Spotlight on Students: Marginalized Cultures

The following post is dedicated to the work of one of my Anth/Soc 205 students.  Students were tasked with exploring a marginalized culture outside of the United States in order to understand the racism and prejudice lodged against other cultures.  The following is one example of exemplary work.

Maori Individuals (Image Source: United Houma Nation)

 

By Darell Hainline

            Among the vast number of indigenous societies in the world, the Maori society of New Zealand has been known for a history involving warrior-like lifestyles among tribes (primarily for land purposes or to restore mana/authority/prestige) and an infamous history of cannibalism in the tribal age.  These assumptions have been the very ideologies that have been causing many misconceptions, and even ignorance, towards this group of people.  Outside of New Zealand, the Maori are hardly mentioned unless being referred to by their ancestors, the war-like tribes known for cannibalism.  Cultural misconceptions aside, the Maori people possess a rich culture full of history, language, religious beliefs, ideologies, and much more.

            Throughout this essay, topics regarding the Maori's history, culture, religion, ethics, and even modern issues regarding the society will be discussed.  Current topics regarding the Maoris involve their issues in New Zealand regarding political power, how strong of a political voice they have in their country, and how certain organizations and interest groups have helped progress the Maori towards getting a stronger voice in the political system. 

According to the encyclopedia provided by infobaselearning.com on the Maori and the Te Ara encyclopedia about the Maori society, the ancestors of the Maori arrived in New Zealand by sea roughly around 1350 AD, traveling via canoe fleets. (Te Ara, 2)  This migration is believed to have been planned and deliberately organized.  They settled in different tribes (or iwi) scattered across the land with differing clans (hapu) within each tribe, which were governed by a chief.  Early settlement was called “kainga” and is where the settlers first established villages.  These villages were located around coastal areas and contained gardens, huts, and other establishments for a society.  As time passed, and more warfare emerged, their settlements evolved into more fortified villages (or pa), which were strategically placed along water or on hills and cliffs for being used as a fighting advantage against enemy tribes (Infobase, Maori and Te Ara).

The ruling system of the early Maori involved a system that was family-based (or whanau- and hapu-based), where each family was ruled by elders and the hapu was ruled by a chief.  Ancient Maori society also focused on hunting, fishing, and gathering with the men being in charge of active work such as hunting, plowing, and warrior work.  The women were considered responsible for weaving, cooking, and weeding type jobs. (Infobase, Maori)  The Maori agriculture also varied based on which part of New Zealand in which they resided since the soil and waters were different in certain areas.  The common similarities between tribes, however, involved fishing (whether it is line fishing or net fishing), hunting (larger animals or birds), and harvesting crops (primarily a variety of plants including sweet potatoes -or kumara- and bottle gourds such as hu and taro).

The Maori had believed in a number of gods and spirits in their religious practices, such as Tane-mahuta, the god of the forest, and Tangaroa the sea god that watches over New Zealand and Oceania.  The different tribes across New Zealand all had high priests and a chief who hailed the main god Io.  Io, however, was kept private and not revealed to the general public.  The priests and chiefs had many practices in communicating with spirits, or atua, that aided them in their societies ranging from magical practices to dealing punishments. (Infobase, Maori) 

