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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 ...
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 ...
The Maui myth, for example, was important not only as entertainment but also because it embodied the beliefs of the people concerning such things as the origin of fire, of death, and of the land in which they lived. The ritual chants concerning firemaking, fishing, death, and so on made reference to Maui and derived their power from such reference.
It is the most famous atua kumara (agricultural god) and was traditionally involved in rituals connected to the sowing of the annual kumara (sweet potato) crop. The sculpture has a male figure carved on each side, one representing Matuatonga, god of growth, and the other Matuatehe, god of decay.
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.
Taonga pūoro are the traditional musical instruments [1] of the Māori people of New Zealand. The instruments previously fulfilled many functions within Māori society including a call to arms, dawning of the new day, communications with the gods and the planting of crops. [2] They are significant in sacred ritual and also fulfill a story ...
The culture of New Zealand is a synthesis of indigenous Māori, colonial British, and other cultural influences.The country's earliest inhabitants brought with them customs and language from Polynesia, and during the centuries of isolation, developed their own Māori and Moriori cultures.
The group of people performing a haka is referred to as a kapa haka (kapa meaning group or team, and also rank or row). [14] The Māori word haka has cognates in other Polynesian languages, for example: Samoan saʻa (), Tokelauan haka, Rarotongan ʻaka, Hawaiian haʻa, Marquesan haka, meaning 'to be short-legged' or 'dance'; all from Proto-Polynesian saka, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian sakaŋ ...