Maoris

The Maori people were the first people to occupy New Zealand, just as the Native American Indians were the first people to occupy what is now called the United States of America. The first Maoris came here by canoe, in the 1200's, from the Polynesian Islands north of New Zealand, so they look Polynesian. This photo shows an archway welcoming people to a Maori area. It is made of wood and shells, and is designed to keep evil away.

Captain Cook, a British sailor, explored this area in the mid-1700's . He discovered New Zealand and told people about it back in England. Over the years, more explorers came. Then people from England who wanted adventure and a new life began moving here. By the beginning of the 1800's, there were several towns filled with English people around New Zealand. As word spread about the good life out here, more and more people came. Some of the land was bought from the Maoris. Some of it was stolen.

Today, the Maoris work and live in all parts of life. Those who stay in school and get lots of education get the better jobs, earn more money, and have an easier life. Sometimes people discriminate against them, just as the Native American Indian often faces discrimination. That means that people judge them, not because of who they are, but because of their race. This makes life more difficult for them.

To help people understand their culture better, they have set up cultural shows to teach people about the Maori traditions. They want people to respect them and appreciate their culture, not make fun of it or think it's weird. This photo shows a Maori meeting house. The Maoris performed songs and dances to greet us when we arrived. We removed our shoes before going in, out of a sign of respect.

CLICK HERE to see and hear a Maori Dance.

Inside they told us about their culture and they performed more songs and dances. Some of their songs were very beautiful. The war songs and dances, like the "haka," were very fierce. This photo shows some men performing the haka. During the haka, they open their eyes very wide, yell very loudly, and slap their chests, legs, and arms in rhythmn. This looks very scary. They also stick out their tongues with the mouths wide open. This means, "I'm going to eat you up!" In the olden days, if you were in a tribe thinking about attacking this tribe, you might give up and run away after seeing them do this fierce haka.

These days, since the Maori tribes no longer attack each other, the haka dance is performed by the New Zealand rugby team, called the "All Blacks". Rugby is a very popular sport here in New Zealand. It's kind of like our football, but much rougher. The All Blacks dance the haka before each game to scare the other team. I guess it works because the All Blacks win almost all of their games. They are considered the best rugby team in the world!

Mr. Freeley, at Cottage Lane, knows the haka. I'm sure he'd perform it for you if you asked him nicely :).

The Maoris perform their shows in their native outfits, but after the show they get changed into their blue jeans and t-shirts to go home.

We see many Maori words each day, as many towns have Maori names, like Whakatane (pronounced fu-ku-tah-nee) and Hokatika (pronounced hoe-ku-ti-ku). The Maori name for New Zealand is Aoteoroa, which means Land of the Great White Cloud. Isn't that a nice name?

The government has declared that all children must learn some Maori words, so all teachers are required to take classes in the Maori language and pass a test in Maori in order to get a teaching credential, which allows them to teach school. All of the classrooms have some posters up to remind the children how to say some of the words, and each day they speak a few words in Maori. If you click on this picture to enlarge it, you can see the English words next to the Maori words.

Some of the children in the schools I've visited are Maori. Here is a picture of Simon. He's a very sweet 5-year-old boy. He loves life and is full of energy. In his classroom there are other Maori children, but also many Pakeha (people with white skin from England or other European countries, as well as from North American countries). There are also children whose parents have moved here from the nearby islands of Samoa, Tonga, and Fiji; and children from Russia, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, India, Somalia, China, Korea, Thailand, and Japan. They are all now Kiwis because they've made New Zealand their home.