Kawanatanga
Kāwanatanga is a word from the Māori language of New Zealand. The word kāwanatanga was first used in the Declaration of Independence of New Zealand, 1835. It reappeared in 1840 when the Treaty of Waitangi was being translated from English into Māori. It was used there to translate the concept of sovereignty. Some historians believe that there was no existing suitable word in the Māori language at the time, however many Māori believe that the word mana would have provided appropriate meaning. One supposition is that if mana had been used instead of the new, transliterated
kāwana tanga, the treaty would never had been signed. The first part of the word,
Kāwana, is a transliteration into Māori of the English word
governor. The suffix
-tanga is very similar in meaning and use to the English suffix
-ship, for example
rangatiratanga and
kīngitanga. So a literal translation of the word would be
governorship. From an idiomatic perspective, this word had little meaning to the chiefs signing the treaty, since the concept of being governed by an overseeing authority was alien to Māori.