Pākehā should not be confused with Pakeha (spider).
Pākehā (or Pakeha; ; in Maori pronounced as /ˈpaːkɛhaː/) is a Māori-language word used in English, particularly in New Zealand. It generally means a non-Polynesian New Zealander or more specifically a European New Zealander.[1] [2] It is not a legal term and has no definition under New Zealand law. Papa'a has a similar meaning in Cook Islands Māori.[3]
The etymology of is uncertain. The most likely sources are the Māori words or, which refer to an oral tale of a "mythical, human like being, with fair skin and hair who possessed canoes made of reeds which changed magically into sailing vessels". When Europeans first arrived they rowed to shore in longboats, facing backwards. In traditional Māori canoes or, paddlers face the direction of travel. This is supposed to have led to the belief that the sailors were supernatural beings.
There have been several dubious interpretations given to the word . One claims that it derives from, the Māori word for pig, and, one of the Māori words for flea, and therefore expresses derogatory implications.[4] There is no etymological support for this notion—like all Polynesian languages, Māori is generally very conservative in terms of vowels; it would be extremely unusual for pā- to derive from . The word itself may come from the proto-Polynesian root puaka, known in every Polynesian language (in Tongan, Uvean, Futunian, Rapa, Marquisian, Niuean, Rarotongan, Tokelauan, and Tuvaluan; it evolved to the later form in Samoan, Tahitian, some Rapa dialects, and Hawaiian); or it might be borrowed or mixed with the English 'porker'. It is hard to say, since Polynesian peoples populated their islands bringing pigs with them from East Asia, but did not bring pigs to New Zealand. The more common Māori word for flea is . It is also sometimes claimed that means 'white pig' or 'unwelcome white stranger'. However, no part of the word signifies 'pig', 'white', 'unwelcome', or 'stranger'.[5]
The term was in use by the late 18th century. In December 1814, the Māori children at Rangihoua in the Bay of Islands were "no less eager to see the packaha than the grown folks".[6]
The Oxford Dictionary of English (2011) defines 'Pakeha' as 'a white New Zealander'.[7] The Oxford Dictionary of New Zealandisms (2010) defines the noun Pākehā as 'a light-skinned non-Polynesian New Zealander, especially one of British birth or ancestry as distinct from a Māori; a European or white person'; and the adjective as 'of or relating to Pākehā; non-Māori; European, white'.[8]
Māori in the Bay of Islands and surrounding districts had no doubts about the meaning of the word in the 19th century. In 1831, thirteen from the Far North met at Kerikeri to compose a letter to King William IV, seeking protection from the French, "the tribe of Marion". Written in Māori, the letter used the word to mean 'British European', and the words to mean 'strangers (non-British)'—as shown in the translation that year of the letter from Māori to English by the missionary William Yate.[9] To this day, the Māori term for the English language is . Māori also used other terms such as (supernatural, or object of fear, strange being), (ghosts), and (metal or referring to persons foreign) to refer to some of the earliest visitors.[10]
However, The Concise Māori Dictionary (Kāretu, 1990) defines the word as 'foreign, foreigner (usually applied to white person)', while the English–Māori, Māori–English Dictionary (Biggs, 1990) defines it as 'white (person)'. Sometimes the term applies more widely to include all non-Māori.[11] No Māori dictionary cites as derogatory. Some early European settlers who lived among Māori and adopted aspects of Māoritanga became known as 'Pākehā Māori'.
In Māori, plural noun-phrases of the term include (the definite article) and (the indefinite article). When the word was first adopted into English, the usual plural was 'Pakehas'. However, speakers of New Zealand English are increasingly removing the terminal 's' and treating the term as a collective noun.
A survey of 6,507 New Zealanders in 2009 showed no support for the claim that it is associated with a negative evaluation;[12] however, some reject it on the ground that they claim it is offensive,[13] or they object to being named in a language other than their own.[13] In 2013, the New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study carried out by the University of Auckland found no evidence that the word was widely considered to be derogatory; however, only 12 per cent of New Zealanders of European descent actively chose to be identified by the term, with the remainder preferring 'New Zealander' (53 per cent), 'New Zealand European' (25 per cent) or 'Kiwi' (17 per cent).[14] [15]
European New Zealanders vary in their attitudes toward the word when it is applied to themselves.[16] [14] Some embrace it while others object to the word,[13] sometimes strongly, saying it is offensive or derogatory, carrying implications of being an outsider, although this is often based on false information about the meaning of the term.[17] Some believe being labelled Pākehā compromises their status and their birthright links to New Zealand.[18] In the 1986 census, over 36,000 respondents ignored the ethnicities offered, including Pākehā, writing-in their ethnicity as 'New Zealander', or ignoring the question completely.[16] A joint response code of 'NZ European or Pakeha' was tried in the 1996 census, but was replaced by "New Zealand European" in later censuses because it drew what Statistics New Zealand described as a "significant adverse reaction from some respondents".[19] Sociologist Paul Spoonley criticised the new version, saying that many Pākehā would not identify as European.[20]
The term Pākehā is also sometimes used among New Zealanders of European ancestry in distinction to the Māori term (foreigner), as an act of emphasising their claims of belonging to the space of New Zealand in contrast to more recent arrivals.[21] 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' or by the colloquial term 'Kiwis'.
Historian Judith Binney called herself a Pākehā and said, "I think it is the most simple and practical term. It is a name given to us by Māori. 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."[22] New Zealand writer and historian Michael King wrote in 1985: "To say something is Pakeha in character is not to diminish its New Zealand-ness, as some people imply. It is to emphasise it."[23]