Maori



PRONUNCIATION: MOW-ree

LOCATION: New Zealand

POPULATION: Approximately 525,000

LANGUAGE: Maori; English

RELIGION: Christianity; traditional Maori, based on ancestor worship

1 • INTRODUCTION

The ancestors of the present-day Maori created an outpost of Polynesian culture on the North and South islands of New Zealand. They remained relatively isolated from external contact until 1769. In that year, English navigator and explorer Captain James Cook (1728–79) initiated a permanent European presence in New Zealand. As a result, Maori culture would be dramatically changed in less than a century.

In 1840, some 500 Maori chiefs signed the so-called Treaty of Waitangi with the British government. The treaty promised the Maoris that they would keep their lands and property and have equal treatment under the law as British subjects. However, the British later seized Maori lands and made the people move to reservations. As a result of war and disease, the Maori population fell drastically by 1896. Since World War II (1939–45), the government's policies have been more favorable to the Maoris. In recent years, the government of New Zealand has acknowledged its responsibility to the Maoris after a series of protests and court rulings. In October 1996, the government agreed to a settlement with the Maoris that included land and cash worth $117 million, with the Maoris regaining some traditional fishing rights. The Maori have been striving to revive aspects of their traditional culture, reclaim artifacts of their cultural history from foreign museums, and regain their ancestral homelands.

As of 1997, the Maori of New Zealand numbered close to 525,000 people, or about 15 percent of New Zealand's total population. The term "Maori" refers to a number of different tribal and subtribal groups that view themselves and each other as very distinct.

2 • LOCATION

The islands of New Zealand are the presentday homeland of the Maori. New Zealand consists of two islands: the North Island and the South Island. The North Island is hilly with areas of flat, rolling terrain. The South Island is larger and more mountainous. Prior to the arrival of humans, both islands were densely forested.

Archaeologists refer to two branches of Maori: the archaic, and the traditional. The archaic Maori were probably the original inhabitants of New Zealand. They relied on the moa, a large, flightless bird that they hunted into extinction. Their culture dates back to around AD 1000. The traditional Maori are believed to have migrated to the North Island around the fourteenth century. The original homeland of the traditional Maori was in the Society Islands of Polynesia. Maori migrants left there to escape warfare and the demands of excessive tribute (taxes).

3 • LANGUAGE

Maori belongs to the Tahitic branch of the Eastern Polynesian language group. (Eastern Polynesian is, in turn, a branch of the larger Austronesian language family.) Prior to European colonization of New Zealand, there were two distinct Maori dialects: North Island Maori; and South Island Maori, which is now extinct. The Maori of today speak English. Preschools that offer instruction in Maori language have sprung up all over the country at a rapid rate as a result of Maori activism.

4 • FOLKLORE

Traditional Maori folklore describes an original couple, Rangi (sky) and Papa (earth). These two were locked in sexual union until the god Tane was able to push them apart and provide for the creation of human life. Maori folklore focuses on oppositions between pairs, such as earth and sky, life and death, and male and female.

5 • RELIGION

Like other New Zealanders, many Maori today are Christian (primarily Anglican, Presbyterian, and Roman Catholic). Before contact with outside cultures, Maori religion was based on the important concepts of mana and tapu. Mana is an impersonal force that can be both inherited and acquired by individuals in the course of their lives. Tapu refers to sacredness that was assigned by status at birth. There was a direct relation between the two: chiefs with the most mana were also the most tapu. The English word "taboo" derives from this general Polynesian word and concept of a mysterious superhuman force. Ancestor worship was important in traditional religion.

6 • MAJOR HOLIDAYS

Christian Maori celebrate the major Christian holidays as do other New Zealanders. Holidays as Westerners view them did not exist in Maori society before contact with other cultures. Rituals were performed according to the religious calendar and the harvest and collection of foodstuffs.

A controversial New Zealand national holiday for the Maori is Waitangi Day (February 6). This holiday commemorates the 1840 signing of the treaty that was supposed to guarantee their rights and privileges. In 1994, Maori radicals disrupted the Waitangi Day national celebration, forcing the government to cancel the festivities.

