Maori Customs and Art
By Briona and Danielle
Maori Language
- Polynesian language
- >Official since 1987
- >Member of the Eastern Polynesian languages
- >9% of Maori's people could speak the language fluently in 2001
- People use the English language, the Maori language, and New Zealand sign language to speak to each other
- Wrote in formal redigir
Maori Legends and Stories
- Maori history was passed down orally and it is still being passed down today
- According to Maori legend, Kupe, along with his comanion Nqahue, was the first explorer to find New Zealand
- The first sign of land they saw was a giant white cloud in the distance
- They named th land mass Aotearoa which means "land of the long white cloud."
Kupe in the Hokianga - Roadside Stories
Maori Art
- Lively and multicultural art scenes
- Architectural carving
- Interior designs of marae (a meeting place)
- Charcoal rock drawings
- Visual art: carving, tattooing, weaving, and painting
- Rock paintings were "classical"
- Painting was mostly used for minor decorating
- Beautiful whakairo (the art of carving) carving in wood
Sources
http://www.tourism.net.nz/new-zealand/about-new-zealand/maori-stories-and-legends.html
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCsQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.maoriart.org.nz%2F&ei=7W5wUqu6KY7MsQSSuIGwCA&usg=AFQjCNHuC9WUCA1nKe0_Jup5DDCOYzJoSg
http://www.newzealand.com/us/feature/maori-arts/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C4%81ori_language
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCsQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.maoriart.org.nz%2F&ei=7W5wUqu6KY7MsQSSuIGwCA&usg=AFQjCNHuC9WUCA1nKe0_Jup5DDCOYzJoSg
http://www.newzealand.com/us/feature/maori-arts/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C4%81ori_language