Māori people

The Māori settlement of New Zealand represents an end-point of a long chain of island-hopping voyages in the South Pacific.

No credible evidence exists of pre-Māori settlement of New Zealand; on the other hand, compelling evidence from archaeology, linguistics, and physical anthropology indicates that the first settlers migrated from Polynesia and became the Māori.[16][17] Evidence indicates that their ancestry (as part of the larger group of Austronesian peoples) stretches back 5,000 years, to the indigenous peoples of Taiwan. Polynesian people settled a large area encompassing Samoa, Tahiti, Hawaiʻi, Easter Island (Rapa Nui) – and finally New Zealand.[18]

There may have been some exploration and settlement before eruption of Mount Tarawera in about 1315, based on finds of bones from Polynesian rats and rat-gnawed shells,[19] and evidence of widespread forest fires in the decade or so earlier;[20][21] but the most recent evidence points to the main settlement occurring as a planned mass migration somewhere between 1320 and 1350.[16] This broadly aligns with analyses from Māori oral traditions, which describe the arrival of ancestors in a number of large ocean-going canoes (waka) in around 1350.[22][23]

Early Archaic period objects from the Wairau Bar archaeological site, on display at the Canterbury Museum in Christchurch

The earliest period of Māori settlement, known as the "Archaic", "Moahunter" or "Colonisation" period, dates from c. 1300 to c. 1500. The early Māori diet included an abundance of moa and other large birds and fur seals that had never been hunted before. This Archaic period is known for its distinctive "reel necklaces",[24] and also remarkable for the lack of weapons and fortifications typical of the later "Classic" Māori.[25] The best-known and most extensively studied Archaic site, at Wairau Bar in the South Island,[26][27] shows evidence of occupation from early-13th century to the early-15th century.[28] It is the only known New Zealand archaeological site containing the bones of people who were born elsewhere.[28]

Model of a pā (hillfort) built on a headland. Pā proliferated as competition and warfare increased among a growing population.

Factors that operated in the transition to the Classic period (the culture at the time of European contact) include a significantly cooler period from 1500,[29] and the extinction of the moa and of other food species.[30][31][32][33][34]

The Classic period is characterised by finely-made pounamu (greenstone) weapons and ornaments; elaborately carved war canoes and wharenui (meeting houses).[35] A fierce warrior culture included hillforts known as pā[36] and cannibalism.[37][38][39]

Around the year 1500 a group of Māori migrated east to the Chatham Islands and developed into a people known as the Moriori,[40] with pacifism a key part of their culture.[41]

The first European impression of Māori, at Murderers' Bay in Abel Tasman's travel journal (1642)

The first European explorers to New Zealand were Abel Tasman, who arrived in 1642; Captain James Cook, in 1769; and Marion du Fresne in 1772. Initial contact between Māori and Europeans proved problematic and sometimes fatal, with Tasman having four of his men killed and probably killing at least one Māori – without ever landing.[42] Cook's men shot at least eight Māori within three days of his first landing,[43][44] although he later had good relations with Māori. Three years later, after a promising start, du Fresne and 26 men of his crew were killed. From the 1780s, Māori also increasingly encountered European and American sealers, whalers and Christian missionaries. Relations were mostly peaceful, although marred by several further violent incidents, the worst of which was the Boyd massacre and subsequent revenge attacks.[45]

European settlement in New Zealand began in the early 19th century, leading to an extensive sharing of culture and ideas. Many Māori valued Europeans, whom they called "Pākehā", as a means to acquire Western knowledge and technology. Māori quickly adopted writing as a means of sharing ideas, and many of their oral stories and poems were converted to the written form.[46] The introduction of the potato revolutionised agriculture, and the acquisition of muskets[47] by Māori iwi led to a period of particularly bloody intertribal warfare known as the Musket Wars, in which many groups were decimated and others driven from their traditional territory.[48] The pacifist Moriori in the Chatham Islands similarly suffered massacre and subjugation in an invasion by some Taranaki iwi.[49] At the same time, the Māori suffered high mortality rates from Eurasian infectious diseases, such as influenza, smallpox and measles, which killed an estimated 10 to 50 per cent of Māori.[50][51]