7 • RITES OF PASSAGE

Modern Maori rites of passage are similar to those of other New Zealanders. Specific Maori traditions are still practiced at certain events. At weddings, for example, a relative of the groom traditionally challenges the father of the bride to a fight. The bride's father then approaches the challenger and is instead warmly greeted.

The Maori once practiced what anthropologists call "secondary burial." When a person died, the body would be laid out on ceremonial mats for viewing by relatives and other members of the village. After a few days, the body was wrapped in mats and placed in a cave or a tree, or buried in the ground. After one year had passed, the body was removed from the primary burial and the bones were cleaned and painted with red ochre (a pigment). These remains were taken from village to village for a second period of mourning. Following that, the bones were buried in a sacred place.

8 • RELATIONSHIPS

Maoris today, like other New Zealanders, typically address each other informally and emphasize friendliness in relationships. Maori customs—practices before the Maoris came into contact with other cultures—were taken less seriously by the 1990s.

One such Maori custom, called hakari (feasting), was an important aspect of Maori culture. The Maori feasts brought together a number of different families and other social groups. A man of status would provide food and gifts for those who attended. In the end, he and his family would be left with very little in the way of material possessions or reserves of food. However, his status would have been increased enormously.

Premarital sexual relationships were considered normal for Maori adolescents. Both males and females were expected to have a series of private relationships before they married. When Maori females became sexually active, they were to publicly acknowledge this so that they could become tattooed. Tattooing marked their ritual and public passage into adulthood. It was also considered extremely attractive and erotic.

The Maoris have a traditional greeting, called hongi, in which they touch faces so that their noses are pressed together. It is believed that their spirits mingle through this gesture.

9 • LIVING CONDITIONS

Today, 80 percent of the Maori live in the urban areas of New Zealand. However, until the 1920s, they lived almost entirely in rural areas. Maori housing today therefore typically reflects that of other urban New Zealanders.

Traditionally, Maoris in coastal areas relied on travel by canoes. These included single-hulled canoes as well as large double-hulled canoes. Waka taua were large Maori war canoes that were powered by both sail and paddles. As with other New Zealanders, travel today is by modern road, rail, water, and air transport.

10 • FAMILY LIFE

Since most Maoris live in urban industrialized areas, family life is similar to that of other urban New Zealanders. Intermarriage between Maoris and Pakehas (the Maori term for whites) is common. Most Maoris have Pakeha cousins or other Pakeha relatives. Maori households may include relatives besides the nuclear family, such as grandparents, uncles, and aunts.

The system of referring to members of the immediate and extended family in Maori culture differs from that found in American culture. In the Maori system, a person's brothers, as well as the male cousins on both the mother's and father's side, would all be called "brother." Similarly, a person's sister, as well as all female cousins, would be called "sister."

11 • CLOTHING

Maoris typically wear modern Western-style clothing. However, they still wear their traditional clothing for special occasions. Traditional Maori clothing was some of the most elaborate in Polynesia. Intricately decorated cloaks were an important item of dress for individuals of high status within Maori society.

Tattooing among the Maori was highly developed and extremely symbolic. Maori facial tattoos were created by two methods. One was by piercing and pigmenting the skin with a tattooing comb. The other was by creating permanent grooves in the face with a chisel-like instrument. Male facial tattooing, called ta moko, was done in stages in a male's life through adulthood. Females were also tattooed in Maori society. Female facial tattooing was known as ta ngutu. Designs were placed on the chin and lips. There is a growing revival of this art among younger Maori women nowadays.

12 • FOOD

Maoris typically eat the same kinds of foods as other New Zealanders. Breakfast consists of eggs, sasage, and bacon. Lunch may be a meat pie or sandwich. Dinner is a full meal with a meat dish as the main course. The traditional Polynesian foodstuffs of taro (a starchy root), yams, and breadfruit were not well adapted for cultivation on the temperate islands of New Zealand.

The most famous Maori culinary tradition is the hangi. The hangi is a feast that may only be prepared in the regions of the country where there are hot springs. A pit is dug in the ground and filled with rocks. Meat and vegetables are placed on top of the rocks in the pit. The food is left to steam for several hours.

