Who are the Maori?

Kia Ora!

To answer the question straightaway, the Maori are the people living on the islands they called Aotearoa when European sailing captains "discovered" New Zealand (NZ). Kiwis of the 21st century have embraced Maori customs, such as the many Maori place names, and the All-Blacks national rugby team performing a haka, (Maori warrior's war dance) at international meets. Persons who appear as European as I do, proudly claim their Maori heritage through mixed ancestry. Many respected denizens of South Island are descendants of early whalers and sealers and their Maori wives. In the recent past, acceptance by the dominant culture was not always enjoyed by contemporary Maori, who felt disrespected. Indeed, a social friend, who appeared to be Pakeha (non-Maori, usually European), was actually born in a marae. Being of fair complexion, his family advised that he would have a better life if he denied his Maori heritage and lived in the Pakeha culture. He does, but his sister continues to live in the marae. His Pakeha wife proudly claims Maori heritage for their children.

Between now and when the first sailing ships landed in NZ, conflict was inherent with two separate groups--Maori and Pakeha-- bumping up against each other in a small country. Dispute over territory, sovereignty, and interpretation of the Treaty of Waitangi continues into recent time.

The Maori are Polynesians and would be distantly related to our own native citizens of Hawaii. The Polynesians originally came from Taiwan. Excellent sailors, they spread throughout the Pacific to many sites, including Easter Island. There is some evidence they were in contact with South American cultures.

I picked up a book* in the library that explicates the meaning of the various treaties and outlines the history of the conflicts that arose over the past 400 or so years. I am particular about the expertise of authors who present themselves as knowledgeable about their topic. Ian Wishart is a journalist of controversial repute. His

book contains long passages taken from original documents, which appear appropriately cited. From this, I assume (hope) he is knowledgeable as well as opinionated about  the history, conflicts, and the Waitangi Treaty. The book however is published by his own press. According to Wikipedia, he is also a "born-again Christian", a proponent of "intelligent design" and argues against human contribution to global warming. He makes the point in the Prologue that his wife is part Maori and his children have a tribal heritage.

The portion that interested me most was the history of contact between the early seafaring explorers (Tasman, Cook, etc.) and the tribes of Maori. Wishart seems to go out of his way using a good third of the book to document the barbarism of the Maori culture. He describes a society fragmented into major and minor tribes, whose major occupation seemed to be either war or alliances with each other. In war, those defeated were enslaved or eaten, a practice that extended to crews of ships who had the misfortune to offend the Maori in some way. Sometimes the sailors were guilty of treating the Maori cruelly, and sometimes it was a result of not understanding cultural expectations.

Wishart describes a culture that seemed to treat their own people harshly. "The tribal customs of throwing the sick and the pregnant outside into the cold so as not to defile the sleeping huts, and refusing to feed them, had a huge impact on infant and adult mortality, as did the practice of killing baby girls at birth" (Wishart, p. 141).  The missionaries and acceptance of Christianity is credited with a cultural change in Maori behavior over a few decades.

"Although the ghoulish habit of cannibalism scared the proverbial out of the Europeans, ... missionaries and even British fleet officers ... had seen something else. The Maori, for all the terrible habits, were an advanced, intelligent, civilised people. They traded, they had a strong code of honour and justice, they could interact as equals with Europeans and hold their own in battle.... the practice of cannibalism was ritualistic and strongly tied to the warrior code; providing a final insult to a slain enemy" (Wishart, p. 99.)

A thesis that runs through the book seems to be aimed at those Maori and Pakeha alike that interpret the Maori as being historically defrauded and abused. He claims that the Maori "could give as good as they got" in their early exposure to Pakeha (Wishart, p. 86.) Later he claims that fraudulent land sales were practised by both Maori and Pakeha.

Many Maori live in a manner today no different than that of Pakeha. Others live communally in maraes. The Maori political party is represented in Parliament. Obviously I only know what I read or experience. I have no background in Kiwi culture and thus no opinion on Wishart's theme about the Treaty of Waitangi. What was most interesting to me was the history he expounded.

*Wishart, I. (2012). The great divide: The story of New Zealand & and its treaty. Howling at the Moon Publishing: Auckland.

Cheers,

Kiwi Traveler