Maori Culture
for the Whale Rider
Maori Culture and Traditions
Ancient Rituals are integral to the Maori culture. The Powhiri is a ritual of challenge and the Maori use 'Hongi' as a traditional greeting. It is done by pressing a persons nose to anothers (this means you are sharing the ha-which is a breath of life).
Food:
-The Maori people ate roasted Aruhe root.
-In the summer they would catch sea fish using bone hooks. The most popular fish to catch and eat is called the kahawai fish.
Maori Language
Language:
- In New Zealand, the Maori language is Te Reo Maori.
-Māori is most closely related to Tahitian, which is spoken in Tahiti and the Society Islands, and Rarotongan, which is spoken in the southern Cook Islands.
-In the 1970s, Māori urban groups began to worry about the decline of the Māori language and set up various schemes and setups to promote the language, like including bilingual and Māori medium schools, radio stations, and a TV channel.
http://www.newzealand.com/us/feature/new-zealand-culture-maori/
The Maoris Today
The Maoris Today:
-Today, about 530,000 Maoris live in New Zealand. Because of the high numbers of mixed marriages between Maoris and white people, there live very few pure descent of Maori now.
-Now, the Maoris are involved in a lot of political,economical, and social institutions. Ex: New Zealand Maori Council, Maori Women’s Welfare League, and the Maori Education Foundation.
- The Maori no longer live in big family groups like they used to when the Europeans came. They now live by themselves as families but still have close relationships with other families who are descendants from the same ancestor generations before.
http://www.gymmuenchenstein.ch/stalder/klassen/hie/indigenous/maori.htm