Tukutuku in te Tiriti o Waitangi: A Tikanga Māori Touchstone for Tiriti Interpretation

Abstract

The tikanga Māori concept, tuku, in te Tiriti o Waitangi’s reo Māori text warrants focus in Tiriti interpretation. This article reviews the place of tuku in te Tiriti and considers how applied, tikanga-centred study of this concept contributes to a tikanga Māori perspective on the proper relationality of that treaty’s parties. Studying, as sources of principle, tuku in two treaty-applicable customary contexts – the wall panel weaving technique, tukutuku (an alliance between two workers) and the socio-political alliances of tuku whenua – shows ways in which both the text of te Tiriti and well-settled ‘principles of the Treaty of Waitangi’ align with these tuku, and thus tikanga. Not only has this explanatory value with respect to te Tiriti o Waitangi principles; it yields insights both relationally and constitutionally. In tuku, the Tiriti relationship has tikanga-consistent foundations; it is anchored already in a tikanga paradigm. However, whereas framing presently predominantly focuses on parties’ ‘partnership’, this is an insufficient account. Another conception of treaty relations lies in tukutuku panel making, an alliance which depends on a reciprocal connection, works toward a woven construction, and is grounded in a kinship metaphor.