Editing Taonga (section)

{{Short description|Treasured possession in the Māori culture of New Zealand}}
{{For|the New Zealand TV series|Taonga (TV series)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2023}}
{{Use New Zealand English|date=October 2013}}

'''''Taonga''''' or '''''taoka''''' (in [[Māori language#South Island dialects|South Island Māori]]) is a [[Māori language|Māori-language]] word that refers to a treasured possession in [[Māori culture]]. It lacks a direct translation into English, making its use in the [[Treaty of Waitangi]] significant. The current definition differs from the historical one, noted by [[Hongi Hika]] as "property procured by the spear" [one could understand this as [[Looting|war booty]] or defended property] and is now interpreted to mean a wide range of both tangible and intangible possessions, especially items of historical cultural significance.  It has been changed to suit agendas.{{clarify|reason=whose agendas?|date=March 2025}} The 1820 Grammar and Vocabulary of the Language of New Zealand by Cambridge University professor Samuel Lee defined taonga as property procured by the spear.  The second dictionary, was the Dictionary of the New Zealand Language by William Williams, published in 1844 four years after treaty was signed. This simply defined taonga as property.

Tangible examples are all sorts of [[Antique|heirloom]]s and [[Artefact (archaeology)|artefact]]s, [[real property|land]], [[fisheries]], natural resources such as geothermal springs<ref name="KAT">{{cite web| title =Ngawha Geothermal Resource Report 1993 (Wai 304)| publisher=Waitangi Tribunal| year =1993|url= http://www.waitangi-tribunal.govt.nz/reports/summary.asp?reportid={25C730E6-2C3B-47DC-933E-2549E11ACDA4}| accessdate=3 October 2011}}</ref> and access to natural resources, such as [[riparian water rights]] and access to the [[riparian zone]] of rivers or streams. Intangible examples may include language and spiritual beliefs. The concept of ''taonga'' can also transcend into general [[Culture of New Zealand|New Zealand culture]] and non-Māori items; for example, the [[Ranfurly Shield]] is recognised as a ''taonga'' amongst the New Zealand rugby community.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Julian |first=Adam |date=2023-10-05 |title=Ranfurly Shield: Give it to the Heartland |url=https://newsroom.co.nz/2023/10/05/ranfurly-shield-give-it-to-the-heartland/ |access-date=2024-09-14 |website=Newsroom |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Cully |first=Paul |date=18 August 2023 |title=A new Log 'o Wood: Ranfurly Shield undergoes major restoration as old wood is retired |url=https://www.thepost.co.nz/sport/350056475/new-log-o-wood-ranfurly-shield-undergoes-major-restoration-old-wood-retired |access-date=2024-09-14 |website=www.thepost.co.nz}}</ref>

Traditionally ''taonga'' represent the tangible and intangible links between [[Māori people|Māori]] people and their ancestors and land. ''Taonga'' serve to reaffirm these genealogical connections to people and place known as [[whakapapa]]. ''Taonga'' serve as genealogical reference markers that help connect the living with their past. The intangible elements of ''taonga'', such as the stories and genealogy that accompany them, are just as important as the object itself.<ref>{{Cite thesis |last=Tapsell |first=Paul |title=Taonga : a tribal response to museums |date=1998-01-01 |url=https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q59576785}}</ref> [[Mina McKenzie]] described maintaining the connections between tangible objects, intangible properties, place and descendants as 'keeping the taonga warm.'<ref>{{Cite web |date=12 October 2024 |title="A Bridge Between Worlds: Mina McKenzie and Te Māori – Part 1" |url=https://www.temanawa.co.nz/2024/09/10/a-bridge-between-worlds-mina-mckenzie-temaori-part-1/ |access-date=12 October 2024 |website=Te Manawa}}</ref>

What is deemed to be a ''taonga'' has major political, economic and social consequences in New Zealand and has been the subject of fierce debates as the varying definitions and interpretations have implications for policies regarding such things as intellectual property,<ref>{{cite news | url =http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/1362435.stm | title =Lego game irks Maoris | publisher =BBC News | date =31 May 2005 | accessdate =14 August 2006 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | first =Kim | last =Griggs | url =https://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,56451,00.html?tw=wn_story_related | title =Lego Site Irks Maori Sympathizer | publisher =Wired News | date =21 November 2002 | accessdate =14 August 2006 }}</ref> genetic engineering<ref>Simon Upton, ''[http://www.arcadia.co.nz/uptononline/2002/december_11_2002.htm upton-on-line]'', 11 December 2002. Accessed 12 January 2008.</ref> and allocation of radio frequency spectrum.