Sidestep - Pakeha (what does it mean)

Firstly we should make it clear that the names meaning is not exactly known. Many would say different things but there does seem to be a general consensus. There are no definitive oral or written records about the exact origins of the term ‘Pakeha’ and despite some beliefs about it meaning ‘White Pig’ or ‘White worm’, the term Pakeha is not the insult that some believe is the case. In fact is it more a term of recognition of someone or something much greater in status or ability than the ones using the name to describe the being.

We do not need to explore the term 'Maori'. That term means ordinary people. That is a term Maori called themselves after the European arrived. They saw themselves as ordinary people compared to the legends and actuality of those who were here before they came. Even the treaty defines this as a fact and can never be changed. Tangata Whenua is reserved for those here first and Maori can claim that title spiritually, as can anyone born here whether they be of European, Chinese, or Spanish descent. But those who are here first were not what we regard today as the collective tribes of Maori. Maori are only 'Maori' in relation to other races, and are actually part-Maori as there are no full blooded Maori still alive.

However, Pakeha is commonly used. From early records it is clear that the term was used in New Zealand before 1815 to mean ‘white person’. Initially a Pakeha was that person who came from England, and settled or worked in New Zealand. With time, Pakeha was the fair-skinned person who was born in New Zealand. Later the term was even more general. It was applied to all fair-skinned people in New Zealand, no matter what their ancestry or place of birth. (Department of Labour, 1985). By 1960, Pakeha was defined as anybody of Anglo-Celtic origin (England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales) and, as the integrated, Northern Europeans (Scandinavians, Germans, and Dutch), white Americans, Canadians and South Africans. By 1985 a significant development occurs with the definition when King defines Pakeha as "denoting non-Maori New Zealanders". There is nothing in the definition referring to colour. That means a Chinese person born here is regarded as Pakeha. Weird I know, but that is the definition by law even if it is illogical.

There appears to be two emerging uses of the term. One approach continues the references to those with white skin colour while the more inclusive refers to all those who are non-Maori appears to be gaining currency. My own definition of ‘Pakeha’ is influenced by Ross Himona’s definition. Himona states that linguistically it just means a New Zealander of non-Maori and non-Polynesian heritage without any connotations". He considers that ‘Pakeha’ "is most used to describe white non-Maori, as they were the original colonists, but it can apply equally to Asian, etc. This definition of ‘Pakeha’ is the most expansive that I have found. It gives the term Pakeha a more inclusive and less pejorative tone.

The term ‘Pakeha’ is sometimes understood to mean ‘long pig’ and ‘white worm’. However this is not the case. Many early missionaries and government officials spoke Maori reasonably well using ‘Pakeha’ to describe themselves. Given the politics of the 1860s it is unlikely that such Pakeha would have used the word themselves in a derogatory sense.

In 1894 Hoani Nahe suggested that ‘Pakeha’ could be an abbreviation of ‘Paakehakeha’, gods of the ocean who had the forms of fish and man. It is said that Nahe’s version was in response to Bishop W.L. Williams’ comment that ‘Pakeha’ seemed to be an abbreviation of Pakepakeha. This theory is supported firstly by the idea that white people, like the Paakehakeha, came from the sea, and secondly because the word ‘Paakehakeha’ contains a reduplication of the maori word ‘keha’ meaning ‘pale’ (The word ‘pakeha’: where it comes from, what it means, 1988). However, Paakehakeha, like Pa-Kea, has only one of the long vowels that can be found in ‘Pakeha’, pronounced Paakehaa. The most likely derivation seems to be from ‘Pakepakeha’ mythical creatures who are mischievous, human-like beings, with fair skin and hair who lived deep in the forest, coming out only at night. The derivation of ‘Pakeha’ from ‘Pakepakeha’ is given added weight when we consider that the first term used to describe Cook and his crew was ‘tipua’ or ‘tupua’, a goblin or a supernatural object of terror. They first appeared to some as white gods appearing from over the sea in a huge waka with white sails.

The ‘Pakepakeha’ are also linked to ‘Patupaiarehe’ by their fair skin and hair. The ‘Patupaiarehe’ had fair skin and beautiful voices, and gave people the secret of fishing with nets. These creatures’ possess canoes made of reeds, which can change magically into sailing vessels. The ‘Patupaiarehe’ can also be linked to Nahe’s version of Pakeha as an abbreviation of ‘Paakehakeha’, gods of the ocean who had the forms of fish and man.

The origins of the term ‘Pakeha’ are as unclear as its meaning. I have been unable to find records, either written or oral, that can tell us. This places the responsibility on individuals to draw conclusions and discover their own beliefs about the origins of the word ‘Pakeha’. The derivation of ‘Pakeha’ from ‘Pakepakeha’ because it establishes a clear whakapapa, or genealogy of the term ‘Pakeha’.

Paakehakeha

Gods of the ocean who had the forms of fish and man

Patupaiarehe

Beings with fair skin and hair who gave people the secret of fishing with nets

Pakepakeha

Mythical, human like being, with fair skin and hair who possessed canoes made of reeds which changed magically into sailing vessels

Pakeha

Originally referring to the early European settlers of New Zealand

These clear linkages give a poetic truth to the term ‘Pakeha’, each version associating ‘Pakeha’ with the ocean, which is how immigrants have arrived in Aotearoa from Cook’s first voyage to present day.

The term ‘Pakeha’ and its changes through time enables us to form an opinion about whether or not the Pakeha people are an ethnicity. Is any non-Maori person currently in New Zealand a Pakeha? If ethnic identification rests with the individual, it is a fluid concept and means that an individual can identify him or herself with an ethnic group of his or her own choosing. This involves self-classification. An example of this might be that I am really Pakeha but choose to be identified as a Maori, or Maori but decide to present myself as Pakeha. I alone decide what I am (George, 1999). However, if ethnicity is self-classifying then can Pakeha really be an ethnic label? If you are born a Pakeha do you not remain a Pakeha regardless of what you would like to be called?

It is my belief that the term ‘Pakeha’ does not identify an ethnic group. Both ‘Pakeha’ and ‘Maori’ terms instead offer us a way to differentiate between the historical origins of our settlers, the Polynesian and European. "In the beginning we were all immigrants to these islands, our ancestors boat people who arrived by waka, ship or aeroplane. The ingredients of our indigenous cultures too were imported: the East Polynesian language that became Maori, and English; Papatuanuku, and the Bible; Maui and Tane Mahuta, Robin Hood and Horatio Nelson; the kumara and the kiwifruit . . . An understanding of our respective origins is the beginning of our present selves".

It is certainly true that everyone is an immigrant or a descendant of immigrants.

‘PAKEHA’, ITS ORIGIN AND MEANING

by Jodie Ranford

http://maorinews.com/writings/papers/other/pakeha.htm