Introduction to Maori history and culture Pre-European Maori life and culture in New Zealand/ Aotearoa The arrival of European people Wars, government, schooling and decline of Maori Urbanisation and renaissance of Maori Challenges facing Maori

Pre-European Maori life Maori people arrived in New Zealand on canoes in about 1300 AD Maori lived in large groups called tribes or hapu/ iwi Maori lived near waterways, for the fishing, and built their pa on hillsides, so they could see enemies coming Men did the fishing and hunting and women cooked the food and made things like baskets for the food

Pre-European Maori culture Maori people spoke the Maori language and did not read or write (it was an oral culture) War was common between Maori tribes, as they fought for food and land (resources) Maori had a well-developed culture based on song, dance, oral history and traditional arts The family and tribe was the most important thing in Maori culture and life

The arrival of European people Europeans first came here to settle after James Cook came here in 1769 When Cook arrived and met Maori, Cook described Maori as curious and intelligent people More European settlers came after 1800 looking for a better life in New Zealand Christians began teaching Maori how to read and write from 1814

Wars, government The Queen of England wanted to make New Zealand a colony, so she sent governors to live here and establish control and rule over the land and the Maori people. Maori signed a treaty called The Treaty of Waitangi, which gave England control over New Zealand Many wars occurred in the 1860s between Maori and European settlers because of the control over the land

Schooling and decline of Maori culture The new New Zealand government made all children go to school from 1877 Maori language was not allowed in schools, only English Many Maori children and families stopped speaking Maori The British culture began to dominate Maori life and Maori lost many of their traditional ways of life

Maori urbanisation After World War Two Maori began moving from their traditional tribal living in the countryside, to going to find work in the cities Many Maori saw this as a loss of traditional Maori living and culture

Maori values changed In 1940-1950 Maori had on average 15-16 children In 1956-1960 Maori had 7-8 children Today Maori have an average of 2.5 children In 1945 26% of Maori lived in cities Today over 85% of Maori live in cities

Maori cultural and language renaissance From 1960 urban Maori began to protest against the government mainly for the land that had been taken from Maori From 1970 Maori began to write stories and express themselves through art to the mainstream and Maori language was introduced into schools Witi Ihimaera was one of the most important story writers to write at this time

Challenges facing Maori Maori people have more problems with alcohol, drugs, violence and imprisonment than other groups in New Zealand They have more health problems and die earlier They have higher unemployment and lower success at school However, the culture and language is growing and is an extremely important part of New Zealand culture and life today