Pākehā

Pākehā is a term used to describe New Zealanders of European extraction. The word first came into use soon after the arrival of European settlers to New Zealand in the late 18th century, and is from the Māori language. It can be regarded as synonymous with the term New Zealand European.

The pluralised form of the word Pākehā is Pākehā: In Māori, pronouns or definite articles indicate pluralisation.

Origins of the Word

The exact origins of the word Pākehā are unknown, although the most likely sources are from the words pākehakeha (who among certain Māori iwi are a mythical fishmen) and/or pakepakehā (mythical human-like creatures, with fair skin and hair) [1].

Breaking down the word Pākehā into separate syllables also suggests a compound meaning in Māori. These three words each have various meanings, but can be listed as:

Pā - a fortified village
Kē - can mean different, other, otherwise, step- (as in step-brother)
Hā - breath, flavour, taste

It should also be remembered that the early Māori people were a fierce and proud warrior race. Inter-tribal warfare was a way of life, with the conquered being enslaved or in some cases eaten. This was also the fate of some early European (Pakeha) that they encountered.

Popular Misconceptions

Pākehā is a term whose original meaning has been lost, and so its origins have been attributed to many things, most of which are very dubious, including:

The claim it is a Māori transliteration of "bugger ya"
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 little etymological or linguistic support for this notion. The more common Māori word for flea is puruhi and the word poaka is from the term porker as these animals were introduced by the British settlers.
That it means white pig in Māori. Poaka is pig in Māori, and common Māori words for white include mā and tea, making this a very unlikely translation or point of origin.

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 (Briggs, 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 British and Irish or Anglo/Celtic descent. Sometimes it applies more widely to include non-Māori other than those of European descent. A trend exists to apply the term only to New Zealand-born persons of predominantly European descent, but acceptance of this notion remains still far from universal.

Acceptance

European New Zealanders vary in their attitude toward the word "Pākehā" as applied to themselves. Some embrace it wholeheartedly as a sign of their New Zealandness, in contrast to the Europeaness of their forebears. Others object to the word, claiming it to be derogatory or to carry implications of being an outsider, though not to the same extent as the word gaijin in Japan. Those who ignore ethnic distinctions prefer to identify all New Zealand citizens only as New Zealanders.

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

Many Pākehā do not readily identify a Pākehā culture. While Māori culture has achieved wide recognition, Pākehā culture tends to be taken for granted as the norm.

Recognised aspects of Pākehā culture often receive the label of "Kiwiana". This includes icons such as the Chesdale Cheese men and the game of rugby. New Zealand culture is an amalgam of cultures, traditionally Pākehā and Māori, but more recently from all over the world.

Michael King, a leading writer on Pākehā identity, discussed the concept in his books Being Pākehā (1985) and Being Pākehā now (1999).

References

Interview with Judith Binney, New Zealand Herald, 18 June 2005.

External links