Maori are the natives of New Zealand, immigrants from the Polynesian peoples who first set foot on the lands of this country. The exact date of settlement of the islands is unknown, and various historical sources say that it was approximately from the 8th to the 14th centuries. In New Zealand, the number of Maori is just over 500 thousand people. In the amount of less than 10 thousand people, representatives of this people live in Australia, Great Britain, the USA, Canada.
As a result of numerous wars with the British who arrived on the islands in the 19th century, as well as new diseases that came from white people, the natives of New Zealand have significantly reduced their numbers. Today they are in the minority and make up about 15% of the four million population of the country, but they have the opportunity to express themselves in their native language. Maori is the official language of New Zealand along with English. In Maori, the name of the country sounds like Aoteroa ("white longcloud"). This name was given to her by the first Polynesians who approached the shore in a canoe. The island was wrapped in thick fog and resembled a cloud in configuration.
The territory of the country occupies 2 large islands, North and South, and about seven hundred small islands. This is how New Zealand is geographically located. Aborigines for the most part occupy the lands of the North Island of the country. This is the territory of geysers and rivers. Cape Reinga is located in the northwest of the North Island. This is the place where the Pacific Ocean and the Tasman Sea meet, it is very important in the mythology and traditions of the Maori. The ocean and the sea symbolize the masculine and feminine. And an eight-hundred-year-old tree growing on a cape and rooted in the sea, according to legend, carries the souls of the dead representatives of the Maori to their spiritual homeland.
Modern Aborigines of New Zealand to this day preserve the traditions of their ancestors. This is expressed not only in rituals, but also in everyday behavior. The ceremony of warm and friendly greeting of this people is known far beyond the borders of New Zealand. When meeting, two people approach and touch foreheads and noses, closing their eyes and freezing for a minute. The fighting Maori dance "haku" was seen by everyone who is interested in rugby. The New Zealand national team performs it before every match.
The pagan religion of the Maori ancestors, which is still partly professed by the natives of New Zealand, is based on the worship of the gods of the common Polynesian pantheon, whose figures, along withimages of ancestors were often carved from wood. The national craft, woodcarving, is dominated by spiral ornaments.
Moko Maori, widely known today, has a special, sacred meaning for this people. Traditionally, the whole face of a man is covered with a tattoo, sometimes the shoulders and hips. A tattoo not only reveals the social status and origin of the wearer, but is also used to strengthen internal ties in the body, attract the necessary energy and, conversely, to get rid of unnecessary energy. Maori women are considered to be more perfect in appearance, so the female body is rarely decorated with moko.
