Indigenous Group - Maori

Perhaps the most renowned indigenous group in New Zealand are the Maoris which make up one-seventh of the population. They arrived in New Zealand over 1,000 years ago. With a rich culture, the Maoris have traditional and contemporary arts, legends and myths that have shaped many New Zealanders life today. They possess a vibrant part of the country’s culture makeup, and have attracted international tourists to visit them yearly. The Maori society is, to some degree, tribal.

The traditional society of Maori is hierarchical, where the highest in the hierarchy is the ariki (right side, supreme chief), often a male. While below the ariki are the hapu (sub-tribes) led by a rangantira (local chief). Those that were at the bottom of the hierarchy are known as the taurekareka (slaves). In a typical tribe, men will aid in preparing agricultural plot while woman will be responsible for planting the crops.The traditional Maori religion was the Wairua. Under this religion, the Maori prays to a complex mix of god that may represent the sea, sky or even agriculture.

The priests, tohunga, are the one who can communicate with gods and able to identify rituals for different offerings. Besides being a priest, the tohunga are also experts in tattoo and woodcarvers. Besides the famous traditional form of cooking in the Maori culture, also known as hangi ­– a feast cooked in the earth, the Maori are also famous for their arts of song and dance. Waiata (song) is highly expressive and it displays the traditions of the Maori. Waiata kori, an action song is perhaps the highlight of a visit to New Zealand.

In this song, men will display strong actions whereas woman will be graceful in their actions. A good example of dance is the Haka, which means any form of dance in Maori. Dance is often linked with the chant, haka taparahi where some common elements in the dance include flexing arm movements and fierce shouting. One of the most famous Haka is from Te Rauparaha. It was told that this Haka originated from the scene where the chief was running away from his enemies. The Haka is as follows:

Ka mate, ka mate

Ka ora, ka ora

Tenei te tangata puhuruhuru

Nana ne ii tiki ma ii Whakawhiti t era

Upane, aupane

Upane, ka aupane

Whiti te ra

(Brown, 2004)

Example of Haka

Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BoNmpvkavo

Other famous arts include Whakairo (carving) and Moko (tattoos). Such carvings use material like human and animal bones, nephrite jade and wood. There were powerful wooden carvings of gods, ancestors and human figures. Some characteristics of human figures are enlarged head, mouth and eyes. With no practice of keeping written history, the Maori carving is actually a way to record history and ideas.Back then, moko can only be found in higher classes, and woman can only have moko on their chins and lips (example of moko, right). It was another story for high-ranking man. Besides their entire face, moko can also be found in other parts of their body, especially the buttock. Such tattoos were created using ingredients such as bone chisels, mallet and blue pigment (Brown, 2004).

The tribal home, known as Marae is a sacred place to the Maoris. Traditionally, it refers to the flat area of grass in front of the carved meeting house, but now it is used to describe the whole area of building. One of the best ways to understand the Maori culture is by visiting the Marae. As visitors enter the place, there will be authentic welcoming ritual by the Maori. This will be followed by various speeches, ceremonial challenges, songs and most of the time, talking will be involved. The traditional greeting – Hongi, a sharing of life breath, and it is a single press, in others it is press, release, press (Brown, 2004). However, it is often mistaken as rubbing of noses together. Some of the protocol that needs to be followed when entering the Marae is the removal of shoes and offer a donation if one receive hospitality.

What a hongi means

Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwN3TcsLXsU

Reference: Images from Google Image