What's in the name?

Tu Tangata, Issue 24, 1 June 1985, Page 41

What's in the name?

A lot I would say. Maybe a great deal more than you have ever thought of before. I am thinking in particular of Maori place names throughout Aotearoa. You notice I said Aotearoa and not New Zealand. To the Maori, this land has always been Aotearoa for hundreds of years before the arrival of Abel Tasman, a Dutch sailor from the other side of the world. Abel Tasman returned to Europe to tell his people about it, and in his own language called the land something that sounds like New Zealand. That does not make any difference to the Maori who are the local people (the tangata whenua) here. It has always been Aotearoa, it is Aotearoa, and it will always be

Aotearoa. If you don’t believe me, try listening to Maori speeches on marae across this land.

Long before the arrival of the European (pakeha) visitors and later the settlors (the manuhiri, if you like), all the geographical features of the land coastlines, lakes, rivers, streams, hills, valleys, mountains, hot springs, glaciers, etc had already acquired Maori names. So had the many different species of plant and animal life on the land and in the water. Many of the Maori names have been replaced by pakeha names over the last 100 years of our history. Name changing is part of the conquering process. It hap-

pens at different times and in different places throughout human history. The winner has the last say. Some people think of it as a cultural putdown by the winner.

Manv Maori place names record and preserve the great deeds and events of tribal history, myths, legends and traditions. They link the past with the present, giving people a sense of belonging and identity. You destroy a name and you take away part of the people’s history from which they derive their sense of identity, their mana. So be careful with names.

To give a local example, Hokowhitu is a very important name in the history and traditions of the local Rangitane people as well as maoridom as a whole. Hokowhitu is part of their mana. In days of old Hokowhitu was the gathering place of Rangitane war parties. The name speaks of the fighting strength and mana of Rangitane people many of whose descendants are living now among us. Over a period of time, the term Hokowhitu became synonymous with a “war party” throughout maoridom. It was no coincidence that the famous 28th Maori Battalion of World War II was formed and trained here in Palmerston North in 1940. The Maori name for the 28th Battalion was Te Hokowhitu a Tumatauenga (the war party of Tu God of war in Maori mythology). The past was linked with the present for those brave men of the 28th Battalion. To the Maori people, the past is the present. The past is now. So be careful with names.

If we are really one nation here in the Pacific or rather te Moananui-a-Kiwa (Maori name for this ocean) then all names are part of our shared heritage as New Zealanders. They are part of our history, our traditions, our identity. Our mana.

What’s in the name? Rather a lot so be careful with names.

Thana na Nagara Manawatu Aotearoa.