Maori Culture New Zealand.ppt

Maori Culture: New Zealand Kodie Rosten 10/20/05 History 10th Century A.D. - 1st people to discover New Zealand were from Eastern Polynesia. Canoe Voyages brought people from Hawaiki – “ancestral homeland” to NZ over 100 years and they became the Maori tribes. Canoes and their names were important in determining Maori’s geological history. History continued February 6, 1840 the Treaty of Waitangi was signed by over 500 Maori chiefs. Became a British colony Agreed that Queen of England would have sovereignty over their land because they had no national government or form of laws She would protect them and they still get to retain possession of their land However in the 1860’s, land wars began to erupt because the Pakeha people “white strangers” were trying to take their land. Led to the Maori King movement – protecting lands by uniting under a paramount chief Maori Mythology Until the 19th Century, Maori transferred history down the generations by word-of-mouth (Especially through song and dance) The Beginning – Nothingness and after nine nothingnesses became the dawn. From the womb of the darkness came the Sky father and the Earth mother. They had 6 children: god of the winds, god of the forest, etc… They separated their parents and there became light. All the children were male so the sky father created a woman out of soil. Maori Culture Means ordinary or usual. They call themselves “people of the land” Pastoralists – grow crops such as Kumara – sweet potato They are ruled by tribal chiefs Hierarchical society Culture Headed by chiefs, followed by priests, then by commoners, and then slaves. Ariki’s are their leaders within their tribes - gain authority through genealogy and Rangatira are the aristocracy of their society and are the children of the Ariki. Usually male figures. The extended families lived together in huts grouped into villages anywhere from a few to 500 households. The families were sub tribes that are a part of a wider trib