RANGATIRA
Sir,—Would one of our Maori friends please give me a precise definition of “rangatira?” Can a rangatira be made? My impression, possibly erroneous, was that “rangatira” roughly corresponded to “gentleman” and was a matter of personal qualities, and not a rank that could be bestowed.—Yours, etc., WAIROA. October 28, 1946.
[Professor I. L. G. Sutherland, a prominent pakeha authority on Maori traditions, offered the following comment: best known meaning of the word ‘rangatira’ is ‘well-born,’ or ‘of good breeding,’ but Williams and Tregear, in their dictionaries, give ‘chief as the primary meaning.” “Rangatiras are born and not made” remarked a well-known Maori to whom the letter was also referred.]
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Press, Volume LXXXII, Issue 25022, 2 November 1946, Page 6
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110RANGATIRA Press, Volume LXXXII, Issue 25022, 2 November 1946, Page 6
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