13 • EDUCATION

Public education has now become the norm for most urban Maori. A number of pre-schools based on Maori cultural education have also been established throughout New Zealand. Education is state-supported and required in New Zealand between the ages of six and fifteen. Students planning to attend one of the country's six universities continue their secondary education until the age of seventeen or eighteen. At that time, they take university qualifying exams.

14 • CULTURAL HERITAGE

The haka dance of the Maori is one of the best-known cultural traditions of Polynesia. These dances are accompanied by song and body percussion created by clapping hands, stomping feet, and slapping thighs. There is a leader and a chorus that responds to the leader's lead vocal line. The dance itself involves energetic postures representing warlike and aggressive poses.

Maori chanting follows very strict rules for performance, rhythmic structure, and continuity. To break a chant in midstream is to invite disaster or even death for a community. These chants often tell of genealogies (family lines) or the exploits of ancestors.

15 • EMPLOYMENT

Maoris today work at the same types of jobs and professions found in any urbanized industrial economy. About two-thirds are engaged in the service sector (jobs that directly serve the public).

Traditional Maori culture developed a high degree of specialized labor. Artisans such as tattoo artists, canoe builders, house builders, and carvers were all classified as tohunga in Maori. This title implies a quality of sacredness and translates best into English as "priest." These artisans paid homage to the gods of their various occupations. They were initiated into their crafts through a series of rituals. All artisans were descended from chiefly lines in traditional Maori society.

16 • SPORTS

New Zealand, like its neighbor Australia, has rugby and cricket as its national sports. Maori boys and men participate in and follow rugby competitions in New Zealand. Traditional competitions among men in Maori society stressed aggressiveness; they provided practice for real-life conflicts.

17 • RECREATION

The modern Maori have become consumers of video, television, and film. As well, they have also become producers of their own stories in these media. Traditional storytelling and dance performance have been preserved by the Maori in this manner, serving both as cultural archives and as entertainment.

18 • CRAFTS AND HOBBIES

The New Zealand Maori are accomplished artists in a number of media. Collectors and the general public are most familiar with Maori carving and sculpture. They also have a tradition of figurative painting dating back to the late nineteenth century. Maori sub-tribes each have their own unique artistic styles.

Traditionally, large meeting houses of the Maori were decorated with elaborately carved facades containing figures of their ancestors. The entire structure was conceived as a representation of an ancestor.

19 • SOCIAL PROBLEMS

The vast majority of all contemporary Maori are urban dwellers. The Maori continue to suffer the social problems that accompany urban life in conditions of poverty. In some urban areas, Maori unemployment rates exceed 50 percent. The film Once Were Warriors (1994) provides a Maori perspective on the social problems of alcoholism, domestic violence, and under-employment or unemployment.

20 • BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bishop, Russell. Maori Art and Culture. London: British Museum Press, 1996.

Gell, A. Wrapping in Images: Tattooing in Polynesia. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1993.

Hazlehurst, Kayleen M. Political Expression and Ethnicity: Statecraft and Mobilisation in the Maori World. Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 1993.

Tregear, Edward. The Aryan Maori. Papakura, New Zealand: R. McMillan, 1984.

WEBSITES

Embassy of New Zealand, Washington, D.C. [Online] Available http://www.emb.com/nzemb/ , 1998.

Kupenga Maori. The Maori Net. [Online] Available http://www.maori.org.nz , 1998.

World Travel Guide. New Zealand. [Online] Available http://www.wtgonline.com/country/nz/gen.html , 1998.



User Contributions:

1
Pro
Hi I'm doing a school project on traditional Maori. The information you have on this site is great but could you just please try and put some more information on how the Maori
-ate and lived
-dressed
-built there houses and what the houses were like
-entertained themselves
-decorated things
-spoke and the language they used
before any one new of New Zealand.

