The mountain of Taranaki, located in New Zealand, which is also a volcano, became a legal person – they passed the local media. Parliament decided about the change in its status, which the Maori community fought for the community. This is the third such decision in history – previously the Whangganii River and the TE Uwera National Park have become in legal sense.
On Thursday, New Zealand authorities gave legal personality to Mount Taranaki and surrounding areas, “including their physical and metaphysical elements”. The “face and voice” of the closed volcano will be a team that will include four people nominated by the Minister of the Environment and four representatives of native tribes that consider the mountain as their ancestor.
Mount Taranaki, also called Egmont, is also an active volcano 2518 meters above sea level. It is located on the North Island, one of the two main islands of New Zealand.
In the act adopted on Thursday, the parliament decided that the mountain was unlawfully taken from the colonization of New Zealand – writes CNN. Deputy Paul Goldsmith said that Taranaki is a “worshiped ancestor, a source of physical, cultural and spiritual life, as well as a place of final rest.”
Historical place of Maori
The native inhabitants of New Zealand believe that Ruataranaki – the founder and ancestor of the Taranaki tribe – dug on the slopes of the volcano near the source of the Hangatahua River, the grave cave of tena a tahatiti, which until the end of the 19th century was used for bone burial. Father -in -law Ruataranaki, Tahurangi, lit a ceremonial fire at the top of the mountain and gave the volcano a traditional name – say members of the tribe on their website. In 1840, Maori and representatives of the British Crown signed a treaty of Waitanga – the founding document of New Zealand, in which the crown guaranteed Maori to preserve the rights to land and resources. However, the language versions of the treaty (Maori and English) differed among themselves and the Crown began to break its decisions – CNN said. A dozen or so years after the conclusion of the Treaty Góra and the lands around it were confiscated as a penalty behind the Maori Rebel. Goldsmith, who is responsible for agreements between the government and the Maori tribes, admitted that the breaking of the treaties had caused the Maori community “immeasurable harm”. Despite granting a mountain of legal personality, access to it will not change and “all New Zealanders will continue to visit it and enjoy this extraordinary place,” Goldsmith assured.
Taranaki mountain Shutterstock
Source of the main photo: Shutterstock