The Oceanic language spoken by the Maori people in New Zealand.
Member of the Polynesian people of pre-European New Zealand, who numbered 294,200 in 1986, about 10% of the total population. Their language, Maori, belongs to the eastern branch of the Austronesian family.
The Maori colonized New Zealand from about 850 AD, establishing a flourishing civilization throughout the country. First contact with Europeans came at the end of the eighteenth century. Until about 1860, relations between Maori and European settlers were generally good, though based on mutual economic exploitation rather than any great understanding. Though earlier treaties had confirmed Maori sovereignty, the Treaty of Waitangi 1840 and subsequent influx of settlers from Britain effectively ended Maori political autonomy. Recent years have seen a significant increase in Maori consciousness, demands for a comprehensive review of the Treaty, and Maori claims to some 70% of the country's land.
In Maori, New Zealand is Aotearoa (“long daylight”) and European settlers are Pakeha, a term often used by white New Zealanders when contrasting themselves with the Maori.
Maori civilization had particular strengths in warfare, cultivation, navigation and wood- and stonework. Oratory and oral history, as well as wood carving, were the main cultural repositories before the European introduction of writing, and Maori mythology and cosmology were highly developed. + prikaži više