Please and Thankyou,
Pro
2
Victoria
Oh my goodness, your site helped me so much. I am doing a project on Maoris at school, and this site gave me alot of what i needed, thanks!
Vick
3
Amanda
Your website saved my grade. I'm doing a group project at school and my partner didn't do his share. I'm glad that I found your site. Thanks so much!
4
Stephanie
Oh my gosh!! You have helped me SO much!!! I couldnt find anything about Maori traditional clothing and art and craft but you have heaps of what I needed. Thanks so much!
xoxo
Steph :D
5
rosie
i'm doing a project on maori people at school and this site really helped me alot!
rose
6
rose
this website has every thing i need for my maori people project!
your site is very helpful!
rose
7
Emily allen Kennedy
OMG this site is awsome it helped me so much for school i couldnt find anything until i came upon your site woo hoo thank you you guys go!
8
Annalise
thanks for the info but could you also include some stuff on your world famous game ki-o-rahi. I am doing a study on the influences of Maori culture worldwide and the three things we are concentrating on are the peace movements led by Te Whiti and the Parihaka episode, the technology of warfare such as trench emplacements and the use of Maori sports and games around the world, where o where is your ki-o-rahi content?
9
teresa
sweet little comment from little meee. thangyou for helping me with ideas about my essay. got some ideas now but still need more stuff on mauri sports like their waka and ki-o-rahi and haka stuff. hope you can load some of this info on here wood be nice. bye now
10
Cyrina
Oh my gosh. I was going to die without me finding this fabuleous site. You are the best!! I have a reaserch project that i have to do on Maoris and i couldent find any info but then boom i won the jackpot great website great info. Thanx AAAAAALLLLLOOOOOTT. lol.

Rina
11
Rebecca Harris- Hauraki Plains College
This site was so amazing- I has helped me with my school project soooo much- Thanks! This site gave me exactly what i needed!


THANKS SO MUCH!


XOXOXO
12
nicole
Thanks so much this helped me alot...no sorry not alot...it helped me alittle but you could put more stuff like environment,food source,agriculture,community,living area,technology,environment,possible future,etc if you could do it before tomorrow thanks
13
sandy
To the website creators thankyou for the info on this site. I noticed so many people wanting to find info on ki-o-rahi so permit me to assist as I have done a major research component on this game which researchers are attributing to the development of rugby. I'm so sorry I was not able to guide you all with urls to find info about ki-o-rahi, the most played traditional Maori game worldwide. If you put in the keyword "ki-o-rahi" and do separate searches teamed up with "wikipedia", "tki", "hub pages" you will find some excellent sources with which to accomplish major research leads.
Again, your most welcome!
Sandy Carmichael, Harvard University
14
harvey
hi, im doing a project in social studies at uni and i needed more information on the modernisation of the maori costume as well as the impact of europeanisation on the costume and how the costume changed over time.
Any information that you may have on these would be great help. thank you!
harvey!
15
Gussie
Thank you so much for the information! I am doing a project on New Zealand and you have covered pretty much all of it... Could you please put more information on housing styles? Keep up the great work!

--Gussie--
16
sora
this site is so enlightening, thanks! but it'd be so awesome if there was more information on sexuality and the different rites and passages young girls and boys went through as they grew up.
17
Ihfirlgierg
this website was very helpful for me doing my project at school on the maori people.
18
Kristin & Emily
Hi! The class I am in is doing a powerpoint on the culture of our choice. Me and my partner are doing the Maori culture! This site has been such a help! We were wondering if you could put some information on

Maori Development

Thanks,

Emily and Kristin
Barnier Public School,NSW, Australia
19
greg larvitch
Auwesome information thanks alot!!!! Had a project due for monday and this helped alot! Thanks once again... Greg
20
Anonymous
wow this website gave me all the info i needed
thanx :0
21
TARA
THIS SITE IS SO HELPFUL!!!!! IT GAVE ME ALL THE INFO O NEEDED! IT IS SO GREAT! THANKS! :)
22
Pro
This is the best site for Maori Information. Thanks!
23
Poppy
This site wasn't what I was looking for, but did help in other areas of Maori, will be visiting again soon! x
24
Andrea
THANKS YOU SO MUCH!!! this site had everything i needed ^_^ could you please include some information on modern Maori? thanks again with help on my project =D
25
Iddy
Hi, this site did help me heaps!!!!! :)
I really needed a site with straight out onfo :P
Thanks alot
26
Matthew
hey im doing a film for media studies on a boy becoming a man in modern society.

