Māori

Māori is the name of the indigenous people of New Zealand, and their language. The word māori means "normal" or "ordinary" in the Māori language. In legends and other oral traditions, the word distinguished ordinary mortal human beings from deities and spirits. "Māori" has cognates in some other Polynesian languages such as Hawaiian in which the word maoli means native, indigenous, real, or actual. It is also the name of the people and language of the Cook Islands, referred to as Cook Islands Māori.

Māori origins

New Zealand was one of the last areas of the planet to be settled.

Archaeological and linguistic evidence (see Sutton 1994) suggests there were probably several waves of migration from Eastern Polynesia to New Zealand between 800 and 1300 AD. Māori origins therefore cannot be separated from those of their Polynesian ancestors (for more information see Polynesian culture). Māori oral history describes their arrival from Hawaiki (a mythical homeland in tropical Polynesia) by large ocean–going canoes (waka) - see Māori migration canoes. Migration accounts vary among Māori tribes or iwi, whose members can identify with different waka in their genealogies or whakapapa.

There is no credible evidence of human settlement in New Zealand prior to the Māori voyagers; on the other hand, compelling evidence from archaeology, linguistics, and physical anthropology indicates that the first settlers were East Polynesians who became the Māori.

Interactions with Europeans before formal treaty

European settlement of New Zealand occurred relatively recently, causing the late New Zealand historian Michael King to state in his book, The Penguin History Of New Zealand, that Māori were "the last major human community on earth untouched and unaffected by the wider world."

The early European explorers, including Abel Tasman and James Cook, reported encounters with Māori. These early reports described the Māori as a fierce and proud warrior race. Inter-tribal warfare was a way of life, with the conquered being enslaved or in some cases eaten.

From as early as the 1780s Māori had encounters with European sealers and whalers; some even crewed on their ships. There was also a continuous trickle of escaped convicts from Australia and deserters from visiting ships.

By 1830 it was estimated that there were as many as 2,000 Pākehā living among the Māori, status varying from slaves through to high ranking advisors, from prisoners to those who abandoned European culture and identified themselves as Māori. Pākehā were valued for their ability to describe European skills and culture and their ability to obtain European items in trade, particularly weaponry. These Europeans were known as Pākehā Māori. When Pomare led a war party against Titore in 1838, among his warriors were 132 Pākehā mercenaries. Frederick Edward Maning, an early settler, wrote two colourful contemporaneous accounts of life at that time and a little later, which have become classics of New Zealand literature: Old New Zealand and History of the War in the North of New Zealand against the Chief Heke.

During this period the acquisition of muskets by those tribes in close contact with European visitors destabilised the existing balance of power between Māori tribes, and there was a period of bloody inter-tribal warfare, known as the Musket Wars, during which several tribes were effectively exterminated and others were driven from their traditional territory. European diseases also killed a large but unknown number of Māori during this period. Estimates vary between ten and fifty percent.

With increasing European missionary activity and settlement in the 1830s as well as perceived European lawlessness, the British Crown, as a predominant world power, came under pressure to intervene.

1840-1890

Ultimately this led to William Hobson being dispatched with instructions to take possession of New Zealand. Before he arrived, Queen Victoria annexed New Zealand by royal proclamation in January 1840. On arrival in February, Hobson negotiated the Treaty of Waitangi with the surrounding northern chiefs. This treaty was subsequently signed by many other Māori chiefs, though by no means all. The treaty made the Māori British subjects in return for a guarantee of property rights and tribal autonomy.

The partnership was entered into with enthusiasm on both sides, despite regrettable exceptional incidents. Māori formed substantial businesses, supplying food and other products for domestic and overseas markets.

Governor George Grey learned the language and recorded much of the mythology. He was among the first of many to do so.

In the 1860s, disputes over questionable land purchases and the attempts of Māori in the Waikato to establish what was perceived as a rival British-style system of royalty led to the New Zealand land wars. Although these resulted in relatively few deaths, large tracts of tribal land were confiscated by the colonial government as punishment for rebellion, in some cases without reference to whether the tribe whose land was confiscated actually participated in rebellion. Some tribes actively fought against the Crown, while others (known as kupapa) fought in support of the Crown. A passive resistance movement developed at the settlement of Parihaka in Taranaki, but was dispersed by the invasion of Crown troops in 1881.

With the loss of much of their land, Māori went into a period of decline, and by the late 19th century it was believed that the Māori population would cease to exist as a separate race and be assimilated into the European population.

Revival

The predicted decline of the Māori population did not occur, and levels recovered. Despite a high degree of marriage between the Māori and European populations, Māori were able to retain their cultural identity.

The Government decided to exempt Māori from the conscription that applied to other citizens in World War II, but nonetheless Māori volunteered in large numbers, forming the "28th Māori Battalion", which performed creditably, notably in Crete, North Africa, and Italy. Altogether 17,000 Māori took part in WW2.

Since the 1960s, Māoridom has undergone a cultural revival. Sympathetic governments and political activism have led to compensation for unjust confiscation of land and the violation of other property rights. A special court, the Waitangi Tribunal, was established to investigate and make recommendations on such issues. As a result of the compensation paid to many iwi (tribes), Māori now have significant interests in the fishing and forestry industries.

