Background

The Maori tribe is an indigenous tribe of Aotearoa (New Zealand) comprising 14.7% of New Zealand's population. They actively engage in keeping their culture and language alive. The Maori people arrived in New Zealand in waka hourua (voyaging canoes) from their previous homeland of Hawaiki over 1000 years ago. Their culture is rich in tradition and includes contemporary arts. They are known for many arts such as their moko (tattoo), carving, kapa haka (group performances), and whaikorero (oratory). Maori culture is filled with many stories and legends that is filled with descriptive stories that bring human characteristics to elements found in nature.

Reference

Teara.govt.nz
2015. Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Electronic Document, http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/maori/page-2. Accessed March 25, 2015.

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Maori Language, Kia Ora!

The Maori language is one of three official languages in New Zealand. Its history is definitely one of its ups and downs. The Maori language was actually the predominant language in New Zealand in the beginning of the 19th century, but as more English speaking people arrived to the country, the language began to be confined. As more and more English settlers came to the country, English began to take place as the predominant language of New Zealand. Due to the wider community of Pakeha (Europeans), Maori language started to be taken away from schools and was not encouraged. Eventually, the language went from being the predominant language in New Zealand, to only being spoken in Maori communities. The language certainly was on its path to dying out. Concerns were rising about the decline of the language and there have been many efforts by the government and the Maori communities in order to bring life back to the language.

Even though the language went through a lot of hardship and suppression, the Maori kept the language alive. The Maori language is currently undergoing a revival. A committee called the Maori Language Commission was established on order to further promote the language and to help the establishment of the language as a normal means of communication. Those are still not the only efforts the Maori community is providing though. A very important aspect of this revitalization has been the establishment of the Maori television which has helped tremendously in spreading the Maori language and culture.

The language is now currently spoken by about 23 percent of New Zealanders. It a language that has a very logical structure, and also has very consistent rules for pronunciation. This language is considered a national taonga (treasure) to New Zealand and continuous efforts are still being made in order to keep the Maori language and culture alive and strong.


References

Maori.com
     2015 Maori Language. Electronic Document, http://www.maori.com/language, Accessed March
          25, 2015.

NewZealand.com
     2010 Te Reo Maori-The Maori Language. Electronic Document,
          http://www.newzealand.com/int/feature/new-zealand-culture-maori/, Accessed March 25,2015.

Nzhistory.net.nz
     2014 History of the Maori Language. Electronic Document,
          http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/culture/maori-language-week/history-of-the-maori-language,
          Accessed March 25, 2015

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Maori Arts

The Maori used art in a very creative way to honor and celebrate their rich past. They have been able to adapt and incorporate in materials and ideas into their art. The two main arts that are used are weaving and carving.

Raranga, which is the art of weaving was something that the Maori first utilized as they were adapting to the new climate in Aotearoa. By weaving they were able to produce cloaks, known as korowai, baskets (kete) and mats (whariki). These all aided in the adaptation to a new climate that was considered to be extreme compared to the original homeland in Polynesia.

The weaving was done by women and weaving was considered to be a prized trait in the Maori tribe. The Maori had a proverb that went as "Aitia te wahine o te pa harakeke". This translates to marry the women who is always at the flax bush, for she is an expert flax worker and an industrious person. This was their way of finding a strong women in the tribe that not only could raise a family but also provide support.

The art of carving known as Whakairo, was done mostly by men. Each carving does more than just play the role of being a decorative piece. Maori carvings each have a unique story behind them. These are usually stories that are passed down from generation to generation. These carvings are also seen through canoes and buildings withing the villages. The carvings also were used to carve ear pendants, breast pendants and carved combs.

The carvings are also symbolic. Each tribe has their own symbols such as the tiki, which is the human figure, then a nother tribe will use the manaia, The manaia is a creature that has a bird like head but with the body of a serpent. Their inspiration came from the environment around them and can be seen through various carvings and weaving projects.

