User:Liveste/Māori history

Māori history is the history of the indigenous Māori people of New Zealand. Māori are descended from eastern Polynesian settlers, who migrated to New Zealand in several waves of ocean-going canoes at some time before 1300 AD. New Zealand was one of the last landmasses settled by humans, and the Polynesian settlers developed a distinct culture over several centures of isolation, that eventually became known as the "Māori".

Early Māori settlement was concentrated along the New Zealand coastline.

Origins from Polynesia

The Māori settlement of New Zealand represents an end-point of a long chain of island hopping voyages

The most current reliable evidence strongly indicates that initial settlement of New Zealand occurred around 1280 CE at the end of the medieval warm period. Previous dating of some Kiore (Polynesian rat) bones at 50–150 CE has now been shown to have been unreliable; new samples of bone (and now also of unequivocally rat-gnawed woody seed cases) match the 1280 date of the earliest archaeological sites and the beginning of sustained deforestation by men. Māori oral history describes the arrival of ancestors from Hawaiki, (the mythical homeland in tropical Polynesia), in large ocean-going waka. Migration accounts vary among tribes (iwi), whose members may identify with several waka in their genealogies or whakapapa.There is limited evidence of return, or attempted return voyages, from archeological evidence in the Kermadec Islands.

No credible evidence exists of human settlement in New Zealand prior to the Polynesian voyagers. Compelling evidence from archaeology, linguistics, and physical anthropology indicates that the first settlers came from east Polynesia and became the Māori. Language evolution studies and mitochondrial DNA evidence suggest that most Pacific populations originated from Taiwanese aborigines around 5,200 years ago (suggesting prior to migration from the Asian or Chinese mainland), moving down through Southeast Asia and Indonesia.

Early Māori settlement

The earliest period, conventionally dated 1100–1300, is known as the Archaic period (also referred to by Te Papa Tongarewa as "Ngā Kakano"). Archaeology has shown that Otago was the node of Māori cultural development during this time, and the majority of archaic settlements were on or within 10 km (6 mi) of the coast, though it was common to establish small temporary camps (whakaruruhau) far inland. The settlements ranged in size from 40 people (Palliser Bay, Wellington), the more common size, to 300–400, with 40 buildings at Shag River (Waihemo) mouth. The main food was moa hence the people are sometimes called the Moahunters. Up to 9.2 moa per week were killed, each producing an average 45 kg of meat, and the various species were probably wiped out within 200 years. Moahunters extensively modified the natural vegetation by burning. Old soils show the thin horizons of carbon associated with this activity. The middens of the people reveal that they enjoyed a rich, varied diet of birds, fish, seals and shellfish. Work by Helen Leach shows that Maori were using about 36 different food plants, though many required detoxification and long periods (12–24 hours) of cooking. Leach says to get a minimum of 2,100 calories per day (the minimum needed for survival) required a vast amount of travelling and preparation relative to the food obtained. Most of these plants were small and widely dispersed and had poor food value per weight. Firing vegetation was a standard method of getting quick regrowth of young shoots in East Polynesia but regrowth in New Zealand's much cooler climate – especially after about 1400, required a far longer time. Leach also says there was no obvious soft food suitable for feeding young children. It is likely that mothers breast fed children to about 5. This matches D. Sutton's research on prehistoric Maori fertility which examined a wide range of early female skeletons to determine birth numbers per mother. He found that first pregnancy occurred about 20 years and the mean number of births was low. It is known that two key factors influencing late onset of fertility are low body weight and lack of protein. The low number of births may have been due to the very low average life expectancy of 31–32 years (Houghton 1980). The maximum number of births in the sample was 5 but the number of births was highly variable with the average 2.85 births per mother, which is low compared to many neolithic societies. The variation may have been due to the regional variation in food supply,the social status of the mothers or other factors such as war disrupting planting. This period is remarkable for the lack of weapons and fortifications so typical of the later "classic" Māori, and for its distinctive "reel necklaces". From this period onward around 32 species of birds became extinct either through over predation by the people and the kiore and kurī they introduced, repeated burning of the grassland or climate cooling, which appears to have occurred from about 1400–1450.

