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The Maori Tribe
Introduction
The Maori people are an indigenous group who separated from the Polynesians that settled in the Eastern parts of New Zealand. The Polynesians arrive in a series of waves referred to as the waka voyages around the 1320s. Several centuries in isolation, the Maoris constructed their distinctive cultures with beliefs, economic patterns, and spiritual aspects. This paper will discuss the historical, social, economic and cultural structure of the Maori people alluding to different anthropological perspectives and theories
Historical Overview
The Maori people originated from Polynesia and settled in New Zealand encompassing Hawaii, Samoa, Tahiti, as well as Eastern Island around 1320 B.C. When the Europeans arrived in the region which is presently referred as New Zealand, the Maori people had inhibited the areas around North Island for a series of centuries. The first group of Europeans to set their foot in the land of Maori people was the Dutch, under Abel Tasman, not the British since they could not reach the far ends of the Island, which were the situation in the middle region of Pacific Ocean. In https://sharksavewriters.com/causes-of-changes-in-the-english-language/1642, the Dutch people discovered the area of New Zealand, but after a while, they found a group of inhabitants amounting to more than 100,000 in the area of North Island (Fulcher 242). However, they also found that the Southern side of Island had a scarce population consisting of “once powerful tribes” hence decided that they would colonize the land instead of the Northern side of the Island where the Maori existed in large numbers. Several years later, the British finally arrived in New Zealand, where they began the process of colonizing the Maoris and bringing about the civilization of their culture. The indigenous group faced slavery and fought in several wars. Several other European groups came to the Island and colonized different groups in the region. The evolution of the social, economic, and political history of Maori people is in line with the concepts of the Darwinian Theory.
The British first established company which they referred to as the New Zealand Company as well as the Setters Group of New Zealand under Edward Gibbon Wakefield. The company was developed solely to protect the interest of the new settlers who were Europeans (Smith & Young 124). The British systems under Wakefield advocated from the enactment of emigration policies, which aimed at making emigration to be more appealing overseas and expand the market arena for export of manufactured goods and capital from Britain. Politically, he also pushed for the construction of municipal self-government as a result of the belief that governance was to emerge from communities which originated from the colonial environment under the British rule. The primary goal of the settles was to acquire a significant bit of land from the Maori people. The colonialists saw land as an element for pushing economic benefits such as capital and farming. On the other hand, the Maori people regarded property as a sign of well-being as well as success.
Cultural Overview
Most of the Maori people actively participated in keeping their language as well as culture alive and as solidarity. Maori people consider style as among the Maoritanga pillars, which is mostly spoken by the elders of the community. However, English speaking is the most common language that Maori people talk. The reason is the indigenous group underwent colonization as well as assimilation within their cultures, thus leading a large number of individuals and communities who depend on English as their primary language (Firth 183). The tribe defines themselves as iwi (tribe), awa (river), hapu (sub-tribe), and muanga (mountain). They lived in communities that are by nature, master variables just like any other, which passed genetic code from one generation to another. Whanau was a term used in referring family, in-laws, and other people related through blood ties yielding a sense of representativeness in the community. Their traditional curves kept Maori culture alive and paid respect to their past.
The pattern of Subsistence and Economic System
The Maori people indulged in a subsistence economy, although they were not poor. They plundered particular natural resources like seals and moa, but over time, they transformed into more sustainable economic practices. In the 19th century, the Maori people developed close ties with the Europeans, where they bartered to receive metal tools and gums as they provided them with food, flax, and timber. The Maori later suffered from confiscation of their fertile lands by the Europeans as they watched foreigners developing their town areas in a more efficient way. In order to survive from the economic exploitation they encountered, they found a staple product, wool, and generated export revenue where they paid for imports and serviced their borrowing. During the industrialization, the Maori’s first factories were quarries of argillite and greenstones dealing with the shaping of the tools as well as ornaments (Fulcher 245). On the other hand, the European factories dealt with preparing whale oil at the onshore. Over the years, the Maori have evolved to be more assertive in their economic patterns. For example, they have been fighting to secure the Treaty of Waitangi as their main objective is to reclaim their sovereignty that the ones held. Maori is a term which the British gave to the community (Smith & Young 131). “Maori” basically means ordinary, which has since remained as their derogatory name. At the moment, the tribe has shifted from micro-band to macro-band form of society. The tribal had several different sub-ethnic groups since the Maori name was a generic name that was provided for the entire community, which lived in their region of New-Zealand at the time the British discovered their existence. Their number had increased; their food supply had also increased; the wealthy began utilizing their extended kin relationship with the intent of controlling wealth and resources.
