Happy Waitangi Day, I guess

On this day in 1840, the Treaty of Waitangi* was signed.  This wrapped up years of hostility between Maori* and pakeha*, but then ushered in new problems.  The Treaty made New Zealand part of the British Empire, gave Maori the same rights as British citizens, and importantly, guaranteed their rights to their land.

Maori took the Treaty seriously.  Finally, the pakeha were giving them some respect.   But there were some significant differences in the wording between the English and the Maori translations, which were misleading.  White settlers largely ignored the Treaty, regardless of the wording, and continued to steal the Maoris' land and deny them rights.  Although it was legally binding and established the core parliamentary structure of NZ today, Maori soon came to see the Treaty as a lie, a symbol of pakeha duplicity and the disenfranchisement of the people who were here first.

Waitangi Day is recognized, but is downplayed because of this shameful history.  In Auckland, for instance, Auckland Anniversary (which was last weekend) is substituted as the public holiday, instead of Waitangi Day.  There are no celebrations, like parades or anything, although a few stores are having a sale.  Heads of state visit the marae* at Waitangi for 'let's-work-together' speeches, and flags of New Zealand and the United Tribes of New Zealand are flown.  There is a bit of a kerfuffle this year about the placement of the flags:  Maori want to see the tribal flag take a place of honor relative to the union flag.


*
Waitangi:  why-TON-gi.  A town near here, on the Bay of Islands.

Maori:  MOW-ree.  The original settlers of NZ, descended from Polynesians. 

Pakeha:  PACK-ee-a.  Maori word for white European settlers.  Retains somewhat unkind connotations today.

Marae:  mah-RIE.  A large Maori meeting house for ceremonial purposes.  Pakeha visitors must be escorted onto the sacred marae grounds by a sponsor from the local tribe, and must observe elaborate social conventions lest they offend their hosts.