Maori Pod101 Blog

The ancestors of the Māori arrived from eastern Polynesia during the 13th century, bringing with them Polynesian cultural customs and beliefs. Early European researchers, such as Julius von Haast, a geologist, incorrectly interpreted archaeological remains as belonging to a pre-Māori Paleolithic people; later researchers, notably Percy Smith, magnified such theories into an elaborate scenario with a series of sharply-defined cultural stages which had Māori arriving in a Great Fleet in 1350 CE and replacing the so-called "moa-hunter" culture with a "classical Māori" culture based on horticulture. The development of Māori material culture has been similarly delineated by the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa into "cultural periods", from the earlier "Ngā Kakano" stage to the later "Te Tipunga" period, before the "Classic" period of Māori history.

However, the archaeological record indicates a gradual evolution of a neolithic culture that varied in pace and extent according to local resources and conditions. In the course of a few centuries, the growing population led to competition for resources and an increase in warfare. The archaeological record reveals an increased frequency of fortified pā, although debate continues about the amount of conflict. Various systems arose which aimed to conserve resources; most of these, such as tapu and rāhui, used religious or supernatural threats to discourage people from taking species at particular seasons or from specified areas.

Warfare between tribes was common, generally over land conflicts or to restore mana. Fighting was carried out between subtribes (hapū). Although not practised during times of peace, Māori would sometimes eat their conquered enemies. Missionaries observed that slaves, especially female slaves, were killed at the whim of their masters, for minor misdemeanors. Chiefs jealously guarded their powers of authority and severely punished anyone who transgressed. Brutal punishment increased the mana of a chief. A chief was above any law. After 1800 chiefs found British law very strange in that even leaders were expected to obey its principles. As Māori continued in geographic isolation, performing arts such as the haka developed from their Polynesian roots, as did carving and weaving. Regional dialects arose, with differences in vocabulary and in the pronunciation of some words.In 1819 two young northern chiefs Tuai and Titere who had learnt to speak and write English went to London where they met the language expert Samuel Lee. They stayed with a school teacher Hall, who they told that even in Northern New Zealand there were "different languages and dialects". The language retained enough similarities to other Eastern Polynesian languages, to the point where a Tahitian chief on James Cook's first voyage in the region acted as an interpreter between Māori and the crew of the Endeavour.