During the 1800s, the Maori people came into first contact with European adventurers and their entire lives, much like other indigenous societies, were altered from that point on.  Originally, the Maori considered the European explorers to be a sort of “goblin” people since they “rowed their boats backwards.”  The earliest explorers to visit the tribal Maori were Dutch Abel Tasman (in approximately 1642) and British Captain James Cook (in approximately 1769), and their arrival marked the beginning of the European ages in New Zealand, although the Europeans didn’t officially settle until the 1800s. (Te Ara, Maori)  The growing population of settlers sparked conflict between the native Maori tribes and the newly settled Europeans.  The conflict arose so far as to there were times of violence between the two cultures.  In the 1840s, Britain claimed their diplomatic sovereignty over New Zealand, which became a colony to the crown a year after being claimed by England.  The treaty that caused this to occur was the Treaty of Waitangi.  When originally drafted, the treaty had two versions: the English version and the version that the Maori chiefs could read and understand.  The English version had different meanings to the treaty than the Maori one did so the two peoples had differing expectations of the treaty.  One huge topic still discussed even to this day was who had true diplomatic rights of citizenship and land ownership of New Zealand.  The English version of the treaty claimed that Queen Elizabeth had complete sovereignty over the land while the Maori version stated the tribes would still have citizenship to New Zealand but gave the Queen governmental control of the land. (Te Ara, Maori; Te Ara, Treaty of Waitangi).  After the treaty was signed, the British started taking Maori land through their justification of “land transaction” and pushing Maori territory back while English territory spread, this was the first sign to the chiefs of the Maori that the two groups had different understandings of the treaty.  By the year 1870 the majority of the southern part of the islands was alienated from the Maori and was taken over by the British expansion.  The Maori people were completely suppressed by the British because of the treaty, by allowing the British to expand as far as they pleased on Maori land and even seize it in place for roads, settlements, and railways. (Te Ara, Treaty of Waitangi)  Many petitions were sent to the British authority and governments but none were accepted, until 1868 when Maori people were officially elected into British Parliament.  The Maori representatives were ignored for the most part, however.

During the early 20th century, the Maori people showed a dramatic decline and their voice in the government had severely dropped.  Later on in the 20th century, however, the Maori also had an increase of political power and influential people of the Maori people.  One individual who helped restore the Maori people in the early 20th century was Sir Apirana Ngata who was a Parliamentarian between the years of 1905 and 1943.  Ngata voiced many social problems of the Maori and helped develop Maori land and restore their rights. Ngata also brought upon a renaissance of Maori education and culture in New Zealand. (Te Ara, Maori; Te Ara, Treaty of Waitangi)  After the second World War the Maori have seen an increase in power in New Zealand as well as an ever-growing voice in the political affairs of the country.  One important movement was the urbanization of the Maori tribes from their lands.  The tribes wanted to move to larger populations to work in larger centers, industries, and politics, and as a result there was a migration to urban areas.  This led to cultural assimilation of Western society into the Maori traditions after the older traditionalists lost influence. (Te Ara, Maori; Infobase, Maori).  The Maori went through a renaissance around the 1970s and a revitalization of older traditions and culture began spreading amongst the people.  After their assimilation to the English language, the Maori saw a revival of their native language around the year 1878.  Maori people across New Zealand protested their oppression further by having marches for various reasons, although they were mainly to protest the actions caused by the Treaty of Waitangi.  In 1975, the Treaty of Waitangi Act was passed and thus formed the Waitangi Tribunal was formed in legislation to discuss the treaty and help debate its terms to better forward the Maori people through representation and political influence. (Infobase, Maori; Te Ara, Maori; Te Ara, Treaty of Waitangi)  Because of this event, the Maori have shown an increase in power across New Zealand including many Maori-owned enterprises.  Even in the 21st century, there is an increase of education and equality being shown in the Maori population.  The culture is being further recognized as highly diverse yet integrated into modern New Zealand society.

The Maori have a rich culture that seems to be ignored in mainstream society.  According to modern cultural appropriation the Maori tribes are seen as cannibalistic warriror tribes whose culture ended at such a point.  With the European travelers coming to New Zealand, the Maori suffered mass amounts of discrimination, suppression, and even unwilling assimilation.  The Maori have also suffered unfair diplomatic problems such as seizing of land, stripping of rights, and suppression in the British Parliament.  However, with the work of the Treaty of Waitangi and the work of organizations such as the Waitangi Tribunal, the voice of the Maori people are growing more and more each passing year.

Works Cited

Te Ahukaramū Charles Royal. 'Māori', Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand,

Retrieved from http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/maori/

Te Ahukaramu Charles Royal. ‘Treaty of Waitangi’. Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand,

            Retrieved from http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/treaty-of-waitangi/

“Maori.” Encyclopedia. Issues & Controversies. Infobase Learning, n.d.

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