Preview

The Maory History of New Zealand

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
781 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Maory History of New Zealand
The Maory History of New Zealand
The original inhabitants of New Zealand were Polynesians who arrived by canoe in a series of migrations. Among these were the Moriori, or moa hunters, early ancestors of the Maory, who arrived in a later migration. Historians estimate the first Polynesians arrived over 1000 years ago, possibly as early as 800 AD. Whether the islands were discovered by accident or design is uncertain, but the original peoples found a plentiful food supply and larger, more varied islands than anywhere else in the Pacific. They named the islands Aotearoa, or the land of the long white cloud. The Maory people inhabited New Zealand for nearly 1000 years before the first European explorer to the island nation, the Dutchman Abel Tasman, sailed up the west coast and named it Niuew Zeeland, after the province of Zeeland in the Netherlands. Maory culture has always been an integral part of New Zealand, and an understanding of the Maory’s vividly chronicled history is critical to an understanding of New Zealand today.
In the early “Archaic” period of Polynesian settlement, inhabitants depended on the plentiful sea life and the large and spectacular moa, a flightless bird, now extinct, for their food supply. Later, in the “Classic Maory” period, agriculture became increasingly important, with kumara (sweet potato), taro, and yams the most important crops. Maory civilization was centered on the warmer North Island, with expeditions mounted to the South Island to search for jade
Maory societies were hierarchical, and revolved around the iwi (tribe) or hapu (sub-tribe). The hapu were further divided into whanau (extended family groups) that joined with each other to form communal villages. Positions of leadership were largely hereditary, and local chiefs of the whanau were under the authority of the ariki, the supreme chief of the entire tribe.
Maory religion was complex. Ancestor worship was important, and a variety of gods representing the sky, sea,

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    First settled by Polynesians sailing from other Pacific islands between A.D. 300 and 600, Hawaii was visited in 1778 by British captain James Cook, who called the group the Sandwich Islands.…

    • 274 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Sprite Chart

    • 454 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Shang Ti- head god, rules over all other gods. The worship of ancestors was very important. They made sacrifices to the gods and ancestors.…

    • 454 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    -New Zealand was inhabited by the Maori, a Polynesian farming, hunting, and fishing people who settled in New Zealand around 800 A.D. -Cook, when he reached Australia, considered it to be uninhabited. -Australia, at the time, however, was inhabited by “Aborigines;” the term was developed later by Europeans and is in reference to the native peoples of…

    • 875 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    CHAPTER 5 SUMMARY PAGE

    • 1069 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Religion: polytheist, Gods, led by Zeus governed life & death-given human attributes-thought to possess great power, knowledge, & immortality-sacrifices were made to the gods at outdoor altars / mythology based on gods with human attributes…

    • 1069 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Polynesians – Explored for opportunity of project power, demonstrate expertise. And relieve population pressures of limited resources.…

    • 459 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    European explorers, found this little Polynesian Islands were found on travels during the 17 and 18th centuries by French and English ships. Soon they were laying claims to this small islands.…

    • 2444 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Even after 1961, people still continued to campaign for equal rights and freedom for the black Americans. At that time, the equal Civil Right system drawn attention to the new president, John F Kennedy and on 11 June 1961, he declared to support the black Americans for their equal rights. People concluded that the only way that they can win their freedom was to empower ordinary people, thus they also started to campaign for the proposed civil rights bill and voting right.…

    • 626 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hawaiian Studies

    • 883 Words
    • 4 Pages

    - describe the two initial Polynesian migrations to Hawai’i and what was believed to be the main differences between them (e.g. peaceful planters vs. warriors)…

    • 883 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Moai were carved by the Rapa Nui people on the Chilean Polynesian island between the years 1250 and 1500…

    • 228 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Chapter 8 – African Civilizations and the Spread of Islam •The spread of Islam in Africa linked its regions to the outside world through trade, religion, and politics •States like Mali and Songhai are built on military power and dynastic alliances •Parts of sub-Saharan Africa entered into the expanding world network; many others remained isolated •Christianity and Islam sometimes influenced political and cultural development Empires of the Western Sudan (West/Northwest Africa)  th th …

    • 1157 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In this essay I will describe the three main religions of Ancient China. Although they are not that much alike they do have some similarities. There were three major religions in ancient china, Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism.…

    • 812 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hawai'I Colonization

    • 743 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In January 1778, James Cook of Britain made his first visit to the Hawaiian Islands. He was the first European to ever visit the island group, which he named the Sandwich Islands in honor of one of his patrons, John Montague, the Earl of Sandwich. The ships then made a brief stop at Ni'ihau, the seventh largest of the inhabited Hawaiian Islands, and headed north to look for the western end of a northwest passage from the North Atlantic to the Pacific. Almost one year later, Cook's two ships returned to the Hawaiian Islands and found a safe harbor in Hawaii's Kealakekua Bay.…

    • 743 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Polynesian Origin

    • 1188 Words
    • 5 Pages

    However, majority of the evidence points to the ancient South Americans being the ancient forefathers of the Polynesians. The cultural likenesses linking the creation myths of the ancient South Americans and the Polynesians and the similarities between their art forms are decisive in their support of the Kon Tiki theory. This is because the very essence of a society is expressed in their mythology and art, and there is a much greater degree of this evidence in common with the ancient South Americans and the Polynesians than the ancient South Asians and the Polynesians. Linguistics that trace back to Taiwanese roots could have been the product of a later migration to Polynesia after the South Americans had left or died out. On Easter Island, the massive moai so mysteriously placed are even more mysterious in their resemblance to Pre-Incan stone heads found along the shore of Lake Titicaca. The creation stories of the Polynesian culture, of a great white chieftain named Tiki who led the ancient Polynesians out of darkness, is nearly identical to the legends of the Pre-Incan natives living in the Lake Titicaca area of a great sun god, once again a saviour of his people, named Kon-Tiki. While the refuting arguments are strong, I believe that the theory of Dr. Heyerdahl and the Kon-Tiki is sailing towards the horizon, finding…

    • 1188 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Aboriginal Spirituality

    • 7876 Words
    • 32 Pages

    All clans believed in an ancestral creative spirit who created all aspects of the world through his/her travels…

    • 7876 Words
    • 32 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Early Arkansas Tribes

    • 845 Words
    • 4 Pages

    One very common theme among these tribes is their strong sense of spirituality. Although each tribe that slight varations of their particular religion they all believed of one supreme god. This god was believed to have created all things and is responsible for all changes in the universe. They believe that sacred spirits could be found in all living things including animals, plants, trees, wind and water. They held ritals and ceremonies to harness the supernatural forces serving the interests of the people.…

    • 845 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics