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Article: Seeking a Turangawaewae: constructing a Baptist identity in New Zealand: among the indigenous people of New Zealand, the concept of turangawaewae is of great importance. A turangawaewae is, literally, "place to stand.".
- Article from:
- Baptist History and Heritage
- Article date:
- January 1, 2001
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 Baptist History and Heritage Society. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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For Maori their turangawaewae is their home, where they have a fight to be present, the anchor point for their sense of who they are and with whom they belong. For non-Maori or pakeha New Zealanders, the concept has grown in significance. Once securely settled in a colonial identity, drawn from their links to Britain, pakeha saw that apparent certainty slip away with the notion of empire. There are vestiges of it still--Queen Elizabeth II of England is Queen of New Zealand; the highest judicial court sits in London--but New Zealand faces the global future as a South Pacific nation, forced to define its own sense of place. The transition has been painful and confusing. It ...