The best known archaic or Moahunter site is at Wairau Bar which has been extensively studied. The oldest skeleton was from a person about 50 years old. The mean age of skeletons at the site is difficult to determine, as during early investigation it appears the skeletons of children were scattered and friable to the extent they could not be readily uplifted for study. The people still practiced Polynesian-style burials. The teeth of all the older skeletons were worn to the gums: this is believed to be one reason for the low life expectancy. Artefacts found were bone necklaces, Polynesian worked stone tool adze heads and the remains of small shelters. All of the older skeletons showed signs of a hard life with many having broken bones that had healed, suggesting a balanced diet and a supportive community that had the resources to support severely injured family members. A series of large pits located by geotech methods indicate that the people were using East Polynesian–style large Umu-Ti type pits common for the preparation of the large tap root of various cordyline varieties to make a sweet pulp. One of these pits on the Otago Peninsula has been well researched and at least eight other examples are known in Otago. Due to tectonic forces some of the Wairau Bar site is now under water. The site is similar to an east Polynesian nucleated village. Radio carbon dating shows it was occupied from about 1288 to 1300. Because of these dates it is possible that this is the original colonizing site for East Polynesians in New Zealand.

Classic Māori

Model of a fortified pā, built on a headland. Fortified pā proliferated as competition and warfare increased among a growing population.

Development

The cooling of the climate, confirmed by a detailed tree ring study near Hokitika, shows a significant, sudden and long-lasting cooler period from 1500. This coincided with a series of massive earthquakes in the South Island Alpine fault, a major earthquake in 1460 in the Wellington area, tsunamis that destroyed many coastal settlements, and the extinction of the moa and other food species. These were likely factors that led to sweeping changes to the Māori culture, which developed into the most well-known "Classic" period that was in place when European contact was made.

This period is characterised by finely made pounamu weapons and ornaments, elaborately carved canoes – a tradition that was later extended to and continued in elaborately carved meeting houses (wharenui), and a fierce warrior culture, with fortified hillforts known as pā, frequent cannibalism and some of the largest war canoes ever built.

Society

Polynesian settlers in New Zealand developed a distinct society over several hundred years. Social groups were tribal, with no unified society or single Māori identity until after the arrival of Europeans. Nevertheless, common elements could be found in all Māori groups in pre-European New Zealand, including a shared Polynesian heritage, a common basic language, familial associations, traditions of warfare, and similar mythologies and religious beliefs.

Most Māori lived in villages, which were inhabited by several whānau (extended families) who collectively formed a hapū (clan or subtribe). Members of a hapū cooperated with food production, gathering resources, raising families and defence. Māori society across New Zealand was broadly stratified into three classes of people: rangatira, chiefs and ruling families; tūtūā, commoners; and mōkai, slaves. Tohunga also held special standing in their communities as specialists of revered arts, skills and esoteric knowledge.

Shared ancestry, intermarriage and trade strengthened relationships between different groups. Many hapū with mutually-recognised shared ancestry formed iwi, or tribes, which were the largest social unit in Māori society. Hapū and iwi often united for expeditions to gather food and resources, or in times of conflict. In contrast, warfare developed as an integral part of traditional life, as different groups competed for food and resources, settled personal disputes, and sought to increase their prestige and authority.

Moriori

Around 1500 CE a group of Māori migrated east to the Chatham Islands, where, by adapting to the local climate and the availability of resources, they developed a culture known as the "Moriori" – related to but distinct from Māori culture in mainland New Zealand. A notable feature of the Moriori culture, an emphasis on pacifism, proved disastrous when a party of invading Taranaki Māori arrived in 1835. Few of the estimated Moriori population of 2000 survived.

The largest battle ever fought in New Zealand, the Battle of Hingakaka occurred around 1780–90, south of Ohaupo on a ridge near Lake Ngaroto. The battle was fought between about 7,000 warriors from a Taranaki-led force and a much smaller Waikato force under the leadership of Te Rauangaanga.

Early European contact

First European impression of Māori, at Murderers' Bay in Abel Tasman's travel journal (1642)

European settlement of New Zealand occurred in relatively recent historical times. New Zealand historian Michael King in The Penguin History Of New Zealand describes the Māori as "the last major human community on earth untouched and unaffected by the wider world." Early European explorers, including Abel Tasman (who arrived in 1642) and Captain James Cook (who first visited in 1769), recorded their impressions of Māori. Intial contact between Māori and Europeans proved problematic, sometimes fatal, with several accounts of Europeans being cannibalised.