Depiction of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, bringing New Zealand and the Māori into the British Empire

By 1839, estimates placed the number of Europeans living in New Zealand as high as 2,000,[52] and the British Crown acceded to repeated requests from missionaries and some Māori chiefs (rangatira) to intervene. The British government sent Royal Navy Captain William Hobson to negotiate a treaty between the British Crown and the Māori, which became known as the Treaty of Waitangi. Starting from February 1840, this treaty was signed by the Crown and 500 Māori chiefs from across New Zealand.[53][54] The Treaty gave Māori the rights of British subjects and guaranteed Māori property rights and tribal autonomy, in return for accepting British sovereignty and the annexation of New Zealand as a colony in the British Empire.[55] However, disputes continue over aspects of the Treaty of Waitangi, including wording differences in the two versions (in English and Māori), as well as misunderstandings of different cultural concepts.[56]

Nevertheless, relations between Māori and Europeans during the early colonial period were largely peaceful. Many Māori groups set up substantial businesses, supplying food and other products for domestic and overseas markets. When violence did break out, as in the Wairau Affray, Flagstaff War, Hutt Valley Campaign and Wanganui Campaign it was generally limited and concluded with a peace treaty. However, by the 1860s rising settler numbers and tensions over disputed land purchases led to the later New Zealand wars, fought by the colonial government against numerous Māori iwi using local and British Imperial troops, and some allied iwi. These conflicts resulted in the colonial government confiscating tracts of Māori land as punishment for what were called "rebellions". Pākehā (European) settlers would occupy the confiscated land.[57] Several minor conflicts also arose after the wars, including the incident at Parihaka in 1881 and the Dog Tax War from 1897 to 1898. The Native Land Court was also established to transfer Māori land from communal ownership into individual title as a means to assimilation and to facilitate greater sales to European settlers.[58]

Members of the 28th (Māori) Battalion performing a haka, Egypt (July 1941)

By the late 19th century a widespread belief existed amongst both Pākehā and Māori that the Māori population would cease to exist as a separate race or culture, and become assimilated into the European population.[59] In the 1896 census, New Zealand had a Māori population of 42,113, by which time Europeans numbered more than 700,000.[60]

However, the decline did not continue and the Māori population continued to recover in the 20th centuries. Influential Māori politicians such as James Carroll, Āpirana Ngata, Te Rangi Hīroa and Maui Pomare aimed to revitalise the Māori people after the devastation of the previous century. They believed the future path called for a degree of assimilation,[61] with Māori adopting European practices such as Western medicine and education (especially learning English), while also retaining traditional cultural practices. Māori also fought during both World Wars in specialised battalions (the Māori Pioneer Battalion in WWI and the 28th (Māori) Battalion in WWII). Māori were also badly hit by the 1918 influenza epidemic, with death rates for Māori being 4.5 times higher than for Pākehā. After World War II, te reo Māori use declined steeply in favour of English.

Whina Cooper leading the Māori Land March in 1975, seeking redress for historical grievances

Since the 1960s, Māoridom has undergone a cultural revival[62] concurrent with activism for social justice and a protest movement.[63] Kōhanga reo (Māori language pre-schools) were established in 1982 to promote Māori language use and halt the decline in its use.[64] Two Māori language television channels broadcast content in the Māori language,[65][66] while words such as "kia ora" have entered widespread use in New Zealand English.[67]

Government recognition of the growing political power of Māori and political activism have led to limited redress for historic land confiscations. In 1975 the Crown set up the Waitangi Tribunal to investigate historical grievances,[68] and since the 1990s the New Zealand government has negotiated and finalised treaty settlements with many iwi across New Zealand. By June 2008 the government had provided over NZ$900 million in settlements, much of it in the form of land deals.[69] There is a growing Māori leadership who are using these settlements as an investment platform for economic development.[70]

