Māori people
The Māori are the indigenous people of New Zealand. They were the first people to live in the islands.
The Polynesian ancestors of the Māori came to New Zealand between 800 and in 1300 they where called lakrises. There are many theories about where the Maori came from. They arrived from somewhere in tropical Polynesia, either from the Cook Islands or the Society Islands. There is also a widely-recognised theory that the Māori people originated from Vanuatu.[1]
Before Europeans came to New Zealand, the Māori did not need a name for themselves as a people. After Europeans came to New Zealand, the indigenous people called themselves Māori. Māori means "normal" or "ordinary". They called other people, especially those who came from Britain, “Pākehā”, meaning "white person". Today, in New Zealand English "Pākehā" is often used as a name for New Zealand Europeans.
Today, over 700,000 Māori people[2] live in New Zealand. They are an important part of the country's culture. This is why they have received special rights from the Government of New Zealand. Their native language, the Māori language, is an official language of the country along with English.
Māori People Media
The Māori settlement of New Zealand represents an end-point of a long chain of island-hopping voyages in the South Pacific.
- Early Maori objects from Wairau Bar, Canterbury Museum, 2016-01-27.jpg
Early Archaic period artefacts from the Wairau Bar archaeological site, on display at the Canterbury Museum in Christchurch
- Model Of Maori Pa On Headland.jpg
Model of a pā (hillfort) built on a headland. Pā proliferated as competition and warfare increased among a growing population.
- Gilsemans 1642.jpg
A drawing from Abel Tasman's travel journal of the first encounter between Europeans and Māori, in 1642
- Reconstruction of the Signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, Marcus King (16044258961).jpg
Depiction of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, bringing New Zealand and the Māori into the British Empire
- E 003261 E Maoris in North Africa July 1941.jpg
Members of the 28th (Māori) Battalion performing a haka, Egypt (July 1941)
Whina Cooper leading the Māori Land March in 1975, seeking redress for historical grievances
- Tawhiao Maori King 1880s.jpg
Tāwhiao, the second Māori king, reigned from 1860–1894
- Maori ethnicity declared in 2018.png
Māori in New Zealand in 2018
- Māori New Zealanders population pyramid in 2018.svg
Māori New Zealanders population pyramid in 2018
Related pages
References
- ↑ Roberts, Mere (April 1991). "Origin, Dispersal Routes, and Geographic Distribution of Rattus exulans, with Special Reference to New Zealand". Retrieved 26 November 2022.
- ↑ "Tāngata | Māori population | Stats NZ". www.stats.govt.nz. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
Other websites
Media related to Māori at Wikimedia Commons
Template:Ancestry of New Zealanders