Social Relationships
The social construction of indigenous Maori groups closely relates to the community’s demographic structure, political relations, and economic status, as illustrated in the Big bang theory. Traditionally, the Maori organized themselves in large-based social units whose members were descendants from a current generation as well as ancestors. Their societies were not massively stratified as they existed in three segments: slaves (taurekareka), commoners (tauwareware), and gentry (rangatira) (Fulcher 261). The change in their social structure as a result of the increase in economic activities is consistent with the characteristics of the band societies who took advantage of the transforming and non-predictable resources that are scattered within liberal societies. The minority groups had different cultural interests and sometimes suffered from mild discrimination, although the entire Maori people considerably demonstrated unity. There was also a difference in how Maori people in urban situations socially related to those in the urban population were also associated with their level of education. Modern Maori groups increasingly regard themselves as well as their fellows as New Zealanders who transformed from early inhabitants contributed and participated effectively in the country’s development and life. The groups were composed of working families within the modern corporate social structure that indulges in different job opportunities. The regions which were along the ocean and waterholes maintained extended stay and macro band structures unless the resources dropped, which could make them begin forming micro-bands.
Spirituality, Religion and the Supernatural
The Maori are very spiritual individuals who base their beliefs in at least three basic understandings. The community believed in deities (referred to as omnipresent as well as source of power) (Smith & Young, 108). One of the primary aspects of their beliefs is “One Supreme God,” in conjunction with less small spiritual humankind. The element disputes the Darwinian theory of evolution, which illustrates that living things develop through natural selection. The second aspect is the fact that the groups fail to base their beliefs on the concept of universes in terms of being a world where women and men live then later die on. The final aspect of Maori’s view is that every element in the world has spiritual as well as physical elements within their being. According to the indigenous group, the humankind consists of both the soul as well as the body. They believe that the essential elements in life are unity, where people move as one and remain loyal to their ethnic background.
When the Europeans invaded the region where the Maoris’ resided, assimilates led to the degradation of the practices, beliefs, and laws of the indigenous community. Most of the Maori people converted into Christian religion when the missionaries invaded their land. The situation prompted the depletion of at least three essential aspects of the community: mana, Tapu, and Utu. The word Tapu primarily means the guarding of different elements that embed in Maori life. Some of the elements in this realm are the dignity of their chiefs, fishing and hunting localities, properties, cooking arrangements, and hygiene, taboos, and cultivation grounds. It was taboo for hunters to over-hunt in a particular habitat because it was considered prompting the loss of habitat. The idea of “soul” by the hunter and gatherers considerably differed from theirs. Mana refers to the aspect of power and influence that Tapu protects (Puia 272). Finally, Utu was the aspect of compensation which could occur when an individual experience injury due to different reasons such as felony, abuse, or physical damage. They based illness from the perception of “soul loss.” The British infiltrate the community of Maori through the imposition of indirect rule. As such, influential individuals such as tribe leaders or chiefs were the individual groups, who pushed for Christianity as well as other assimilation ideas, which lead to significant changes in the communities.
Conclusion
The Maori people have a luxurious cultural, economic, social, and religious construction even though they evolved micro-band form of society. The ethnic groups originated from Polynesia before settling in New Zealand. The arrival of the British in regions where the Maori people arrived brought civilization in their culture where they transformed from their hunters and gatherers to traders who exported wools and bartered with the foreigners. Today, most of the Maori people depend on the English as their primary language due to assimilation by the colonialists. The Maori person has protected their cultural interests and unity through crafts, which reminds them of their history and culture.
The society of Maori people was insignificantly stratified in only three segments, including slaves, commoners, and gentry. One’s civilization took place; they settled in macro bands, especially around the ocean and water sources. They are classified into city dwellers who took advantage of the job opportunities within the urban areas and the rural dwellers. The Maoris also believe in taboos, respect for leaders, and compensation upon different kinds of injuries.
References
Smith, Sheldon. & Young, Philip. “Cultural Anthropology – Understanding a World in Transition. Second Edition. BVT Publishers.” (2012).
Fulcher, Leon C. “Cultural safety: Lessons from Maori wisdom.” Reclaiming Children and Youth 10.3 (2001): 153.
Puia, Sid. “Protection and cultural use: Maori concepts of the relationship between Maori people and nature.” ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION OF NEW ZEALAND ISLANDS(1990): 272.
Firth, Raymond. Primitive Economics of the New Zealand Maori (Routledge Revivals). Routledge, 2011.