What if the country’s name was changed to Aotearoa?

the New Zealand It may soon be renamed Aotearoa. As the site says quartzThe political party Te Pati Maori petitioned to restore the country to its former Maori name. A large part of the population considers it important for the nation to rediscover its Māori roots, thus wrenching itself from the culture imposed by the English colonialists.

Friday , petition It has already collected 70,000 signatures, which means it can be considered legal by the House of Representatives. The Te Pāti Māori party also wants to change the names of cities and monuments in New Zealand, choosing, of course, Māori words.

A strong message of the island’s identity

Aotearoa has a strong historical and cultural meaning: this word refers to the first clouds that Polynesian navigators saw while sailing offshore, which were to guide them to their future island. The country was first discovered by Dutch explorer Abel Tasman in 1642, before it was claimed by the British Crown and adopted the name “New Zealand” in 1840.

Today, the designation Aotearoa will be increasingly used by the country’s population in everyday life and in administration. A change that would make sense, according to Debbie Ngariwa Packer, co-leader of Te Pati Māori, who states Interview with NPR “It’s really important that we break up some of my drivers colonization that have hindered our ability to reach our true potential.” She hopes the change will have “a tremendously positive impact on our ability, not only to recover our language, but also to lift the trauma of colonialism.”