what is the closest Maori translation to "Right of Passage."

thanks for the awesome info on this site.
27
Holly
As a New Zealander, a pakeha (non-maori) I found this site to be a very accurate and true representation of NZ Maori. A lot of non-NZ produced information on Maori is very misleading and false. I recommend that anyone doing a research project on the Maori culture should search www.google.co.NZ and "pages from new zealand" to gauge a good idea of Maori then and now. Rather than ask this person do your homework for you (don't you think they've done enough already?).
Modern Maori are really not that different to NZ Europeans in everyday life.
28
Chloe
Great website the best for school kids. You helped me do a project for school and I got a A for reserch
29
Sophie
This site is great! Thanks a lot for helping me, it just gives the facts straight which is really useful.
30
Liz
I'm, like many others that have commented, also doing a project on the Maori culture & the book "The Whale Rider" for a presentation, paper, and speech at school. This website really helped, and I wish I found it earlier. Thanks lots. :)
this website is terrific, though what would be great is more information based on:
the role of each family member
daily customs and activities of a daily family
expectations of the family members
and
hierarchical order in the family
thankyou! i had some homework on the maori people and this site saved me
This was a great site for my school project. Thank you.
34
Ami
OMG! This site had all the things i needed by maori's for my project! THANK U SO MUCH!
There is no s in the maori language. So maori is singular and plural. same with pakeha. No s
your site made my day! thank you so much!!
this is the best site ever!
you made my grades go up!!
your awesome
i was born in new zealand and is half maori
but turned to be a aussie!
x
www.everyulture.com has helped me alot and i know can do my history assignment thanx for helping me heaps, i learnt alot also about my mums side of the family and their culture
38
Olivia
This is a great website but could you please put some more information about (Māori's):

- Why they came to New Zealand
- Which tribe arrived first in New Zealand
- When they came to New Zealand, if they were the first tribe here
- Where they came from originally
- If there are still people living where they came from originally
- If they were the only race here when they came to New Zealand
- How long their trip from their original place to New Zealand took and if the waka's were the only things that could bring them to New Zealand
- What it was like for them coming to a new land
- When they arrived in New Zealand
- Their tribes deciding where in New Zealand they wanted to stay

Thanks Olivia
39
Bro
Can you get info on how many maori follow their culture it would really help?
This site was really helpful because my project was due the day before so i quicly jumped onto this site and got 98% so thanks.
When It Comes To Patriarchal & Monarchical Rolls In General Living, What Were The Differences.
For Instance In Indigenous Culture (Of Canada) The Men Hunted, Gathered, Etc. While The Woman Cooked, Had Taken Care Of The Children. (However The Woman Was Still Considered The Head Of The House Hold).

P.S, Great Over View Of The Maori Culture.
42
Susie
This helped a lot.
i read the book Whale Rider and i have to do an essay about the Maori Culture and Traditions and i barely had any information on them and this website helped so much i got everything i needed.

Thanks!
43
rosie
this site helped me so much for my school project. thsnks!

rosie
My great, great grandfather was in the Maori wars have you got any information about any Carmichaels please?
I am researching the cultural dress and body tattoos of Maori women and how hair was worn around 1827. How did the women wear their hair. Was it pulled back from their faces or put into buns? Were body paintings made with plant extracts and minerals? Did their tattoos resemble stripes on arms and legs in colors of black, white and /or red? Did they have a white circle painted around their belly buttons or half moons with white spots above them. Did they wear skirts of some type of grass that may have covered only the front or covered both front and back. Is it possible that these were Polynesian woman that I'm describing?
Is there some more facts about the situation with the Maori people today?

anyways... very good !
Hi, I'm doing a school project and I'm just saying that I did get information but I didn't get enough.
Can you add these?
-How they have a damaging affect on their enviorment
-how they influence their lives.
-How they ended up.
These are few things that you could write more information:
-Clothing
-Food
-Houses built and looked like. Thank you!
48
annalise mary bantow
oh my gosh!!! i have like at least 2 pages worth of infos to submit to my teachers. yippees!!! i can finally do my 3 pages long project... so cheers to whoever have done up the page. i lurve you!
What is the special name given to babies who die and are taken back to the elders?
thx alot no website is as contentful as yours...hope u have more information
51
Frances
thanks heaps for this site, it helped a lot. Does anyone know the extent to which Maori's believe in Mana and Tapu today? or if any at all?. Please let me know if you know. Thanks heaps.
hey :) um i just want to say thanks because this website has helped me so much . im am year 11 and this saved my science project .

