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Māui, a demigod, culture hero, and trickster. Motoro; Ngahue or Kahue, the god or discoverer of pounamu, the taniwha Poutini is his guardian. Pūhaorangi, a celestial being who descended from the heavens to sleep with the beautiful maiden Te Kuraimonoa. Punga or Hairi, the ancestor of sharks, lizards, rays, and all deformed, ugly things.
Naming is a symbolic tradition of the islands' Maori population. Names form a link not only to ancestors, descendants, and friends, but to titles and land, as well as events and relationships. Dreamed or created, name change are not limited to events, such as birth, marriage, and death, but can also occur in association with a bad omen.
Māori culture (Māori: Māoritanga) is the customs, cultural practices, and beliefs of the Māori people of New Zealand. It originated from, and is still part of, Eastern Polynesian culture. Māori culture forms a distinctive part of New Zealand culture and, due to a large diaspora and the incorporation of Māori motifs into popular culture ...
Māori followed certain practices that relate to traditional concepts like tapu.Certain people and objects contain mana – spiritual power or essence. In earlier times, tribal members of a higher rank would not touch objects which belonged to members of a lower rank – to do so would constitute "pollution"; and persons of a lower rank could not touch the belongings of a highborn person ...
At least two references to him from 1891 appear in Edward Tregear's The Maori-Polynesian comparative dictionary, where he is described as "God, the Supreme Being", [12]: 106 and as a figure in Moriori genealogy, but as Tiki's descendant. [12]: 669 A third reference might be found in the same book under Ngāti Maniapoto's genealogy.
Traditional Māori culture has enjoyed a significant revival, which was further bolstered by a Māori protest movement that emerged in the 1960s. However, disproportionate numbers of Māori face significant economic and social obstacles, and generally have lower life expectancies and incomes than other New Zealand ethnic groups.
In Māori mythology, as in other Polynesian traditions, Māui is a culture hero and a trickster, famous for his exploits and cleverness. He possessed superhuman strength, and was capable of shapeshifting into animals such as birds and worms.
One day, seeing his reflection in a pool, he thought he had found a companion, and dived into the pool to seize it. The image shattered and Tiki was disappointed. He fell asleep and when he awoke he saw the reflection again. He covered the pool with earth and it gave birth to a woman.