Handout: Maori – Life and Culture
I. Overview:
Immigration of the Polynesians
 landed along the eastcoast of NZ
 started to hunt and cultivate crops
and settled down
II. Polynesians/Maori and their traditions part 1
A. waka
B. marae
C. tangata whenua
D. mana whenua
III. Arrival of the Europeans
A. European explorers: competition between
Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, British, French
B. Image of Maori: ‘a brave, open and honest’
people (James Cook)
C. Europeans admired Maori
IV. Polynesians/Maori and their traditions part 2
A. Haka (with video clip)
B. Tattoos
V. Creation Stories Maori vs. Settlers
A. Creation Myth of Maori
1. semi-god Maui caught a big fish  North Island
2. Maui‘s canoe  South Island
B. Idyllic Story of the Settlers
1. Europeans’ palliation of the situation in NZ
2. today: still problems
Vocabulary explanations:
double-hulled canoes = doppelt geschälte Kanus
marae = space in front of a meeting house
tangata whenua = people of the land
mana whenua = authority/ prestigé over land
Maori = ‘ordinary‘ people
Pakeha = person of European descent, stranger
Haka = war dance, accompanied by a song
to palliate = beschönigen
Bibliography:
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About. Geography and Map of New Zealand. 3 Jan. 2006.
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Allblacks.com.Official website of the All Blacks and NZ Rugby. 3 Jan. 2006.
http://www.allblacks.com/index.cfm?layout=displayNews&newsArticle=2468
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Baedeker, K. (1995) Baedeker Allianz Reiseführer - Neuseeland. Ostfildern: Mairs
Geographischer Verlag.
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Butler, S. (1872) The Grandest Country That Can be Imagined. In: Erewhon. London:
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Cook, James (1769) Captain Cook’s Journal during his first voyage round the world. 3 Jan.
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Jason Paquette. 3 Jan. 2006. http://me.jasonpaquette.com/nz_haka.php
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McLauchlan, G. (2004) A Short History of New Zealand. London: Penguin, pp. 28-111
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Polyglott (1998/99) APA Guide - Neuseeland. Berlin und München: Langenscheidt KG.