The Maori Culture & Tradition

MAORI NATION

The flag of the Maori nation

In 1990 there was a national flag competition in New Zealand.
None of the entries showed any Maori acknowledgement or inspiration.
The TE KAWARIKI therefore held their own Maori flag competition.
And the winning entry is shown above on this page.

-Black represents Te Korekore the realm of Potential Being. The long darkness from whence the world emerged.

-White represents Te Ao Marama the realm of Being and light. It is the physical world, where symbolises purity, harmony and enlightment. 

-The Koru, curling frond shape, represents the unfolding of new life, that everything is reborn and continues. It represents renewal and hope for the future. 

-Red represents Te Whei Ao, the realm of Coming into being. It symbolises female, active, flashing, south, yelling, forests, gestation and spirals. Red is Papatuanuku Earth Mother, the sustainer if all living things. Red is the colour of earth from which the first humans was made.

MAORI HISTORY
The Maori are the indigenous people of New Zealand, they are Polynesian and comprise about 14 percent of the country's population. Te reo Maori is the native language which is related to Tahitian and Hawaiian. It is believed that the Maori migrated from Polynesia in canoes around the 9th century to 13th century AD.
Dutch navigator Abel Tasman was the first European to encounter the Maori. Four members of his crew were killed in a bloody encounter in 1642. In 1769 British explorer James Cook established friendly relations with some Maori. By 1800, visits by European ships were relatively frequent. At this time, war and disease took their toll on the Maori till eventually their population dropped to about 100,000.
In 1840 representatives of Britain and Maori chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi. This treaty established British rule, granted the Maori British citizenship, and recognized Maori land rights.
Today many of the treaty's provisions are disputed andthere is an effort from the New Zealand Government to recompense Maori for land that was illegally confiscated.
The video below depicts the scene of the History of NZ- Captain Cook's Arrival.


The present Maori population is around 600,000 or 14% of the population, and Maori live in all parts of New Zealand, but predominately in the North Island where the climate is warmer.


MAORI ORIGINS

Map of Hawaiki

Maori legend says that the Maori came from "Hawaiki", the legendary homeland about 1000 years ago. When the Maori arrived in Aotearoa (New Zealand) they found a land quite different to tropical Polynesia. New Zealand was not only colder, but it possessed many volcanoes and huge snow capped mountains. Aotearoa is the Maori name for New Zealand and means Land of the long white cloud.
There are many theories about the origins of the Maori. Some speculate that the island of Hawaiki could have been near Hawaii. The commonly accepted theory today, says that the Maori originated in China, and travelled via Taiwan, the Philippines to Indonesia, onto Melanesia and reached Fiji. From there to Samoa and on to the Marquesas and turned South West to Tahiti, thence to the Cook Islands and to Aotearoa/New Zealand.
Some believe that the Maori found Aotearoa probably by chance or mistake as they could have been blown off course in one of their navigations. But there is also evidence that the Maori had sophisticated ancient knowledge of the stars and ocean currents and this knowledge is carved in their "whare" (houses).
The term "Whakapapa" is used to describe Maori genealogy. The word "Papa" doesn't mean father but rather anything broad, flat, and hard such as a flat rock. Whakapapa means to place in layers and this is the way that different orders of genealogies are looked at. One generation upon another. The Maori term for descendant is uri, its precise meaning is offspring or issue.


MAORI TRADITIONS
HAKA
Before the coming of the Pakeha(White Man) to New Zealand, all literature in Maori was orally passed onto succeeding generations. This included many legends and waiata (song). The most recognised tradition today is the "Haka" which is a war dance. Delivered with fierce shouting, flexing arm movements that resemble fists pummelling the side of someone's head and thunderous stamping to grind whatever is left into dust. Below is a video of a traditional "Haka" dance performed by the Maori's themselves.

The Haka was performed before the onset of war by the Maori last century, but has been immortalized by New Zealand's Rugby Team the All Blacks, who perform this dance before every game. The "Haka" is as follows:

Ka mate, ka mate (It is death, it is death)
Ka ora, ka ora (It is life, it is life)
Tenei te tangata puhuruhuru (Behold the hairy man)
Nana nei i tiki mai i Whakawhiti te ra (Who caused the sun to shine)
Upane, aupane (Abreast, keep abreast)
Upane, ka aupane (The rank, hold fast)
Whiti te ra (Into the sunshine)

POWHIRI
The traditional Maori welcome is called a powhiri, this involves a hongi which is a greeting that involves pressing noses as opposed to a kiss. 

 Pressing of nose (Hongi)

The host and visitors exchange welcoming calls, speeches, ceremonial challenges, more speeches, songs, a few speeches, perhaps one or two speeches...you get the idea: there's a fair bit of talking involved. Once the appropriate ancestors have been praised and lineages established, the tapu (complex rules of sacrednessand/or prohibition)of the visitors is deemed lifted and hosts and visitors are permitted to interact with the locals with handshakes and the hongi (pressing of nose).


Ah, the hongi- evidently a problem with visitors. In some parts of NZ, the hongi, a sharing of life breath, is a single press, in others, it is a press, release, press. It is never a rubbing together of noses, a popular misconception. Neither is it a quick kiss on the nose, as was delivered by one confused Australian Prime Minister.


MOKO(TATTOOS)

Female form of Moko

Male form of Moko

Another prominent feature of Maori culture are the striking tattoos that were worn. Full faced tattoos or "moko", amongst the Maori tribes was predominantly a male activity. Female forms of moko were restricted to the chin area, the upper lip, and the nostrils. 
Today the Moko still lives on as an increasing number of Maori who are opting to receive their Moko, in an effort to preserve their culture and identity.


HANGI

Hangi Lamb, Chicken, Potatoes, 
Kumura and Stuffing served in Rotorue, NZ

Hangi served in Arossa Ginza Restaurant, Japan

A traditional form of cooking called a Hangi is a feast cooked in the earth. Stones are heated in a fire in a dug out pit and covered in cabbage leaves or watercress to stop the food from burning. Mutton, pork, chicken, potatoes and Kumera (a sweet potato) are then unusually lowered into the pit in a basket. The food is covered with Mutton cloth or similar and traditionally with flax. Finally earth is placed on top to keep in the steam. The food takes about 3 hours to cook. The Hangi is still popular and is a viable alternative to a weekend barbecue. The unique taste of food cooked in a Hangi can best be described as steamed food with an earthen flavour. The video below shows the process of Hangi.