Over several centuries in isolation, these settlers developed a distinct culture, whose language, mythology, crafts, and performing arts evolved independently from those of other eastern Polynesian …

Dec 5, 2025 · Maori, member of a Polynesian people of New Zealand. To most Maori, being Maori means recognizing and venerating their Maori ancestors, having claims to family land, and having a …

May 5, 2025 · In the 19th century, the term Māori entered general use alongside Pākehā. According to the Te Aka Māori Dictionary, Pākehā has several meanings. When used as a modifier, it translates …

Māori are tangata whenua — people of the land. They came to Aotearoa from Polynesia in the 13th century and created a new language and culture. Research indicates that Māori originated in eastern …

Settling first on the coast, they hunted seals and moas. They also began to grow food, and some moved to the forests. They lived in small tribal groups, with a rich culture of spoken stories, and strong …

In the Māori language the word māori means "normal," "natural," or "ordinary." In legends and other oral traditions, the word distinguished ordinary mortal human beings from deities and spirits.

Māori, the indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand, arrived here more than 800 years ago in great waka (double-hulled canoes) from Polynesia. Over the centuries, they’ve developed their own …

Oct 20, 2025 · Since the Maori are descended from Polynesian voyagers who settled the islands in the 13th or 14th century, the Maori have many social, metaphysical, and religious concepts in common …

The Maori are the indigenous inhabitants of New Zealand. Culturally, they are Polynesians, most closely related to eastern Polynesians.

One group of Māori settled in the Chatham Islands around 1500; they created a separate, pacifist culture and became known as the Moriori.