Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Maori Culture
'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 seam-
lessly; 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 com-
pany 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 refer-
ring 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…
Maori Then
Some three millennia ago people began moving eastward into the Pacific, sailing against
the prevailing winds and currents (hard to go out, easier to return safely). Some stopped at
Tonga and Samoa, and others settled the small central East Polynesian tropical islands.
