This is an extraction of Chapter 7 from Tikanga Tawhito: Tikanga Hou Kaitiaki Guidelines for DNA Research, Storage and Seed Banks with Taonga Materials.
This chapter does not propose any new definitions for the term Taonga Species, but rather revives customary beliefs and the foundation that inside Te Ao Māori: Whakapapa, Mauri, Kaitiaki, and Whānau are all taonga and are all the essences of what makes up DNA.
The term Taonga Species is a term that is often used in New Zealand legislation and by governments without a definition. It is a fluid term that is used by bureaucrats when it is convenient to include some species while excluding others. The Environmental Reporting (Topics for Environmental Reports) Regulations 2016 mentions Taonga species with no definition as does a number of Department of Conversation resources.
There are several differing and often contradictory references to Taonga species in Waitangi Tribunal reports (Waitangi Tribunal, 2011; 2011a). It is important to note that that these definitions were written before New Zealand became a signatory to the United Nations Declaration of Indigenous Rights 2007. It must also be understood that genomics, familial technologies, DNA testing, Māori Data Sovereignty, digital access, and technology such as Artificial Intelligence and machine learning that can take our mātauranga Māori into new realms did not exist or were not prominent in 2007 or in the WAI 262 report of 2011 (Taiuru, 2019).
Taonga species are mentioned in New Zealand legislation with no definitions. The Hurunui/Kaikōura Earthquakes Recovery (Coastal Route and Other Matters) Order 2016, section 16.5 refers to Taonga Species as in Schedule 97 of The Ngai Tahu Settlement Act 1988 which is the only written definition in legislation.
The Ngai Tahu Settlement Act 1988 Schedule 97 lists only 117 Taonga Species. The schedule does not recognise any extinct species, despite them having significant place in traditional Ngāi Tahu history, including but not limited to Moa Dinornithiformes and the Haast’s Eagle Hieraaetus moorei which are both in many Ngāi Tahu traditional knowledge stories. Another significant omission from the schedule is the Taonga Species Tuna (eel) Anguilla dieffenbachii and Anguilla australis. Te Taumutu Rūnanga are the kaitiaki of Waihora lake and have significant whakapapa and traditional knowledge to the Tuna of the lake as seen in the following proverb:
Ko ngā hau ki ētahi wāhi
Ko ngā kai kei Orariki
No matter which way the wind blows (season), one can
always procure food at Taumutu.
Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu admitted the oversight during public submissions of the Plant Variety’s Act Review.
The statutory joint land management plan between Iwi [Ngāi Tahu] and the Crown refers to the value of the mahinga kai (cultivated food) “eel” 97 times (Ngāi Tahu & Department of Conservation, 2005). In the glossary the term Taonga Species refers back to Schedule 97 (Tahu & Department of Conservation, 2005, p. 215), despite Tuan not being listed in Schedule 97.
During the consultation period, a small amount of Māori academics stated that Pine Trees and wild pigs/Boar could be considered a Taonga Species as they have value to Māori.
Both species are introduced to New Zealand by colonial settlers. Both species endanger Papatūānuku (the natural environment) by killing Taonga Species (as defined in this guideline). The introduced pigs were largely responsible for the demise of Māori bred pigs and diets.
Pine trees in particular are an invasive species that destroys our native trees and plants resulting in the New Zealand government and local/regional councils spending millions of dollars each year to eradicate and control these pests. Contorta pine (Pinus contorta) pine has been declared an unwanted organism under the Biosecurity Act 1993.
Iwi and many Māori landowners do grow Pine Trees for economic reasons. Ngā Pou a Tāne, the National Māori Forestry Association stated that they need to plant pines due to the legacy of colonialism and land theft that has meant about half of all land owned by mana whenua is currently of little economic value and only useful to plant Pine (Wannan, (2022).
From a Mātauranga perspective, anything non-Māori that attacks the environment or whakapapa cannot be considered a taonga.
Definition for Taonga Species
A taonga species is a species that were present in New Zealand prior to the first European contact with Māori in 1642 (Abel Tasman’s Dutch East India Company expedition) and the descendants of those species who have a whakapapa that can be traced back to Ranginui and Papatūānuku, Tangaroa, the Māori spirit world deities.
It is important not to state species in Aotearoa, as Aotearoa was once only applied to the North Island of New Zealand. In modern day usage Aotearoa is the name of what could be interpreted as “the main two islands and a smaller island that are recorded by the colonial government as North Island, South Island and Stewart Island. The Chatham Islands is referred to by its own Māori name Rekohu.
New Zealand consists of approximately 700 islands all of which have their own unique Māori name, whakapapa and many their own Taonga Species.
This definition also relates to all bones and biological materials of dead and living species as their mauri and wairua are still present. If there is no DNA available, then the species still have whakapapa and are therefore tapu.
The following is a definition of a Taonga Species.
Human body or part of the body of Māori descent. The human body.
- Endemic species that were born and raised that were resident in New Zealand prior to the first European contact.
Endemic native species means exclusively native to the biota of a specific place such as Kiwi. Their whakapapa is clearly directly to Tāne Māhuta, Tangaroa, Rongo, Haumia or to their parents Ranginui and Papatūānuku and in some instances directly to the Māori spirit world. - Indigenous species/Native Species of New Zealand that were resident in New Zealand prior to European contact. These species have arrived in New Zealand by themselves and established themselves here.
Indigenous species/Native Species that originate in New Zealand. The difference between endemic and Indigenous species/Native Species of New Zealand is that Indigenous species/Native Species are also found overseas. From a western perspective they may be scientifically the same.
Indigenous species/Native Species are tapu as the species originated in Ranginui, Papatūānuku, Tangaroa or in the Māori spirit world.
The species are unique due to the individual species containing mauri of the area they originated from, the tangata whenua, Iwi, hapū and whānau of the land. The land at one time belonged to an Iwi, therefore there will be wairua, mauri and physical objects in the land from the iwi that once occupied that land. - Introduced Species that arrived with the migrating waka.
A species that is a part of Māori culture and was brought to New Zealand by the multiple waves of migration waka. The whakapapa of these species from the ancient homelands of Māori makes these species tapu and therefore a taonga as listed in Appendix A.
The whakapapa of these species from the ancient homelands makes these species tapu and therefore a taonga. Ancient Māori would not have endured the hardship of bringing these species to New Zealand if they were not of significant importance. The Kūmara is unique as there were many atua associated with Kūmara and many pepeha. - Hybrid species that use a species in sections 1-4.
In biology, a hybrid is the result of combining the qualities of two organisms of different breeds, varieties, species, or genera through sexual reproduction. If a hybrid uses a Taonga Species as identified in sections 1-4, then the hybrid will still contain whakapapa and the mauri of the Taonga Species. Therefore, must be treated as a Taonga Species. The same principles as inter racial relationships in a Māori view need to be considered for hybrid species. It is a colonial tool to describe blood quantum and deny whakapapa. - Cosmopolitan species that are found in New Zealand/Aotearoa boundaries whether air, sea, or land.
In biology, Cosmopolitan typically describes a species with global distribution, it is assumed the polar regions, deserts, high altitudes, and other extremes are automatically excluded. The label may be used to describe species that might be found on most continents but not all, or many ocean habitats but not all. The term is mostly used to describe species that are generally widespread but does not necessarily mean that the species is found absolutely everywhere. - Cryptogenic species that are found in New Zealand/Aotearoa boundaries whether air, sea, or land.
In biology, this a species whose origins are unknown.
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