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Pākehā
Sign in to savethumb|Māori and Pākehā boys at school swimming pool, Auckland, 1970 Pākehā (or Pakeha; ; ) is a Māori-language word used in English, particularly in New Zealand. It generally means a non-Polynesian New Zealander or more specifically a European New Zealander. It is not a legal term and has no definition under New Zealand law. '''''Papa'a''''' has a similar meaning in Cook Islands Māori.
Article
6 sectionsContents
- Etymology and history
- Meaning and use
- Attitudes to the term
- See also
- References
- Further reading
thumb|Māori and Pākehā boys at school swimming pool, Auckland, 1970 Pākehā (or Pakeha; ; ) is a Māori-language word used in English, particularly in New Zealand. It generally means a non-Polynesian New Zealander or more specifically a European New Zealander. It is not a legal term and has no definition under New Zealand law. '''''Papa'a''' has a similar meaning in Cook Islands Māori.
==Etymology and history== The etymology of the Māori word is uncertain. The most likely sources are the Māori words or , which refer to an oral tale of a "mythical, human like being, with fair skin and hair who possessed canoes made of reeds which changed magically into sailing vessels". When Europeans first arrived they rowed to shore in longboats, facing backwards: