Maori Culture

Nau mai, haere mai! Welcome to Ao-tea-roa, Land of the Long White Cloud, also known as New Zealand.

This is the homeland of an ancient Polynesian people, the Maori, who made epic journeys in waka hourua (voyaging canoes) from their Pacific Island origins to reach these shores over 1,000 years ago. The Maori people have a rich cultural heritage, forming a unique and important contribution to the character of the country.

Europeans first set foot on New Zealand shores in the eighteenth century, and they set up trade relationships with resident Maori. The Treaty of Waitangi was signed in 1840, setting up a formal relationship between the British Crown and many iwi (Maori tribes).

Historical grievances over a lack of protection of Maori rights under the Treaty have resulted in continued protest and various Treaty settlements with tribal groups and the Crown.

Maori people today make up over fourteen percent of the population. Visitors to New Zealand will find many opportunities to experience Maori culture first-hand. Those interested in exploring the nation’s history should include a visit to Waitangi in the Bay of Islands, where the Treaty was originally signed. At the Waitangi National Trust Estate visitors can see the Treaty House, as well as a fully carved Maori meeting house and one of the world’s largest Maori war canoes.

Over the centuries before European colonisation, Maori developed a unique and complex social structure. Tradition and history played an important part – as the Maori people had no written language, they preserved their past through spoken stories. This spellbinding art, lost to many cultures today, is preserved around the country. Rotorua, in the central North Island, is particularly well known for the cultural experiences it offers. Visitors can enjoy a Maori powhiri (welcome), visit local marae (meeting grounds) and listen to kapa haka (traditional performances of song and dance). They can also taste a hangi, traditional kai (food) cooked on hot stones in an underground oven.

In addition to these cultural experiences, visitors can taste modern Maori culture by taking part in trips ranging from hunting and horse trekking to white water rafting, with Maori guides to lead them. Visitors can take a sea or river trip in a traditional Maori waka or explore regions with historical or mythical significance – a chance for a unique insight into the spirit of New Zealand. Walking ancient trails through magnificent rainforests, over rivers and streams, and along shoreline and coastal cliffs is another wonderful way to experience the history of New Zealand and the Maori people.

Maori Culture Today

As a nation, New Zealand embraces the Maori element of its culture and in recent times there has been a major resurgence of Maori language and culture. Maori culture has thrived because in many ways Maori have succeeded in uniting traditional culture with contemporary interpretation. Today Maori culture is expressed through music, both in the Maori language and in English, the arts, which may draw on contemporary mediums or themes, in sports (such as the Haka performed by the All Black rugby team!) and in the media. The Maori television channel, for instance, supports the culture by telling stories by and about Maori people (www.maoritelevision.com).

Experiencing Maori Culture
Since European colonisation, Maori have always played an integral role in New Zealand tourism – in the nineteenth century they were hospitable and entertaining hosts in popular tourism destinations like Rotorua. Today tourism is embraced as a way to preserve and enhance the Maori culture and there are a myriad of ways for your clients to experience the culture for themselves.

Marae Visits
The Marae, or meeting place, is a central part of Maori culture. Incorporating traditional arts such as carving and woven panels, the buildings at a marae reflect the story of its people. They are found throughout the country, but visits should be arranged through a specialist operator. Encourage your clients to pay a visit, or even stay overnight, in a marae to gain a deeper understanding of Maori culture.

Powhiri
Marae visits traditionally begin with a powhiri, or formal welcome. The powhiri begins with a wero – a warrior confronts the visitors, twirling a club and flicking his tongue. He lays down a token, such as a small branch. Picking up the token demonstrates that the visitors come in peace. The powhiri also includes the karanga, a haunting call of welcome performed by the women of the marae.

Cultural Concerts
Throughout New Zealand there are many places in which your clients can be entertained by a cultural performance. Based on traditional arts, but incorporating contemporary elements, Kapa Haka is a popular performance art combining theatre and song in a spellbinding display – every two years groups from around New Zealand compete in a national competition.

Hangi
Encourage your clients to take the opportunity to sample food cooked in the traditional Maori way. To prepare a hangi, a hole is dug and the food (anything from potatoes to pork) is placed in woven baskets and buried along with hot rocks so that the food is slowly steamed. A hangi is usually a great social occasion!

Guided Walks
Maori have traditionally had a very close relationship to the natural environment and participating in a guided walk is a wonderful way for your clients to gain a deeper appreciation of the land’s significance. They will, for instance, learn the Maori history of the landscape, and the medicinal, culinary or spiritual properties of native flora and fauna.

The Treaty of Waitangi

The Treaty of Waitangi, New Zealand’s founding document, was signed by 40 Maori chiefs on the lawns at Waitangi on 6 February 1840. The Treaty saw Maori cede sovereignty to the British Queen, affording them the rights of all British subjects in return. Copies were subsequently circulated around the country and by September 500 chiefs had signed.

Recommended reading for an insight into Maori culture

The Penguin History of New Zealand by Michael King (Penguin Books, Auckland, 2003)
A History of the New Zealanders: From Polynesian Settlement to the End of the Nineteenth Century by James Belich (Allen Lane / The Penguin Press, Auckland, 2001)

Did You Know?

The hongi is a traditional Maori greeting. Noses are pressed together and the ha, or breath of life, is exchanged and intermingled. The hongi is an integral part of the powhiri (welcoming ceremony)

Maori and Pacific Treasures

Weaving and carving in wood, bone and greenstone are important Maori traditions and magnificent examples of he taonga Maori (Maori treasures) can be seen at museums and galleries around the country.

Where to see Maori and Pacific treasures

Auckland Museum houses the most significant collection of Maori and Pacific treasures in New Zealand. He Taonga Maori, the Maori Treasures Gallery, displays over 2,000 Maori treasures, including rare carvings and the last great Maori war canoe used in battle. Experience Maori hospitality by joining Manaia in a performance of song, dance and stories; their compelling show gives an insight into Maori tradition, genealogy and spirituality. Admission
charges apply.

Where to purchase Maori treasures

Apart from admiring artworks, visitors may also purchase their own. At the Maori tribal settlement of Waiwhetu in Lower Hutt is the Maori Treasures complex, where visitors can see artists-in-residence weaving, sculpting, carving and potting. The Arts Centre in Christchurch is another place to visit the studios of those practising traditional Maori arts.

For the latest on Maori art and exhibitions, see the Toi Maori Aotearoa website:
www.maoriart.org.nz.