The Maori Tribe
For the Novel The Whale Rider
By: Victoria S. and Alex K.
Maori Art
Wood Carvings-Carvings in the Maori Tribe consist of many different figures like humans, spirals, different animals, and surface patterns also.
Tattoos- The tattoo designs in Maori culture mostly consist of different spirals and lines, and they were usually put on the face or other parts of the body.
Weaving Textiles- Maori textiles were mainly made of geometrical shapes, and most common designs had different sized triangles, diamonds, and other shapes. They are also made of different colors, depending on what the material being used was.
Tattoos- The tattoo designs in Maori culture mostly consist of different spirals and lines, and they were usually put on the face or other parts of the body.
Weaving Textiles- Maori textiles were mainly made of geometrical shapes, and most common designs had different sized triangles, diamonds, and other shapes. They are also made of different colors, depending on what the material being used was.
Language of the Maori Tribe
Maori language is spoken by many people in New Zealand and was once the main language there. Many of the people now speak English and some still speak the Maori language. The Maori alphabet also has 20 letters which is different than the English alphabet with 26 letters.
Maori Legends (How New Zealand Came to Be)
The legend of Maui and the magic fishhook- Maui was a demi-god who had secret powers that not all of his family knew about. One day, while his family was going fishing, he snuck onto their boat and hid there. His family didn't notice that he was there until they had reached the middle of the water. They tried to return him to the shore, but he used his powers to make the shore look further away so they let him stay. When Maui started fishing he noticed that he had gotten a big tug on the line. He called his brothers over to help pull up what seemed like a massive fish, but what he pulled up none of them expected. After tugging on the line a huge piece of land surfaced. Maui was scared that the gods would be angry at him for bringing the land to the surface, so he excused himself from his brothers to make peace with the gods. When Maui had returned he found that his brothers started to fight over possession of the land, and slashed it into different pieces. This land is now known as New Zealand, and the slashed pieces of the land are the surrounding islands.
Maui and the Fishhook