The Waikato River: Changing properties of a living Ma¯ori ancestor

Abstract

In Ma¯ori cosmology, rivers and other waterways are conceptualised as living ancestors, who have their own life force and spiritual strength. The special status of rivers in Ma¯ori society also explains why they are sometimes separated from other Ma¯ori claims to natural resources of which they were dispossessed in the 19th century. Until recently, Ma¯ori were often eager to contend that ownership of rivers is not their prime interest, but instead, they argued that they feel obliged and responsible to keep rivers fresh, clean, and flowing. This perspective, however, changed under the impact of a new government policy of selling shares in energy corporations that use freshwater and geothermal resources for energy production. In this paper, I provide an ethnohistorical account of the Waikato River and show how conceptions of this 'ancestral river' changed in the course of colonial and postcolonial history, more specifically in response to a recent shift in government policy. In 2008, a joint management agreement was signed between the government and Waikato Ma¯ori for a 'clean and healthy river', leaving the issue of 'ownership' undecided. Only two years later, however, Ma¯ori felt forced to claim ownership when the government moved to sell shares of power-generating energy companies located along the river, which effectively transformed their 'ancestor' into a property object.