Despite a growing acceptance of Māori culture in wider New Zealand society, treaty settlements have generated significant controversy. Some Māori have argued that the settlements occur at a level of between 1 and 2.5 cents on the dollar of the value of the confiscated lands, and therefore do not represent adequate redress. Conversely, some non-Māori denounce the settlements and socioeconomic initiatives as amounting to race-based preferential treatment.[71] Both of these sentiments were expressed during the New Zealand foreshore and seabed controversy in 2004.[72][73]

A Māori chief with tattoos (moko) seen by James Cook and his crew

Julius von Haast incorrectly interpreted the earliest archaeological remains as belonging to a pre-Māori Paleolithic people; later researchers, notably Percy Smith, magnified such theories into an elaborate scenario with a series of sharply-defined cultural stages which had Māori arriving in a Great Fleet in 1350 and replacing the so-called "moa-hunter" culture with a "classic Māori" culture based on horticulture.[88] However, the archaeological record indicates a gradual evolution of culture.[89] In the course of a few centuries, the growing population led to competition for resources and an increase in warfare and an increased frequency of fortified pā. Various systems also arose aimed to conserve resources; most of these, such as tapu and rāhui, used religious or supernatural threats to discourage people from taking species at particular seasons or from specified areas.

Warfare between tribes was common, and Māori would sometimes eat their conquered enemies.[90] Performing arts such as the haka developed from their Polynesian roots, as did carving and weaving. Regional dialects arose, with differences in vocabulary and in the pronunciation of some words but the language retained enough similarities to other Eastern Polynesian languages for Tupaia, the Tahitian navigator on James Cook's first voyage in the region to act as an interpreter between Māori and the crew of the Endeavour.

Traditional Māori beliefs have their origins in Polynesian culture. Polynesian concepts such as tapu (sacred), noa (non-sacred), mana (authority/prestige) and wairua (spirit) governed everyday Māori living and there were many Māori deities. Today, Māori follow many Christian faiths including Presbyterianism, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), Māori Christian groups such as Rātana and Ringatū",[92] and also Catholic, Anglican and Methodist grouping.[93][94] Islam is estimated as the fastest growing religion among Māori,[95] yet Māori Muslims constitute a very small proportion of Māori. At the 2013 New Zealand census, 8.8 per cent of Māori were affiliated with Māori Christian denominations and 39.6 per cent with other Christian denominations; 46.3 per cent of Māori claimed no religion. Proportions of Christian and irreligious Māori are comparable with European New Zealanders.[96]

Many Māori people still observe spiritual traditions such as tapu and noa. Certain objects, areas, or buildings are tapu (spiritually restricted), and must be made noa (unrestricted) by ceremonial action.[97] It is common practice, for instance, to remove one's shoes before entering a wharenui (meeting-house) in token of respect for the ancestors who are represented and spiritually present within the wharenui.[98] Another spiritual ritual is hurihanga takapau (purification), practised when fishing to ensure there is no tapu on the fish.[99]

A young man performing in a kapa haka group at a Rotorua tourist venue

Cultural performance of waiata (song), haka (dance), tauparapara (chants) and mōteatea (poetry) are used by Māori to express and pass on knowledge and understanding about history, communities and relationships.[100] Kapa haka is a Māori performance art[101] that originated in the 1880s to perform to tourists including some groups travelling out of New Zealand to perform.[102] It was used in the First World War to raise money for the Maori Soldiers’ Fund encouraged by Apirana Ngata.[102] A haka is often performed in a pōwhiri (welcoming ceremony).[103]

Since 1972 there has been a regular national kapa haka competition, the Te Matatini National Festival, organised by the Aotearoa Traditional Māori Performing Arts Society. There are kapa haka groups in schools, tertiary institutions and workplaces, and it is performed at tourist venues across the country.[104][105]

Whare tapere (entertainment houses) were a site of story-telling, dance and puppetry in pre-European Māori culture.[106][107] Māori theatre and contemporary dance flourished in the 1970s and 1980s with groups such as Te Ohu Whakaari, Te Ika a Maui Players and Taki Rua. Contemporary Māori stage writers and actors include George Henare, Riwia Brown, Hone Kouka, Nancy Brunning, Jim Moriarty, Briar Grace-Smith and many others.[108]

