NGATI KAHU ROHE MAP

COMBINED CONCEPTS

Under tikanga there are many combined concepts that help us make sense of the universe and better manage our place in it.  

They often come in pairs or other multiples, and well known examples include tika pono and aroha, te iti me te rahi; and most fundamental, mana and tapu. 

The Rev. Maori Marsden, in his article `God, Man and Universe: A Maori View', defines mana in its double aspect of authority and power as 'lawful permission delegated by the gods to their human agents and accompanied by the endowment of spiritual power to act on their behalf and in accordance with their revealed will'. This delegation of authority is shown in dynamic signs or works of power.

He also warned: Authority and power in this sense must be clearly distinguished since it is clear that to exercise spiritual power outside the limits delegated is to abuse the gift, and results either in its withdrawal or in that power running rampant and causing harm to the agent and others.

He then used a beautifully simple analogy to make the distinction clearer. A person approaches a traffic crossing and the lights turn red. He has power to cross but no permission. The lights turn green but his car stalls at that moment. He has permission to cross, but no power. His car starts and the lights remain green. He now has both authority and power to proceed

Another set of combined concepts that has become increasingly important for us to understand are those of takohanga and kaitiakitanga.  The meanings of these two words encompass, but are not limited to, what the English call responsibility and accountability.  Without understanding these concepts, I would have been prone to believing the lie that Kawanatanga and Corporate agencies are responsible for everything, but accountable for nothing.

In a recent example of this lie, a murderous paedophile was released from prison on unsupervised parole, and was then enabled by Corrections, Police, Internal Affairs, and Customs agencies to escape to Brazil.  The resultant duck-shoving and buck passing from these agencies’ leaders is the complete opposite to Rangatiratanga.

So too is the behaviour of Corporate leaders who, having admitted to fraud, don’t offer to repay a single cent to their investors, but do instruct their lawyers to appeal the severity of their sentence.  Kei hea te kaitiakitanga?

Similarly oppositional to Rangatiratanga is the behaviour of Iwi Corporates who try to usurp mana whenua and kaitiakitanga from whanau and hapu, and then place those combined concepts under the power and authority of the Kawanatanga.  Kei hea te takohanga?  We may delegate it from time to time, but we will always remain accountable. 

An understanding of these universal truths can be taught to our uri in all places, times and things.  

But in my experience whanau and hapu councils are the best place to teach them, and the many combined concepts that exist and operate under tikanga help us to do that.

TIKANGA OUTCOMES

Tikangā is a body of God-given concepts and practices designed to uphold te ihi te wehi te mana te tapu me te mauri o nga tangata me te ao, and it is based on the fundamental principles of tika, pono aroha.     

Whenever any one or more of these principles is not present, or is in conflict with another, there is a violation.  Under tikanga, the ideal outcome to heal any violation is hohou-i-te-rongo, a reconcilation based on restoration of both the victim and the violator to a state of toiora.

I was once asked to facilitate a hui between a whānau where a wife had died and her estranged husband had returned to live in the home he’d built and paid for on her whānau land.  Her whānau wanted him off their land entirely, and he wanted them out of his house completely.

It quickly became clear that the whānau were there through heke tika (birthright), while the husband was there because he and his late wife had once loved each other enough for her to bring him on to her land, and him to build her the house.  But pono did not seem to be there at all, and so the two parties were at each other’s throats.

Finally, the wife’s brother stood up and told everyone off to a standstill for what each had contributed to the conflict.  He even told me off just for being there.  We could tell he was wild that he had to say these things.  But, most importantly, we all knew pono was in the house! 

Straightaway the dynamic of the hui changed and that whānau were able to hohouterongo themselves.

An alternative tikanga outcome to hohou-i-te-rongo is muru, which can be likened to restorative justice based on redistribution of assets.

In another case, two teenaged boys stole from their grandparents, and when confronted by their koro, they’d shoved and threatened both him and their nanna with even worse violence if he didn’t shut up.

At the resultant hui there was pōkēkē me pōhēhē aplenty from the boys and their whānau supporters, but no evidence of tika pono or aroha from beginning to end.  It was clear that hohouterongo was just not going to happen.

Finally, the whānau supporters of the grandparents appointed a taua which went to the boys’ house to perform the muru.  Ironically, the boys’ father called the police and his sons ended up being convicted in the Kawanatanga court on assault and theft charges.

When violators refuse to live or abide by tikanga, the only alternative is the lower laws of the Kawanatanga which can punish them, but will never heal their violation or restore them and their victims to toiora. 

Tikanga, on the other hand, is the only way to do that, because it upholds te ihi te wehi te mana te tapu me te mauri o nga tangata me te ao.  Enei nga mahi o te Atua me nga Rangatira hoki.

RANGATIRA RESPONSES

One of the realities of living under tikanga is that for every violation of mana there needs to be a relevant Rangatira response to redress the resultant imbalances in te tapu i te tangata me te mauri o te whanau, hapu, iwi.

Some recent cases highlight how tikanga administered by Rangatiratanga can play out in redressing those imbalances, either on its own or in tandem with statutes administered by Kawanatanga.

In the first case, last month an iwi leader facing charges for alleged sexual abuse of a young girl under the age of 12 was publicly named. 

He has pleaded not guilty, and under both Kawanatanga statutes and Rangatiratanga tikanga, is entitled to be deemed innocent until proven guilty.  But, apart from that important commonality, the two systems are very different. 

For example, unlike western justice, tikanga is not blind.  So once the accusation was made known, the status of both the alleged abuser and victim changed, and no-one could carry on as if nothing had happened. 

Also, because it is a higher law than statute, tikanga must protect the alleged victim from further potential abuse, and her peers from even the possibility of abuse.  So, for his own sake and that of all tamariki, rahui must be put in place that ensures the iwi leader is not left alone with or in charge of children, especially those under the age of 12.

Placing and enforcing rahui is mahi mo nga Rangatira at all relevant levels; whanau, hapu and iwi.  How he responds to it will define the iwi leader’s place on the Rangatiratanga response scale now and in the future.

In a second case, the father of a murder victim stood in the Kawanatanga Court, forgave his son’s murderers, and sought mercy for the men who had so terribly violated te tapu i te tangata me te mauri o tana whanau.  

I cannot imagine the depth and breadth of the journey undertaken by this father to reach that point.  But in the context of Rangatiratanga, his response registers at the highest levels.

In a final example, this Wednesday Chris Finlayson will compound the Crown’s historical thefts of Ngati Kahu whenua with the introduction into the Kawanatanga parliament of the Te Hiku Claims Settlement Bill which punishes Ngati Kahu for not letting him dictate what their settlement must be. 

Ngati Kahu’s response is already underway on the political and legal fronts and is being backed up by he mahi Rangatira. 

To return to the first case, the responses to it have mainly ranged from discomfort and embarrassment, to anger and grief; and yet shock and disbelief – not so much.  Where do any of these register on the Rangatiratanga scale? Under tikanga, unless they are backed up by he mahi Rangatira, they all register a big fat 0.  

Because the key to a Rangatira response is always going to be he mahi Rangatira i runga i te tikanga.