From the 1780s, Māori encountered European and American sealers and whalers; some Māori crewed on the foreign ships with many crewing on whaling and sealing ships in New Zealand waters. Some of the South Island crews were almost totally Maori. A trickle of escaped convicts from Australia and deserters from visiting ships, as well as early Christian missionaries, also exposed the indigenous population to outside influences. In the Boyd Massacre in 1809, Māori took hostage and killed 66 members of the crew and passengers in apparent revenge for the whipping of the son of a Māori chief by the captain. There were accounts of cannibalism, and this episode caused shipping companies and missionaries to be wary, and significantly reduced contact between Europeans and Māori for several years.

By 1830, estimates placed the number of Europeans living among the Māori as high as 2,000. The newcomers had varying status-levels within Māori society, ranging from slaves to high-ranking advisors. Some remained little more than prisoners, while others abandoned European culture and identified as Māori. These Europeans "gone native" became known as Pākehā Māori. Many Māori valued them as a means to the acquisition of European knowledge and technology, particularly firearms. When Pomare led a war-party against Titore in 1838, he had 131 Europeans among his warriors. Frederick Edward Maning, an early settler, wrote two lively accounts of life in these times, which have become classics of New Zealand literature: Old New Zealand and History of the War in the North of New Zealand against the Chief Heke.

During the period from 1805 to 1840 the acquisition of muskets by tribes in close contact with European visitors upset the balance of power among Māori tribes, leading to a period of bloody inter-tribal warfare, known as the Musket Wars, which resulted in the decimation of several tribes and the driving of others from their traditional territory. European diseases such as influenza and measles killed an unknown number of Māori: estimates vary between ten and fifty percent. Te Rangi Hiroa documents an epidemic caused by a respiratory disease that Māori called rewharewha. It "decimated" populations in the early 19th Century and "spread with extraordinary virulence throughout the North Island and even to the South..." He also says, p83: "Measles, typhoid, scarlet fever, whooping cough and almost everything, except plague and sleeping sickness, have taken their toll of Maori dead." Economic changes also took a toll; migration into unhealthy swamplands to produce and export flax led to further mortality.

Colonial history

Meri Te Tai Mangakāhia, a member of the Kotahitanga movement in the 1890s, who argued that women should have equal voting rights in the Māori Parliament

Treaty of Waitangi

With increasing Christian missionary activity, growing European settlement in the 1830s and the perceived lawlessness of Europeans in New Zealand, the British Crown, as a world power, came under pressure to intervene. Ultimately, Whitehall sent William Hobson with instructions to take possession of New Zealand. Before he arrived, Queen Victoria annexed New Zealand by royal proclamation in January 1840. On arrival in February 1840, Hobson negotiated the Treaty of Waitangi with northern rangatira (chiefs). Other rangatira subsequently signed this treaty. In the end, 500 rangatira out of the 1500 sub-tribes of New Zealand signed the Treaty, while some influential rangatira — such as Te Wherowhero in Waikato, and Te Kani-a-Takirau from the east coast of the North Island — refused to sign. The Treaty gave Māori the rights of British subjects and guaranteed Māori property rights and tribal autonomy, in return for accepting British government or sovereignty.

Dispute continues over whether the Treaty of Waitangi ceded Māori sovereignty. Most rangatira signed a Māori-language version of the Treaty that did not fully reflect the English-language version. It appears unlikely that the Māori version of the treaty ceded sovereignty; and the Crown and the missionaries probably did not fully explain the meaning of the English version.

Despite the different understandings of the treaty, relations between Māori and Europeans during the early colonial period were largely peaceful. Many Māori groups set up substantial businesses, supplying food and other products for domestic and overseas markets. Among the early European settlers who learnt the Māori language and recorded Māori mythology, George Grey, Governor of New Zealand from 1845–1855 and 1861–1868, stands out.

Conflict with the Crown

However, rising tensions over disputed land purchases and attempts by Māori in the Waikato to establish what some saw as a rival to the British system of royalty led to the New Zealand wars in the 1860s. These series of conflicts were fought between Crown troops, aided by settlers and some allied Māori (known as kupapa), and numerous Māori groups opposed to the disputed land sales; some tribes were not involved. Although these resulted in relatively few Māori or European deaths, the colonial government confiscated tracts of tribal land as punishment for what they called rebellion, in some cases taking land from tribes that had taken no part in the war. Some of the confiscated land was returned to both kupapa and "rebel" Māori; other land was used to facilitate colonial expansion in New Zealand. Several minor conflicts also arose after the wars, including the incident at Parihaka in 1881 and the Dog Tax War from 1897–98.