Traditional Māori instruments are taonga pūoro. They fulfilled various roles including storytelling, religious traditions and also daily functions such as the beginning of a new day.[109] Taonga pūoro fall into two areas, melodic instruments such as the flute and rhythmic instruments such as poi "balls of dried flax on string that are swung and tapped".[110]

Like other cultures, oral folklore was used by Māori to preserve their stories and beliefs across many centuries. In the 19th century, European-style literacy was brought to the Māori, which led to Māori history documentation in books, novels and later television. Māori language use began to decline in the 20th century with English as the language through which Māori literature became widespread.

Notable Māori novelists include Patricia Grace, Witi Ihimaera and Alan Duff. Once Were Warriors, a 1994 film adapted from a 1990 novel of the same name by Alan Duff, brought the plight of some urban Māori to a wide audience. It was the highest-grossing film in New Zealand until 2006,[111][112] and received international acclaim, winning several international film prizes.[113] While some Māori feared that viewers would consider the violent male characters an accurate portrayal of Māori men, most critics praised it as exposing the raw side of domestic violence.[114]

Taika Waititi at the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con

Māori film actors include Jemaine Clement, Temuera Morrison, Cliff Curtis, Lawrence Makoare, Manu Bennett, and Keisha Castle-Hughes. They appear in films such as Whale Rider, Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, The Matrix, King Kong, River Queen, The Lord of The Rings, Rapa Nui, and others, and famous television series like Xena: Warrior Princess, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, The Lost World and Spartacus: Blood and Sand. In most cases their roles in Hollywood productions have them portraying ethnic groups other than Māori.

In the 2010s Māori actor-director Taika Waititi rose to global fame with the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Thor: Ragnarok, in which he played an alien named Korg,[115] and the Academy Award-winning Jojo Rabbit,[116] in which he played Adolf Hitler as imagined by a ten-year-old Hitler Youth member. Waititi's previous films include Boy[117] and Hunt for the Wilderpeople,[118] both of which feature young Māori protagonists.

Māori participate fully in New Zealand's sporting culture, and are well-represented in rugby union, rugby league and netball teams at all levels. As well as participation in national sports teams, there are Māori rugby union, rugby league and cricket representative teams that play in international competitions.

At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, 41 of the 199 competitors (20.5 per cent) were of Māori descent in the New Zealand delegation, with the rugby sevens squads alone having 17 Māori competitors (out of 24). There were also three competitors of Māori descent in the Australian delegation.[119]

A haka performed by the national rugby union team before a game

The New Zealand national rugby union team and many other New Zealand sports people perform a haka, a traditional Māori challenge, before events.[120][121]

Ki-o-rahi and tapawai are two ball sports of Māori origin. Ki-o-rahi received an unexpected boost when McDonald's chose it to represent New Zealand.[122] Waka ama (outrigger canoeing) has also experienced a resurgence of interest in New Zealand since the 1980s.[123]

Polynesian settlers in New Zealand developed a distinct society over several hundred years. Social groups were tribal, with no unified society or single Māori identity until after the arrival of Europeans. Nevertheless, common elements could be found in all Māori groups in pre-European New Zealand, including a shared Polynesian heritage, a common basic language, familial associations, traditions of warfare, and similar mythologies and religious beliefs.[130]

Most Māori lived in villages, which were inhabited by several whānau (extended families) who collectively formed a hapū (clan or subtribe). Members of a hapū cooperated with food production, gathering resources, raising families and defence. Māori society across New Zealand was broadly stratified into three classes of people: rangatira, chiefs and ruling families; tūtūā, commoners; and mōkai, slaves. Tohunga also held special standing in their communities as specialists of revered arts, skills and esoteric knowledge.[131][132]

Shared ancestry, intermarriage and trade strengthened relationships between different groups. Many hapū with mutually-recognised shared ancestry formed iwi, or tribes, which were the largest social unit in Māori society. Hapū and iwi often united for expeditions to gather food and resources, or in times of conflict. In contrast, warfare developed as an integral part of traditional life, as different groups competed for food and resources, settled personal disputes, and sought to increase their prestige and authority.[131]

Māori whānau from Rotorua in the 1880s. Many aspects of Western life and culture, including European clothing and architecture, became incorporated into Māori society during the 19th century.

