The MAORI People
Hi everybody!
Many of you asked me to speak about Maori so I decided to make you happy....
I did some research because I wouldn't make mistakes telling you about this People.
There are so many things to tell you about them so I think I will do it in more than one day, otherwise you will become bored I'm afraid!!
Today I am going to tell you a little bit of history and I will show you some pictures we shot three years ago, when our cousins Valentina and Gianfranco, came to visit us. In that occasion we went to visit an ancient village, now used only as a tourist attraction, situated few kilometres from Rotorua, in the middle of the North Island.
It is in the middle of a wood and all the huts are in wood as well. They are very tiny so you can't stay stand up in one of that. They were used just for sleeping as Maori used to live all together in the village.
In the next photo you can see the typical Maori greeting. The Maori form of greeting is called ‘hongi’, which is the pressing of noses. It is a tradition which continues today at major ceremonial functions.
There are many legends about Maori so dates are not so sure. Anyway, I will tell you what I found.....
In the 1300s the Maori came from the islands hundreds of miles to the north and by 1500 had established contact with over 60 countries, including the Vikings.
When the English began to settle here the Maori had many of the same experiences as American Indians - wasted by white man's diseases, and their huge sequoia like (kauri) forests were razed. I will tell you more about these particular trees later on.
The Maori fared well compared to natives in other countries because they were such fierce warriors. Even with superior weapons the whites gave up fairly quickly. The land was so rugged and the Maori so fierce and scary, that the whites signed treaties which they largely kept (quite a contrast to most histories with native peoples).
In 1840 the Waitangi treat was signed between 45 Maori head-men and Captain William Hobson and so the Maori had a relatively peaceful and prosperous relationship with the English. Today this treat is still very important as it defines the relation between white and Maori regarding both aspects financial and territorial.
The Maori were cannibals who ate their enemies as a way to insult them. Much of the Maori art shows bulging stomachs to warn you what will happen if you mess with the locals. I think all these should was very scary for enemies! It was probably one of the main reasons white people came here just in the late 1600s.
Below you will find some pictures of carvings images. As you can see all the faces are with tattoos. In fact it is very common here seeing Maori with many of them. Some people have both arms and legs painted!! Do you like them?
Today some of the tribes are quite well off, as they own large tracts of land which they lease. They are all over the island, fully integrated into every aspect and corner of NZ.
Before leaving you I would like to answer to some of your questions:
Mauricio, on the Sky Tower there are two steel cables that drive the jumper. In fact it's impossible jumping freely because you could easily hit the the tower....and it is made of concrete!
Cristina, I was born in Switzerland. Thank you so much for your compliments, you are very kind!
Jorge, I will show you some pictures of sheep later on, don't worry!!!!!
Well, it's all for today.
I hope you enjoyed this story!
I will tell you more tomorrow.
Have a wonderful day!!!!
Rosalba
Comments
Hi dear Rosi, All I can say is just amazing! Truly amazing! You’ve written a perfect blog about these incredible Maori people. Now I’ve got a clearer knowledge about Maoris. It’s nice too see these Mario people have vibrant and untouched culture for centuries and got very little attention to the rest of the world. And it’s also interesting to see that despite increasing European settlement in this country for last couple of centuries these wonderful people have managed to keep their native culture alive! But there is a question. Rosi, do you think that “Multiculturalism” is a serious threat to this native culture? Thank you very much for sharing these pictures with us and a truly awesome blog once again! Carry on friend! Pritam.
Really funny Maori greeting(hongi), thank you so much representing Maori culture, history. It will be great if you put some photos of those leg and hand painted tribes. well, I am eagerly waiting for your next blog with new information, till then bye take care.
Hello Rosi, I read with interest about the Maori people and it was horrific to know that they were cannibals and would eat their enemies. Thank you for sharing the photos with us they are all fantastic and telling a lot about how the maories looked like and the way they lived. It's very amusing of the tradition of pressing the noses with one an other, isn't it? I'm looking forward to reading more about them. Best wishes, Naheed
Hi Rosi Thanks so much for the pictures. They are very beautiful, specially those of the wood masks. Regarding yor question, I see tatoos as a form of art, but I would never made one in my body. I also have to say it was a complete surprise to me to read that maoris were cannibals. I'll keep that in mind, in case someday y meet one of them, in order to not made him angry... Best wishes
Dear Rosi, It is pleasure to know a little bit about Maori people and their traditions. Your post force mw to read about New Zealand in web site and I started to read but post written and pictures posted by you much more interesting than reading in webpage. Your personal feeling and sharing with us make me feel that I am personally visiting the land virtually. Please try to write in more detail so that I can share it my friend and family.
Hi Rosi, What you told us today is quite interesting. I think that it's an example of life because, as you said, it happened the contrary of what history told us about the natives and the colonising. The pictures you posted are amazing and helped us to learn more about the Maori people. Changing the subject, Rosi, I don't want to sound too curious but I'd like to know more about you, for example, how old were you when you went to live to Italy? and... Is all of your family from Switzerland or Italy? Have a good start of the week. See you, Cris
Hi dear Rosi My name is Bahar Always I read your 3 blog and I want to say that it was really interesting for me. Unfortunately I'm not as well as you in English language. So tanks for your interesting blogs.
wonderful briefing..thank you
Dear Rosi! Yes you are well educated in history of New Zealand as well as Maori traditions. I do not need to read my old book again your blogs and pictures animate everything very vividly. I am always sad when I see aboriginal inhabitants, somewhere in the world, are being stamp out by the preasure of our civilization and their life and culture can´t survive. Bye for now!
Hello Rosi, what a wonderful blog about the Maori's. I read an article about New Zealand some months ago. There was said some interesting about Whangamomona. In 1988 Whangamomona was took out of the Tanranaki destrict and put into Manawatu. The 25 villagers refused to accept this decision. But they didn't fighted, armed only with a sense of hunour, they separated from the rest of New Zealand and formed the Republic of Whangamomona. I found it really crazy. TheRepublic Day has been celebrated since 1989 and it is held every two years in January. Have you ever been there on this day? The last one was on 20 January 2007. Have a nice week, Felicitas
Hello Rosi, thank you for all the interesting information about the Maori and their history. I have some questions: From which town or village in Italy do you come and in which region it is? My brother in law comes from Montella in Campania, do you know it? Do you stay in New Zeeland for a fixed period of time, or is it open? I'm also very interested in your profession, perhaps you tell something about your special tasks. So I'm very exciting and looking forward to your next blog. So long, best wishes....
Hi Rossi: good explanation about Maori people there are many topics than I wouldn´t know. What do you know about the first inhabitant of America came from This Area?, Are there many foreigner people living in New Zealand? ufff, I have many question, sorry, best wishes, Jorge
Hi dear Rosalba This is my first comments on you , as you have heard late better that never ! t the moment as I 'm facing a work deadline I couldn't put comment regularly ( What a pity ) . But I really enjoy reading your Blogs and I know how much you spend time to update your Blog . By the way In the past I have seen some carving images of Maori people and I love them . Also when I was young I tried to pain some of them but I was completely in a dark about them . So thank you for your information . It was really helpful . Could you please explain more about Maori people and their population now in NZ ? You made my to chuckle when you said why their statue all have bit stomach ( Again a good fact to increase my knowledge ) .I 'm waiting to hear from you again . Kisses
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