Once again thanks
Hi!
I also had a project about maoris and this website helped me alot. Thank you ! =)
This is a great website it helped lots thanks! :) THANKYOU I HAD SUCH A HARD TIME TRYING TO FIND A SITE AND THIS PERFECT THANKS
Thanks so much this website has help me a heap on my assinment
Your website is awesome!!! It helped our group presentation a lot, but you could have said something about their language.
THIS SITE IS THE BEST.!!! IT HELP ME A LOT WITH MY ENGLISH PRESENTASION ABOUT MAORI. BUT CAN YOU RIGHT A LITTLE MORE ABOUT SPORTS ?
Your site is the best with Maori information!!! Now I don't have to search everywhere to find information about Maori. THANKS A LOT!!!
I absolutely love this summary of the Maori history, traditions and culture. I no longer have to look at many sites to retrieve the information I am looking for! So thank you!
60
sefer
Sad to see so many people saying what a great source of information this is, since it's written like the person just researched a bunch of books and doesn't actually have any first hand experience of Maori at all.
61
good
this was another good source to my already big list.i think, for those other people who said this was the only site they wanted, or had, that was dumb. you need lots of good sources to verify every little piece of information. overall, good site
62
Charmaine
Hi I have been asked to make a speech in Maori to the groom can you help
63
AWSOME
AWSOME aticle helped me so much this site had every thing I needed thanks w
64
Very good.
Thank you so much! Im going to have my english exam tomorrow and got the topic native people. This site really helped me cover up everything I had to write about the Maoris. Again, thank you sooo much! Great site.

Would be good if you had information on how the Maoris are today. If they still exist and if they have revived their culture fully.
65
onebelieber@hotmail.com
I need a quick answer on this question! I'm going to talk about the maoris to my english exam tomorrow. And one of the questions is, how is their relationship to the kiwis (White people from New Zealand)... I can't find anything about it?
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE answer my question.. I only have till tomorrow.
Send your answer to me to my email: onebelieber@hotmail.com
XOXO
66
princess
hi just wondering if you could please tell me some information about how the moaris wore there hair,back in the day, i cant find anything about it :( i need it for my assignment that's due tomorrow
67
collette
I am doing a Cert III in age care and one of the questions asks what is the day to day cultures and what would choices or needs spiritual be required for a New Zealander in a residential care
Kiaora to the people who positive interest in I culture, I am a Whakairo (carving) practitioner if you need authentic info, hit up me email. My people are ancient travellers and used the sea as our highway rather than barrier.
69
CC
Good website :)
I really like it.
It really helped me.
70
Ashley
Hi! I'm doing a school project on Maori culture and I just wanted to let you know that your website really helped me out with it. Thanks!
71
tasha n
This site is awesome it really inspired me so much.ihave do do this project on the whale rider /the maori people and i was wondering if u could answer my question
72
tasha m
This site is awesome it really inspired me so much.ihave do do this project on the whale rider /the maori people and i was wondering if u could answer my question
73
big googes
tis website is so good to learn from if you have a project about cultures.
74
Teronloy
This is really good but for what I'm doing its too hard to summarize
75
Mega Empire
really helpful and got a lot of information from this site dude this site is 4.9stared by me and try to put about their fight for their civil right
76
Apple
This was the greatest source I've found. Too good to be true!
77
Māori
thanks for this. helped with my project. I got lots of information
78
defne
Thank you so much. You help me with my homework so much.
79
Beau The Maori
i am a maori and i cant abode by the fact that this site is a little wrong there may be many haka but only one is used for sport The Kamate
80
Anonymus
Thanks for helping me with my homework! It was GREAT!!!
81
te aotearoa
I agree with Beau The Maori, The Kamate is the main one at of all of them.

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