''Pākehā'' (or ''Pakeha''; ; ) is a
Māori-language word used in English, particularly in
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
. It generally means a non-
Polynesian New Zealander or more specifically a
European New Zealander.
It is not a legal term and has no definition under New Zealand law. ''Papa'a'' has a similar meaning in
Cook Islands Māori
Cook Islands Māori is an Eastern Polynesian language that is the official language of the Cook Islands. Cook Islands Māori is closely related to, but distinct from, New Zealand Māori. Cook Islands Māori is called just Māori when there i ...
.
Etymology and history
The etymology of is uncertain. The most likely sources are the Māori words or , which refer to an oral tale of a "mythical, human like being, with fair skin and hair who possessed canoes made of reeds which changed magically into sailing vessels".
When Europeans first arrived they rowed to shore in longboats, facing backwards:
In traditional Māori canoes or , paddlers face the direction of travel. This is supposed to have led to the belief by some, that the sailors were ''
patupaiarehe
Patupaiarehe are supernatural beings () in Māori mythology that are described as pale to fair skinned with blonde hair or red hair, usually having the same stature as ordinary people, and never tattooed. They can draw mist to themselves, but t ...
'' (supernatural beings).
There have been several dubious interpretations given to the word . One claims that it derives from , the Māori word for
pig
The pig (''Sus domesticus''), also called swine (: swine) or hog, is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is named the domestic pig when distinguishing it from other members of the genus '' Sus''. Some authorities cons ...
, and , one of the Māori words for
flea
Flea, the common name for the order (biology), order Siphonaptera, includes 2,500 species of small flightless insects that live as external parasites of mammals and birds. Fleas live by hematophagy, ingesting the blood of their hosts. Adult f ...
, and therefore expresses derogatory implications. There is no etymological support for this notion—like all Polynesian languages, Māori is generally very conservative in terms of vowels; it would be extremely unusual for ''pā-'' to derive from '. The word itself may come from the proto-Polynesian root ''puaka'', known in every Polynesian language ( in
Tongan,
Uvean,
Futunian,
Rapa,
Marquisian,
Niuean,
Rarotongan,
Tokelauan
Tokelauan () is a Polynesian language spoken in Tokelau and historically by the small population of Swains Island (or Olohega) in American Samoa. It is closely related to Tuvaluan language, Tuvaluan and is related to Samoan language, Samoan and ...
, and
Tuvaluan; it evolved to the later form in
Samoan,
Tahitian, some
Rapa dialects, and
Hawaiian); or it might be borrowed or mixed with the English 'porker'. It is hard to say, since Polynesian peoples populated their islands bringing pigs with them from
East Asia
East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...
, but did not bring pigs to New Zealand. The more common Māori word for flea is . It is also sometimes claimed that means 'white pig' or 'unwelcome white stranger'. However, no part of the word signifies 'pig', 'white', 'unwelcome', or 'stranger'.
The term was in use by the late 18th century. In December 1814, the Māori children at
Rangihoua in the Bay of Islands were "no less eager to see the ''packaha'' than the grown folks".
Meaning and use
The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' (2011) defines 'Pakeha' as 'a white New Zealander'. ''The Oxford Dictionary of New Zealandisms'' (2010) defines the noun Pākehā as 'a light-skinned non-Polynesian New Zealander, especially one of British birth or ancestry as distinct from a Māori; a European or white person'; and the adjective as 'of or relating to Pākehā; non-Māori; European, white'.
Māori in the
Bay of Islands
The Bay of Islands is an area on the east coast of the Far North District of the North Island of New Zealand. It is one of the most popular fishing, sailing and tourist destinations in the country, and has been renowned internationally for ...
and surrounding districts had no doubts about the meaning of the word in the 19th century. In 1831, thirteen from the
Far North met at
Kerikeri
Kerikeri () is a town in the Bay of Islands, in the Far North District of the North Island of New Zealand. It lies at the head of Kerikeri Inlet, a northwestern arm of the Bay of Islands, where fresh water of the Kerikeri River enters the Paci ...
to compose a letter to
King William IV
William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded hi ...
, seeking protection from the French,
"the tribe of Marion". Written in Māori, the letter used the word ' to mean 'British European', and the words to mean 'strangers (non-British)'—as shown in the translation that year of the letter from Māori to English by the missionary
William Yate. To this day, the Māori term for the English language is . Māori also used other terms such as (supernatural, or object of fear, strange being), (ghosts), and (metal or referring to persons foreign) to refer to some of the earliest visitors.
