MAORI CULTURE

Vladimir Suasnavas

Sergio Ruiz

Marc Álvarez

Laia Pallarès

The origin of maori’s

   The Maori are the indigenous people of New Zealand, they are Polynesian and comprise about 14 percent of the country's population. Maoritanga 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.

Around 3500 years ago the Polynesian culture began to expand eastwards from the Bismarck Archipelago. In recent years, the introduction of Maori language nests (kohanga reo) has revived the Maori language.

The maori dance

• There are to main different types of Maori dances. The dance are the Haka and the Poi dances. The haka is usually performed only by men and was used to scare the enemy as the haka is a war dance. Today the haka is used in celebrations and is performed before the the All Blacks rugby team start the rugby game.

 Stories and Legends

• Maori is an oral culture rich with stories and legends. The Maori creation story describes the world being formed by the violent separation of Ranginui, the Sky Father, and Papatuanuku, the Earth Mother, by their children.

Maori’s in the actually

• Today Maori people live throughout New Zealand, and many are actively involved with keeping their culture and language alive. Within any Maori community, the marae provides a focus for social, cultural and spiritual life. The term marae describes a communal 'plaza' area that includes a wharenui (meeting house) and wharekai (dining room).

Organisation and trade When Maori first arrived in New Zealand they hardly had any food known to them to survive except for the common food of New Zealand. Gradually generations of Maori discovered plenty of edible plants and berries of different kinds in the vast forests of New Zealand, the most important of them being the RARAUHE (edible fern roots).

Traditional Maori fishing operations were very well organised. Different tribes had their own fishing areas. Tribal boundaries were marked by landmarks and stakes and protected against trespassers. Fishing was often a community activity. Tasks involved everything from observing the movement of schools of fish and making nets to catching fish some of them over 2 miles long. Processing fish was also a communal task with many working through into the wee small hours, a trai that hasn' t changed much even with our modern equipment. When Europeans arrived, Maori started trading with them. They bartered fish for other goods or sold it for cash. They exported fish to Australia in the early 19th century