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.
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