Once Were Warriors, a 1994 film adapted from a 1990 novel, brought the plight of some urban Māori to a wide audience. It was the highest grossing film in New Zealand that year and received international acclaim, winning several international film prizes. While some Māori feared that viewers would consider the violent male characters to be a valid stereotype of Māori men, most film critics praised it as exposing the raw side of domestic violence on an international stage.

In many areas of New Zealand, Māori language ceased to be used as a living community language (by significant numbers of people) in the post-war years. In tandem with calls for sovereignty and the righting of social injustices from the 1970s onwards, Māori culture and language is now taught in many New Zealand schools, and pre-school kohanga reo or language nests have been established which teach tamariki or young children exclusively in Māori. These now extend right through secondary schools (kura tuarua). In 2004 Māori Television, a government-funded TV station committed to broadcasting primarily in te reo, began broadcasting. Māori language enjoys the equivalent status to English in government and law. Māori politicians have seven designated Māori seats in the New Zealand parliament (and may stand in the General seats), and consideration and consultation with Māori are routine requirements for many New Zealand councils and government organisations.

Despite significant social and economic advances during the 20th century, Māori still tend to be in the lower percentiles in most health and education statistics and labour-force participation as well as being over-represented in criminal and corrections statistics.

Business and intellectual property

In 2001 a dispute arose between Danish toymaker LEGO and several Māori tribal groups fronted by lawyer Maui Solomon, and also several members of an online discussion forum Aotearoa Cafe, over the popular LEGO toy line Bionicle. The product line used many words that were an appropriation of Māori language, imagery and folklore. The dispute was settled amicably. Initially LEGO refused to withdraw the game, saying the names it used were drawn from many cultures, but later agreed that it had taken the names from Māori and agreed to change certain names or spellings to help set the toy line apart from the Māori legends. This, however, did not prevent the many Bionicle users from continuing to use the disputed words, resulting in the popular Bionicle website BZPower coming under a denial-of-service attack for four days by an attacker using the name Kotiate ^*.

In 2005 a worldwide survey suggested that the Māori have the world's fourth-highest rate of entrepreneurship. This contrasts with the fact that Māori are still one of the poorer population groups in New Zealand. It has been remarked in this context that Māori (and New Zealanders in general) are good at starting a business, but less skilled at making it more than marginally profitable.

The Law Commission is initiating its own project to develop a legal framework for Māori who want to manage communal resources and responsibilities. The voluntary system was to be presented to Parliament in May 2006 and will offer an alternative to existing companies, incorporations, and trusts – where they are not seen as sensitive to Māori needs – in which tribes and hapu and other groupings can interact with the legal system. The proposed legislation would be called the Waka Umanga Act/Māori Corporations Act and would provide a model that could be adapted to suit the needs of individual iwi.

References

Australian Bureau of Statistics (2004). Australians' Ancestries: 2001. Canberra: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Catalogue Number 2054.0. ^*
Biggs, Bruce (1994). Does Maori have a closest relative? In Sutton (Ed.)(1994), pp. 96–-105.
Hiroa, Te Rangi (Sir Peter Buck) (1974). The Coming of the Maori. Second Edition. First Published 1949. Wellington: Whitcombe and Tombs.
Irwin, Geoffrey (1992). The Prehistoric Exploration and Colonisation of the Pacific. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Simmons, D.R. (1997). Ta Moko, The Art of Maori Tattoo. Revised Edition. First published 1986. Auckland: Reed.
Statistics Canada (2003). Ethnic Origin (232), Sex (3) and Single and Multiple Responses (3) for Population, for Canada, Provinces, Territories, Census Metropolitan Areas and Census Agglomerations, 2001 Census - 20% Sample Data.. Ottawa: Statistics Canada, Cat. No. 97F0010XCB2001001. ^*
Statistics New Zealand (2005). Estimated resident population of Māori ethnic group, at 30 June 1991-2005, selected age groups by sex. Wellington: Statistics New Zealand. ^*
Sutton, Douglas G. (Ed.) (1994). The Origins of the First New Zealanders. Auckland: Auckland University Press.
United States Census Bureau (2003). Census 2000 Foreign-Born Profiles (STP-159): Country of Birth: New Zealand. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Census Bureau. ^*
Walrond, Carl (2005). Māori overseas, Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. ^*

External links

Aotearoa Cafe — Discussion forum about Māori history, politics and art.
Aotearoa Māori Internet Organisation — Online discussion board.
culture.co.nz — Important Māori websites on the net.
maori.info Useful summaries of major aspects of Māori culture
korero.maori.nz Interactive Māori language resource site
maori.org.nz — The largest Māori site on the net, covering a wide range of topics.
Māori related news headlines — From the Te Karere Ipurangi news portal.
Māori Sovereignty Yahoogroup — Active online discussion group; membership required
Māori theology — by the late Michael Shirres.
Ta Moko — Website about the famous 'Moko', unique Māori body art.
Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand — includes information on Māori New Zealanders.

Māori | Indigenous peoples of Polynesia | Polynesian culture | Polynesia

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