Jstor.org
    2015. Damien Skinner.The Carver and The Artist.Maori Art in the Twentieth Century. Vol 120.           No. 1. Pg.94-95 . http://www.jstor.org/stable/23041484. Accessed March 25, 2015.

To Be, Or Not to Be...A Maori Filmmaker

The Maori culture of New Zealand is a beautiful culture. They serve as a symbol of New Zealand, a people of purity that hallmarks the indigenous side of the country. As human beings, it is hard to face change when we are so used to idealizing the distinct and preserving what makes us the us we are today.  Many cultures fall into the inevitable trap that the world has set for each and every one of them. This is the trap of a conflict of interest. The conflict of filmmaking. From religious missionaries to land-hungry colonial "conquistadors" of the British, the Maori have always faced a clash in culture as they've sought to maintain and preserve their cultures in any way possible. Remarkably, one way they have dealt with this clash of culture has been through filmmaking. Television culture planted its first roots into the Maori culture in the 1974 television air of Tangata Whenua that was aired for six weeks on New Zealand television. For the first time, "perspectives" were shown through public broadcast. Many felt proud and touched, while others felt the contrary. Maori sovereignty in the production of the series had non-transparent views towards who really decided what aired on the silver screen. As demonstrated through this example, indigenous filmmaking serves as a negotiating site in the ongoing struggle for indigenous self-determination and cultural survival. Whether to view filmmaking as progress towards an evolving culture, or a fork in the road that can change the face of the Maori, Maori culture will have to face this on-going dilemma as they continue to accept filmmaking as a bigger part of their lives.






References

http://www.isrn.qut.edu.au/
   2014. Maori on the Silver Screen: The Evolution of Indigenous Feature Filmmaking in Aotearoa/          New Zealand. Electronic Document, http://www.isrn.qut.edu.au/publications/internationaljournal/documents/Final_Martens_IJCIS.pdf. Accessed March 25, 2015. 

Religious Beliefs

Photo depiction of Papa and Rangi
The Maori's religious beliefs has a very spiritual view of the universe. Anything has a life force, and some things were deemed as tapu, making it either sacred or forbidden according to context. Maori people believed that both objects and people possess mana, or a supernatural force within something giving them a form of spiritual power. People can either inherit or acquire tapu and mana during their lifetime, and even lose them over time. The punishment for violating a tapu restriction was automatic, which typically came as a great sickness or death.
Maori people believe that the God's control people's lives that their presence can be found in nature. There's a myriad of supernatural beings, or atua, that they believe in. Io was the supreme god. Papa and Rangi, the two primeval parents, had eight divine offspring named Haumia, the god of uncultivated weather; Tane, the father of humans and god of forests; Rongo, the god of peace and agriculture; Ruaumoko, the god of earthquakes; Tawhirimatea, the god of weather; Tangaroa, the god of the ocean; Tumatauenga, the war god; and Whiro, the god of darkness and evil. When Maori caught fish, they throw back their first catch back to Tangaroa, the first bird caught to Tane, and the first kumara to Rongo. Maori religious practitioners involves a senior priesthood (tohunga ahurewa), where each member receives extensive training. They are responsible for knowledge on tribal history, assisting people by providing special incantations and rites of passage to appease the gods, and genealogy of the tribe. Many believed that priests can control the weather. Shamans, in comparison, served the family gods. They communicated with them through spiritual possession and sorcery, becoming an intermediary between spiritual and physical world acting upon the influence of both good and evil spirits. When a Maori dies, his/her spirit is believed to make a voyage to their final residence, which is in a mysterious underworld.

References

Everyculture.com
    2015. Countries and Their Cultures. Electronic Document,                                                                        http://www.everyculture.com/Oceania/Maori-Religion-and-Expressive-Culture.html                             accessed March 25, 2015. 

Whaleriderreligiousstudies.weebly.com
     2015. Maori Mythology. Electornic Document,                                                                                           http://whaleriderreligiousstudies.weebly.com/maori-mythology.html. Accessed March 25,                   2015.