:''
Pakeha'' is also a genus of spiders (
Amaurobiidae)
'Pākehā' is a Māori term generally used to describe
New Zealanders of British or European ancestry, but it can also be used to refer to any non-Māori person. The word first came into use soon after the arrival of
European settlers to New Zealand in the late
18th century.
In the
Māori language, the pluralised form of ''Pākehā'' is ''Pākehā'', as pronouns or definite articles in Māori indicate pluralisation. When the word was first adopted into English, the usual English pluralisation rules applied to give the plural ''Pakehas''. However the Māori plural form ''Pākehā'' is now increasingly being used in New Zealand English, either with or without the macron accents.
Origins of the word
The exact origins of the word ''Pākehā'' are unknown, although the most likely sources are the words ''pākehakeha'' or ''pakepakehā'', which refer to mythical human-like creatures, with fair skin and hair, sometimes described as having come from the sea.
[ Pākehā paper, Maori News.]
When Europeans first arrived they rowed to shore on longboats. British sailors faced backwards while rowing the boats to shore. In traditional Māori canoes or "
waka", paddlers face the direction of travel. This led to the belief that the sailors had eyes in the backs of their heads, contributing to the mythical view.
Popular misconceptions
There have been several dubious interpretations given to the word ''Pākehā'', including:
★ The claim it is a Māori transliteration of "bugger ya". This has the hallmarks of a back-formation by an English speaker trying to arrive at an explanation after the fact.
★ That it derives from ''poaka'' the Māori word for (
pig), and ''keha'', one of the Māori words for (
flea), and therefore expresses derogatory implications. There is no etymological or linguistic 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 'poaka'. The more common Māori word for flea is ''puruhi''.
★ That it means ''white pig''. However, no part of the word signifies either "pig" or "white".
★ That it means ''unwelcome white stranger'' in Māori, but again, no parts of the word signify 'white', 'stranger' or 'unwelcome'.
Meaning
The Concise Māori Dictionary (Reed/Kāretu, 1990) defines Pākehā as "foreign, foreigner (usually applied to white person)", while the English – Māori : Māori – English Dictionary (Biggs, 1990) defines Pākehā as "white (person)".
Common alternative designations for Pākehā in New Zealand include "New Zealand Europeans" or "European New Zealanders" and sometimes "''
Caucasian'' New Zealanders" or "
White New Zealanders". The term 'white' can have offensive connotations and seldom occurs. Some early European settlers who lived among the Māori became known as
Pākehā Māori.
The word mostly applies more narrowly to just New Zealanders of
European (primarily
British and
Irish) descent. Sometimes it applies more widely to include non-
Māori other than those of European descent. A trend exists, particularly among young people, to apply the term only 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.
Acceptance
New Zealanders of European ancestry vary in their attitude toward the word "Pākehā" 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. Others object to the word (some object strongly), claiming it to be derogatory or to carry implications of being an outsider; some consider it similar to the word
gaijin in Japan. The term Pākehā is also sometimes used among New Zealanders of European ancestry in distinction to the Māori term ''Tauiwi'', 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 refer to all New Zealand citizens only as
New Zealanders. The meaning and use of the term is widely disputed.
Historian
Judith Binney calls herself a Pākehā and says, "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".
Cultural identity
In general, Pākehā continue to develop identities distinct to and complementary to those of their (often) British origins and those of the other
Anglosphere nation-states such as
Australia,
Canada and
Ireland, as well as Māori. As with most other settler societies, it can be said descriptively that Pākehā contemporary culture is an amalgam of cultural practices, tensions, and accommodations: British/European with some Māori and Polynesian influences and more recently wider cultural inputs, particularly from Chinese and other Far Eastern cultures.
However, defining 'Pākehā Culture' can be a problematic project, because they are many cultural activies that are shared by Māori and Pākehā - for example,
Rugby football is a game enjoyed by many New Zealanders; to refer to it exclusively as Pākehā culture would be misleading given that although it is a sport of English origin it is widely popular amongst contemporary New Zealanders with Māori heritage. Similarly, Christianity in New Zealand, despite its Pākehā practice and foreign origins, has also been shaped by Māori 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 Pākehā 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 Pākehā identity, discussed the concept of distinct Pākehā practices and imaginations in his books ''Being Pākehā'' (1985) and ''Being Pākehā Now'' (1999), and the edited collection, ''Pakeha: The Quest for Identity in New Zealand'' (1991), conceptualising Pākehā as New Zealand's "second indigenous" culture.
See also
★
New Zealand European
★
Palagi
★
Haole
References
★
Interview with Judith Binney, New Zealand Herald, 18 June 2005.
External links
★
Further article about the word at Maorinews.com
★
Otorohanga: Kiwiana Town
★
Sarah Henderson's Guide to Kiwiana
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