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.