Early European settlers introduced tools, weapons, clothing and foods to Māori across New Zealand, in exchange for resources, land and labour. Māori began selectively adopting elements of Western society during the 19th century, including European clothing and food, and later Western education, religion and architecture.[133] However, as the 19th century wore on, relations between European colonial settlers and different Māori groups became increasingly strained. Tensions led to widespread conflict in the 1860s, and the confiscation of millions of acres of Māori land. Significant amounts of land were also purchased by the colonial government and later through the Native Land Court.

By the start of the 20th century, a greater awareness had emerged of a unified Māori identity, particularly in comparison to Pākehā, who now overwhelmingly outnumbered the Māori as a whole. Māori and Pākehā societies remained largely separate—socially, culturally, economically and geographically—for much of the 19th and early 20th centuries.[134] The key reason for this was that Māori remained almost exclusively a rural population, whereas increasingly the European population was urban especially after 1900. Nevertheless, Māori groups continued to engage with the government and in legal processes to increase their standing in (and ultimately further their incorporation into) wider New Zealand society.[135] The main point of contact with the government were the four Māori Members of Parliament.

Many Māori migrated to larger rural towns and cities during the Depression and post-WWII periods in search of employment, leaving rural communities depleted and disconnecting many urban Māori from their traditional social controls and tribal homelands. Yet while standards of living improved among Māori, they continued to lag behind Pākehā in areas such as health, income, skilled employment and access to higher levels of education. Māori leaders and government policymakers alike struggled to deal with social issues stemming from increased urban migration, including a shortage of housing and jobs, and a rise in urban crime, poverty and health problems.[136]

In regards to housing, a 1961 census revealed significant differences in the living conditions of Māori and Europeans. That year, out of all the (unshared) non-Māori private dwellings in New Zealand, 96.8 per cent had a bath or shower, 94.1 per cent a hot water service, 88.7 per cent a flush toilet, 81.6 per cent a refrigerator, and 78.6 per cent an electric washing machine. By contrast, for all (unshared) Māori private dwellings that same year, 76.8 per cent had a bath or shower, 68.9 per cent a hot water service, 55.8 per cent a refrigerator, 54.1 per cent a flush toilet, and 47 per cent an electric washing machine.[137]

While the arrival of Europeans had a profound impact on the Māori way of life, many aspects of traditional society have survived into the 21st century. Māori participate fully in all spheres of New Zealand culture and society, leading largely Western lifestyles while also maintaining their own cultural and social customs. The traditional social strata of rangatira, tūtūā and mōkai have all but disappeared from Māori society, while the roles of tohunga and kaumātua are still present. Traditional kinship ties are also actively maintained, and the whānau in particular remains an integral part of Māori life.[138]

Whenuakura Marae in Taranaki. Marae continue to function as local community centres in modern Māori society.

Māori society at a local level is particularly visible at the marae. Formerly the central meeting spaces in traditional villages, marae today usually comprise a group of buildings around an open space, that frequently host events such as weddings, funerals, church services and other large gatherings, with traditional protocol and etiquette usually observed. They also serve as the base of one or sometimes several hapū.[139]

Most Māori affiliate with one or more iwi (and hapū), based on genealogical descent (whakapapa). Iwi vary in size, from a few hundred members to over 100,000 in the case of Ngāpuhi. Many people do not live in their traditional tribal regions as a result of urban migration.

Iwi are usually governed by rūnanga (governing councils or trust boards) which represent the iwi in consultations and negotiations with the New Zealand government. Rūnanga also manage tribal assets and spearhead health, education, economic and social initiatives to help iwi members.

