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<p>This article examines the juridical force of <i>karakia</i>—ritual speech acts within <i>tikanga Māori</i>—and their contested recognition in Aotearoa New Zealand’s settler legal order. While <i>karakia</i> function as law-speaking acts that invoke <i>mana</i> and <i>tapu</i> to establish binding obligations, they are often reframed by courts, legislatures, and public institutions as “religion,” “culture,” or “ceremony.” This interpretive reduction exemplifies a broader semiotic violence in which Indigenous juridical practices are acknowledged symbolically while denied juridical authority. Methodologically, the article combines semiotic theory, Māori jurisprudence, and comparative case law to develop a ritual semiotics: an approach that situates juridical authority not only in texts and institutions but also in ritual, orality, and cosmology. Drawing on Austin’s speech act theory, Butler’s account of performativity, and Derrida’s reflections on authority, while grounding analysis in Māori concepts of <i>mana</i> and <i>tapu</i>, the article examines case law such as <i>Takamore v Clarke</i> and <i>Ngāti Apa v Attorney-General</i>, alongside comparative examples including <i>Ktunaxa Nation v British Columbia</i>, the Lakota Sun Dance, and <i>Yorta Yorta v Victoria</i>. The article advances three contributions. To Māori law, it affirms <i>karakia</i> as integral acts of juridical authority. To legal semiotics, it develops ritual semiotics, broadening the field beyond textual and institutional codes. To comparative Indigenous law, it identifies a recurring pattern of semiotic violence across settler states. By foregrounding <i>karakia</i> as theory-generating, the article repositions Māori jurisprudence as foundational to a decolonial semiotics of law with implications for global debates on plural legal orders.</p>

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Speaking Law: Karakia and the Juridical Semiotics of Authority in Aotearoa New Zealand

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年12月1日

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  • Abhinav Singh

摘要

This article examines the juridical force of karakia—ritual speech acts within tikanga Māori—and their contested recognition in Aotearoa New Zealand’s settler legal order. While karakia function as law-speaking acts that invoke mana and tapu to establish binding obligations, they are often reframed by courts, legislatures, and public institutions as “religion,” “culture,” or “ceremony.” This interpretive reduction exemplifies a broader semiotic violence in which Indigenous juridical practices are acknowledged symbolically while denied juridical authority. Methodologically, the article combines semiotic theory, Māori jurisprudence, and comparative case law to develop a ritual semiotics: an approach that situates juridical authority not only in texts and institutions but also in ritual, orality, and cosmology. Drawing on Austin’s speech act theory, Butler’s account of performativity, and Derrida’s reflections on authority, while grounding analysis in Māori concepts of mana and tapu, the article examines case law such as Takamore v Clarke and Ngāti Apa v Attorney-General, alongside comparative examples including Ktunaxa Nation v British Columbia, the Lakota Sun Dance, and Yorta Yorta v Victoria. The article advances three contributions. To Māori law, it affirms karakia as integral acts of juridical authority. To legal semiotics, it develops ritual semiotics, broadening the field beyond textual and institutional codes. To comparative Indigenous law, it identifies a recurring pattern of semiotic violence across settler states. By foregrounding karakia as theory-generating, the article repositions Māori jurisprudence as foundational to a decolonial semiotics of law with implications for global debates on plural legal orders.