauri."Kaitiaki obligations are described by the Tribunal as being that, “those who have mana (or, to use treaty terminology,rangatiratanga) must exercise it in accordance with the values of kaitiakitanga – to act unselfishly, with right mind and heart, and with proper Mana and kaitiakitanga go together as right and responsibility, and that kaitiakitanga responsibility can be understood not only as a cultural principle but as a system of law”.The Tribunal also provide a working definition of a ‘taonga-derived work’ as being that:

"A taonga-derived work is a work that derives its inspiration from mātauranga Māori or a taonga work, but does not relate to or invoke ancestral connections, nor contain or reflect traditional narratives or stories, in any direct way. A taonga-derived work is identifiably Māori in nature or contains identifiably Māori elements, but has neither mauri nor living kaitiaki in accordance withtikanga Māori."(Vol 1, 1.7.3 p. 96)

The Tribunal considered which principles applied to whether consent to its use, rather than mere consultation, was necessary where the work was a taonga work, or where the knowledge or information was mātauranga Māori.

Modern usage

The wordtaongais often used in the Māori names of institutions and organisations that manage historical collections. Many New Zealand museums contain the termWhare taonga( "treasure house" ) in the name. Here are some examples:

English name	Māori name
Hocken Collections,Dunedin	Uare Taoka o Hākena(theSouthern Māori dialectform ofWhare Taonga)
Ministry for Culture and Heritage	Te Manatū Taonga
New Zealand Historic Places Trust	Pouhere Taonga
New Zealand Film Archive	Ngā Kaitiaki O Ngā Taonga Whitiāhua
Radio New ZealandSound Archives	Ngā Taonga Kōrero
Rotorua Museum	Te Whare Taonga O Te Arawa
Waikato Museum	Te Whare Taonga o Waikato