Māori on average have fewer assets than the rest of the population, and run greater risks of many negative economic and social outcomes. Over 50 per cent of Māori live in areas in the three highest deprivation deciles, compared with 24 per cent of the rest of the population.[140]

Although Māori make up only 14 per cent of the population, they make up almost 50 per cent of the prison population.[141] Māori have higher unemployment rates than other cultures resident in New Zealand, which is believed to partially account for their over-representation in the criminal justice system; many young Māori, finding themselves unemployed, are picked up for alcohol-related behaviours or small crimes such as vandalism.[142] Underemployment is in turn attributed to persistent institutional racism in New Zealand.[143][144]

Māori have higher numbers of suicides than non-Māori.[145] "Only 47 per cent of Māori school-leavers finish school with qualifications higher than NCEA Level One; compared to 74 per cent European; 87 per cent Asian."[146] Although New Zealand rates very well globally in the PISA rankings that compare national performance in reading, science and maths, "once you disaggregate the PISA scores, Pakeha students are second in the world and Māori are 34th."[147] Māori suffer more health problems, including higher levels of alcohol and drug abuse, smoking and obesity. Less frequent use of healthcare services mean that late diagnosis and treatment intervention lead to higher levels of morbidity and mortality in many manageable conditions, such as cervical cancer,[148] diabetes[149] per head of population than non-Māori.[150] Although Māori life expectancy rates have increased dramatically in the last 50 years, they still have considerably lower life-expectancies compared to New Zealanders of European ancestry: in 2004, Māori males lived 69.0 years vs. non-Māori males 77.2 years; Māori females 73.2 yrs vs. non-Māori females 81.9 years.[151] This gap had narrowed by 2013: 72.8 years for men and 76.5 years for women, compared to 80.2 years for non-Māori men and 83.7 years for non-Māori women.[152] Also, a recent study by the New Zealand Family Violence Clearinghouse showed that Māori women and children are more likely to experience domestic violence than any other ethnic group.[153]

Protest hikoi during the foreshore and seabed controversy in 2004

The status of Māori as the indigenous people of New Zealand is recognised in New Zealand law by the term tangata whenua (lit. "people of the land"), which identifies the traditional connection between Māori and a given area of land. Māori as a whole can be considered as tangata whenua of New Zealand entirely (excepting the Chatham Islands, where the tangata whenua are Moriori); individual iwi are recognised as tangata whenua for areas of New Zealand in which they are traditionally based (known in Māori as rohe), while hapū are tangata whenua within their marae. New Zealand law periodically requires consultation between the government and tangata whenua—for example, during major land development projects. This usually takes the form of negotiations between local or national government and the rūnanga of one or more relevant iwi, although the government generally decides which (if any) concerns are acted upon.

New Zealand endorsed the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in April 2010.

Māori issues are a prominent feature of race relations in New Zealand. Historically, many Pākehā viewed race relations in their country as being the "best in the world", a view that prevailed until Māori urban migration in the mid-20th century brought cultural and socioeconomic differences to wider attention.[154]

Māori protest movements grew significantly in the 1960s and 1970s seeking redress for past grievances, particularly in regard to land rights. Successive governments have responded by enacting affirmative action programmes, funding cultural rejuvenation initiatives and negotiating tribal settlements for past breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi.[155] Further efforts have focused on reducing socioeconomic disparity.[156]

Nevertheless, race relations remains a contentious issue in New Zealand society. Māori advocates continue to push for further redress claiming that their concerns are being marginalised or ignored. A 2007 Department of Corrections report found that Māori are disproportionately represented in the criminal justice system not only because they commit more crimes but also because they face prejudice at many levels: "a number of studies have shown evidence of greater likelihood, associated only with ethnicity, for Māori offenders to have police contact, be charged, lack legal representation, not be granted bail, plead guilty, be convicted, be sentenced to non-monetary penalties, and be denied release to Home Detention".[157] Conversely, critics denounce the scale of assistance given to Māori as amounting to preferential treatment for a select group of people based on race.[71] Both sentiments were highlighted during the foreshore and seabed controversy in 2004, in which the New Zealand government claimed sole ownership of the New Zealand foreshore and seabed, over the objections of Māori groups who were seeking customary title.[158]