Tino rangatiratanga

Tino rangatiratanga is a Māori language term that can be interpreted as 'absolute sovereignty'. It appears in the Māori version of the Treaty of Waitangi, signed by the British Crown and Māori chiefs (rangatira) in 1840. It has become one of the most contentious phrases in retrospective analyses of the Treaty, amid debate surrounding the obligations agreed to by each signatory. The phrase features in current historical and political discourse on race relations in New Zealand, and is widely used by Māori advocacy groups. A flag based on tino rangatiratanga was designed in 1990, and has become accepted as a national flag for Māori groups across New Zealand.

A rangatira is a chief, the nominalising suffix -tanga makes the word an abstract noun referring to the quality or attributes of chieftainship, and the addition of intensifier tino in this context means the phrase can be translated as 'highest chieftainship' (Kawharu, 1989, p. 314), the intention of which was to 'emphasize to a chief the Queen’s intention to give the complete control according to their customs' (ibid., p. 319). The term's closest English translation is 'absolute sovereignty', although many also refer to it as self-determination,autonomy, or Māori independence.

The emphasis on tino rangatiratanga draws from an inconsistency arising between Article 1 and Article 2 of the Treaty of Waitangi:

Based on the Māori text alone, in Article 1, the signatories appear to be ceding kawanatanga or governorship, and in Article 2, the signatories are promised that their tino rangatiratanga or highest chieftainship would remain undisturbed. The apparent inconsistency has led to much debate as to whether the Māori signatories intended to cede their sovereignty to the British Crown at all.

Aside from the legal controversy, many Māori see the Treaty as a charter to choose their own way of life within the framework of law, free of external interference in taonga like language and culture.

The Tino Rangatiratanga flag is often referred to as the Māori flag, one which can be used to represent all Māori. Hiraina Marsden, Jan Smith and Linda Munn designed this flag in 1990. It uses black, white and red as national colours of New Zealand. The design of the flag references the Maori creation story of Rangi and Papa, suggesting the sky, the earth, and the physical realm of light and being which was created when they were separated.

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