However, ''The Concise Māori Dictionary'' (Kāretu, 1990) defines the word as 'foreign, foreigner (usually applied to white person)', while the ''English–Māori, Māori–English Dictionary'' (Biggs, 1990) defines it as 'white (person)'. Sometimes the term applies more widely to include all non-Māori. No Māori dictionary cites as derogatory. Some early
European settlers who lived among Māori and adopted aspects of
Māoritanga became known as '
Pākehā Māori'.
In Māori, plural noun-phrases of the term include (the
definite article
In grammar, an article is any member of a class of dedicated words that are used with noun phrases to mark the identifiability of the referents of the noun phrases. The category of articles constitutes a part of speech.
In English, both "the" ...
) and (the indefinite article). When the word was first adopted into English, the usual plural was 'Pakehas'. However, speakers of
New Zealand English
New Zealand English (NZE) is the variant of the English language spoken and written by most English-speaking New Zealanders. Its language code in ISO and Internet standards is en-NZ. It is the first language of the majority of the populati ...
are increasingly removing the terminal 's' and treating the term as a plural noun. There is also evidence Māori coined the term in the plural as well as in the singular on first encounter with Europeans:
Attitudes to the term
A survey of 6,507 New Zealanders in 2009 showed no support for the claim that it is associated with a negative evaluation; however, some reject it on the ground that they claim it is offensive,
[Mulgan, R.G. and Aimer, P.]
Politics in New Zealand
" 3rd ed., Auckland University Press pp.29–31 or they object to being named in a language other than their own.
In 2013, the
New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study carried out by the
University of Auckland
The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...
found no evidence that the word was widely considered to be
derogatory
A pejorative word, phrase, slur, or derogatory term is a word or grammatical form expressing a negative or disrespectful connotation, a low opinion, or a lack of respect toward someone or something. It is also used to express criticism, hostility ...
; however, only 12 per cent of New Zealanders of European descent actively chose to be identified by the term, with the remainder preferring 'New Zealander' (53 per cent), 'New Zealand European' (25 per cent) or '
Kiwi' (17 per cent).
European New Zealanders vary in their attitudes toward the word when it is applied to themselves.
Some embrace it while others object to the word,
sometimes strongly, saying it is offensive or derogatory, carrying implications of being an outsider, although this is often based on false information about the meaning of the term. Some believe being labelled Pākehā compromises their status and their birthright links to New Zealand. In the 1986 census, over 36,000 respondents ignored the ethnicities offered, including ''Pākehā'', writing-in their ethnicity as 'New Zealander', or ignoring the question completely.
[ A joint response code of 'NZ European or Pakeha' was tried in the 1996 census, but was replaced by "New Zealand European" in later censuses because it drew what ]Statistics New Zealand
Statistics New Zealand (), branded as Stats NZ, is the public service department of New Zealand charged with the collection of statistics related to the economy, population and society of New Zealand. To this end, Stats NZ produces New Zealand c ...
described as a "significant adverse reaction from some respondents". Sociologist Paul Spoonley criticised the new version, saying that many Pākehā would not identify as European.[
]
The term ''Pākehā'' is also sometimes used among New Zealanders of European ancestry in distinction to the Māori term (foreigner), as an act of emphasising their claims of belonging to the space of New Zealand in contrast to more recent arrivals. Those who prefer to emphasise nationality rather than ethnicity in relating to others living in New Zealand may refer to all New Zealand citizens only as 'New Zealanders' or by the colloquial term 'Kiwis'.
Historian Judith Binney called herself a Pākehā and said, "I think it is the most simple and practical term. It is a name given to us by Māori. It has no pejorative associations like people think it does—it's a descriptive term. I think it's nice to have a name the people who live here gave you, because that's what I am."
New Zealand writer and historian Michael King wrote in 1985: "To say something is Pakeha in character is not to diminish its New Zealand-ness, as some people imply. It is to emphasise it."[ King, Michael (1985), ''Being Pakeha: An Encounter with New Zealand and the Maori Renaissance'', Auckland: Hodder and Stoughton.]
See also
* Europeans in Oceania
Age of Discovery, European exploration and settlement of Oceania began in the 16th century, starting with the Spanish people, Spanish (Crown of Castile, Castilian) landings and shipwrecks in the Mariana Islands, east of the Philippines. This was ...
* Pākehā privilege
* Pākehā guilt
References
Further reading
* Hoani Nahe
"The Origins of the Words 'Pakeha' and 'Kaipuke
''Journal of the Polynesian Society'', vol. 3, December 1894
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pakeha
Māori words and phrases
Ethno-cultural designations
European diaspora in New Zealand