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Pakeha
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Pakeha are New Zealanders of predominantly European ancestry. They are mostly descended from British and to a lesser extent Irish settlers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, although some Pakeha have Dutch, Scandinavian, German, Yugoslav or other ancestry. The word Pakeha is also sometimes used to refer to any non-Maori person.
Pakeha is a Maori term, the origins of which are unclear, but which was in use by the late 18th century.
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Pakeha are New Zealanders of predominantly European ancestry. They are mostly descended from British and to a lesser extent Irish settlers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, although some Pakeha have Dutch, Scandinavian, German, Yugoslav or other ancestry. The word Pakeha is also sometimes used to refer to any non-Maori person.
Pakeha is a Maori term, the origins of which are unclear, but which was in use by the late 18th century. Controversy has arisen among some people who consider the word to be insulting and prefer the term New Zealand European. However, some New Zealanders of European heritage self-identify as Pakeha, feeling that New Zealand European is an inaccurate term. Many other New Zealanders of European descent are indifferent to the word.
Etymology
Meaning
No Maori dictionary cites 'Pakeha' as derogatory. The Concise Maori Dictionary (Karetu, 1990) defines the word as "foreign, foreigner (usually applied to white person)", while the English–Maori, Maori–English Dictionary (Biggs, 1990) defines Pakeha as "white (person)". The word mostly applies more narrowly to just New Zealanders of European (primarily British and Irish) descent, and this is the interpretation used in official New Zealand documents and forms. Sometimes it is applied more widely to include all non-Maori. Some early European settlers who lived among Maori became known as Pakeha Maori.
The term has more recently begun to be particularly applied to New Zealand-born persons of predominantly European descent as a means of distinguishing themselves from more recent settlers and emphasising their temporal and spatial distinctiveness, but acceptance of this notion remains still far from universal.
Some New Zealanders, primarily but not exclusively of European descent, reject any ethnicity-based label, preferring the term 'New Zealander'. A significant minority stated this as their ethnicity in the 2006 census.
Origins of the word
The origins of the word Pakeha are unknown, although the most likely sources are the words pakehakeha or pakepakeha, which refer to mythical human-like creatures, with fair skin and hair, sometimes described as having come from the sea. When Europeans first arrived they rowed to shore in longboats, facing backwards while rowing the boats to shore. In traditional Maori canoes or "waka", paddlers face the direction of travel. This is supposed to have led to the belief that the sailors were supernatural beings.
Popular misconceptions
There have been several dubious interpretations given to the word Pakeha, including:
- That it derives from poaka the Maori word for (pig), and keha, one of the Maori words for (flea), and therefore expresses derogatory implications. There is no etymological or linguistic support for this notion - like all Polynesian languages, Maori is generally very conservative in terms of vowels; it would be extremely unusual for 'pa-' to derive from 'poaka'. The more common Maori word for flea is puruhi.
- That it means white pig or unwelcome white stranger. However, no part of the word signifies "pig", "white", "unwelcome", or "stranger".
Attitudes to the term
New Zealanders of European ancestry vary in their attitude toward the word "Pakeha" as applied to themselves. Some embrace it wholeheartedly as a sign of their connection to New Zealand, in contrast to the European identity of their forebears. It is commonly used by a range of journalists and columnists from the New Zealand Herald, New Zealand's largest-circulation daily newspaper. Others object to the word, some strongly, claiming it to be derogatory or to carry implications of being an outsider. Some believe being labelled as Pakeha compromises their status and their birthright links to New Zealand. Some consider it similar to the word gaijin in Japan. It was replaced in the 2001 census by New Zealand European because some people find it objectionable, despite the fact that many Pakeha would not identify as European.
The term Pakeha is also sometimes used among New Zealanders of European ancestry in distinction to the Maori term Tauiwi (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.
Historian Judith Binney calls herself a Pakeha and says, "I think it is the most simple and practical term. It is a name given to us by Maori. 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".
History
The point at which European settlers in New Zealand became Pakeha - or indeed New Zealanders - is subjective. The first European settlers arrived in New Zealand in the early nineteenth century, but most were missionaries, traders and adventurers who did not intend to stay permanently. From the 1840s, following the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi and the assumption of British sovereignty, large numbers of Europeans began to settle permanently in New Zealand. Most of these settlers were from Britain, with a disproportionate number coming from Scotland. There were also numerous settlers from Ireland and Northern and Central Europe.
In the late nineteenth century there were some moves towards cultural nationalism, and many Pakeha began to see themselves as different from people living in Britain. However there were still strong ties to the 'mother country' (the United Kingdom, particularly England), which were maintained well into the twentieth century. Until some point in the mid twentieth century most Pakeha considered themselves to be both British and New Zealanders. Many Pakeha intellectuals migrated to Britain in order to pursue their careers as this was not possible in New Zealand. Notable expatriate Pakeha from this period include writer Katherine Mansfield and physicist Ernest Rutherford.
Pakeha ties with Britain were drastically weakened in the decades after World War II. Quicker, cheaper international travel allowed more Pakeha to visit and live in other countries, where they saw that they were different from the British and felt the need for a stronger national identity. In 1973, Britain joined the European Economic Community, cutting New Zealand off from free trade with its biggest market and leaving Pakeha feeling betrayed by the people they had thought of as their own. Meanwhile, Maori were becoming more assertive, especially about the value of their culture and their ownership over it. The Maori cultural renaissance made many Pakeha feel that they lacked a culture of their own, and from the 1970s numerous Pakeha writers and artists began to explore issues of Pakeha identity and culture. It was at this point that the word 'Pakeha' grew in popularity, although it remained controversial.
Many Pakeha have become successful on the world stage. These include sportspeople such as Susan Devoy, Mark Todd, Richard Hadlee and numerous All Blacks including Colin Meads and Sean Fitzpatrick. In the arts, director Peter Jackson, writers Janet Frame and Lloyd Jones and artist Billy Apple are all well-known Pakeha. However while famous Maori and Polynesian New Zealanders are usually identified by ethnic group as well as nationality, famous Pakeha are usually referred to simply as 'New Zealanders'.
Cultural identity
In general, Pakeha continue to develop identities distinct from and complementary to those of their (often) British origins and those of the other Anglosphere nation-states such as Australia, the United States, Canada and Ireland, as well as Maori. As with most other settler societies, it can be said descriptively that Pakeha contemporary culture is an amalgam of cultural practices, tensions, and accommodations: British/European with some Maori and Polynesian influences and more recently wider cultural inputs, particularly from Chinese and other Far Eastern cultures.
However, defining 'Pakeha Culture' can be a problematic project, because there are many cultural activities shared by Maori and Pakeha - for example, Rugby football is a game enjoyed by many New Zealanders; to refer to it exclusively as Pakeha culture would be misleading given that although it is a sport of English origin it is widely popular amongst contemporary New Zealanders with Maori heritage. Similarly, Christianity in New Zealand, despite its Pakeha practice and foreign origins, has also been shaped by Maori through movements such as the Ratana Church and Destiny Church, as well as their involvements in churches of European origin such as the Anglican Church. Where Pakeha identity is identified, commonly NZ kitsch and symbols from marketing such as the Chesdale Cheese men are used as signifiers, and might more appropriately be called "Kiwiana".
Michael King, a leading writer on Pakeha identity, discussed the concept of distinct Pakeha practices and imaginations in his books Being Pakeha (1985) and Being Pakeha Now (1999), and the edited collection, Pakeha: The Quest for Identity in New Zealand (1991), conceptualising Pakeha as New Zealand's "second indigenous" culture.
See also
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