Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Maori Culture
by John Huria
'Maori' once just meant 'common' or 'everyday', but now it means…let's just begin
by saying that there is a lot of 'then' and a lot of 'now' in the Maori world. Sometimes
the cultural present follows on from the past quite seamlessly; sometimes things have
changed hugely; sometimes we just want to look to the future.
John Huria (Ngai Tahu, Muaupoko) has an editorial, research and writing background with a focus on
Maori writing and culture. He was senior editor for Maori publishing company Huia (NZ) and now runs an
editorial and publishing services company, Ahi Text Solutions Ltd (
www.ahitextsolutions.co.nz
)
.
Maori today are a diverse people. Some are engaged with traditional cultural networks and
pursuits; others are occupied with adapting tradition and placing it into a dialogue with
globalising culture. The Maori concept of
whanaungatanga
- family relationships - is im-
portant to the culture. And families spread out from the
whanau
(extended family) to the
hapu
(subtribe) and
iwi
(tribe) and even, in a sense, beyond the human world and into the
natural and spiritual worlds.
Maori are New Zealand's
tangata whenua
(people of the land), and the Maori relation-
ship with the land has developed over hundreds of years of occupation. Once a predomin-
antly rural people, many Maori now live in urban centres, away from their traditional home
base. But it's still common practice in formal settings to introduce oneself by referring to
home: an ancestral mountain, river, sea or lake, or an ancestor. There's no place like home,
but it's good to be away as well.
If you're looking for a Maori experience in NZ you'll find it - in performance, in con-
versation, in an art gallery, on a tour…
The best way to learn about the relationship between the land and the
tangata whenua
is to get out there and
start talking with Maori.