The Native Land Acts of 1862 and 1865 established the Native Land Court, which had the purpose of transferring Māori land from communal ownership into individual title. Māori land under individual title became available to be sold to the colonial government or to settlers in private sales. Between 1840 and 1890 Māori lost 95 percent of their land (63,000,000 of 66,000,000 acres (270,000 km²) in 1890). In total 4% of this was confiscated land, although about a quarter of this was returned. Individual Māori titleholders received considerable capital from these land sales, although disputes later arose over whether or not promised compensation in some sales was fully delivered. However, the subsequent loss of land hampered Māori participation in the growing New Zealand economy, eventually diminishing the capacity of many iwi to sustain themselves.

20th century

Decline and revival

By the late 19th century a widespread belief existed amongst both Pākehā and Māori that the Māori population would cease to exist as a separate race or culture and become assimilated into the European population. In 1840, New Zealand had a Māori population of about 100,000 and only about 2,000 Europeans. By 1860 it was estimated at 50,000. The Māori population had declined to 37,520 in the 1871 census, although Te Rangi Hīroa (Sir Peter Buck) believed this figure was too low. The figure was 42,113 in the 1896 census, by which time Europeans numbered more than 700,000. By 1936 the Māori figure was 82,326, although the sudden rise in the 1930s was probably due to the introduction of the family benefit − only payable when a birth was registered, according to Professor Poole.

Late twentieth-century house-post depicting the navigator Kupe fighting two sea creatures. Māori carvings often contain spiral patterns and paua shells, as can be seen in this image.

Sir Apirana Ngata became instrumental in the revival of traditional arts such as kapa haka and carving. He also promoted farming as a means of land-retention.

Whina Cooper leads the Māori Land March through Hamilton in 1975. Māori protests gathered pace in the 1960s and 1970s seeking redress for historical grievances.

The decline of the Māori population did not continue, and levels recovered. Despite a substantial level of intermarriage between the Māori and European populations, many Māori retained their cultural identity. A number of discourses developed as to the meaning of "Māori" and to who counted as Māori or not. (Māori do not form a monolithic bloc, and no one political or tribal authority can speak on behalf of all Māori.) There is no racial test to determine who is Māori or not, merely an affinity with one's Māori ancestry (regardless of how remote).

From the late 19th century, successful Māori politicians such as James Carroll, Apirana Ngata, Te Rangi Hīroa and Maui Pomare emerged. They showed skill in the arts of Pākehā politics; at one point Carroll became Acting Prime Minister. The group, known as the Young Māori Party, cut across voting-blocs in Parliament and aimed to revitalise the Māori people after the devastation of the previous century. For them this involved assimilation — Māori adopting European ways of life such as Western medicine and education. However Ngata in particular also wished to preserve traditional Māori culture, especially the arts. Ngata acted as a major force behind the revival of arts such as kapa haka and carving. He also enacted a programme of land development which helped many iwi retain and develop their land.

By the start of the 20th century, a greater awareness had emerged of a unified Māori identity, particularly in comparison to Pākehā, who now overwhelmingly outnumbered the Māori as a whole. Māori and Pākehā societies remained largely separate – socially, culturally, economically and geographically – for much of the 19th and early 20th centuries. The key reason for this was that Māori remained almost exclusively a rural population, whereas increasingly the European population was urban especially after 1900. Nevertheless, Māori groups continued to engage with the government and in legal processes to increase their standing in – and ultimately further their incorporation into – wider New Zealand society.. The main point of contact with the government were the four Māori Members of Parliament.

World Wars and urbanisation

The government decided to exempt Māori from the conscription that applied to other citizens in World War II, but Māori volunteered in large numbers, forming the 28th or Māori Battalion, which performed creditably, notably in Crete, North Africa and Italy. Altogether 17,000 Māori took part in the war.

Many Māori migrated to larger rural towns and cities during the Depression and post-WWII periods in search of employment, leaving rural communities depleted and disconnecting many urban Māori from their traditional social controls and tribal homelands. Yet while standards of living improved among Māori, they continued to lag behind Pākehā in areas such as health, income, skilled employment and access to higher levels of education. Māori leaders and government policymakers alike struggled to deal with social issues stemming from increased urban migration, including a shortage of housing and jobs, and a rise in urban crime, poverty and health problems. In regards to housing, a 1961 census revealed significant differences in the living conditions of Māori and Europeans. That year, out of all the (unshared) non-Māori private dwellings in New Zealand, 96.8% had a bath or shower, 94.1% a hot water service, 88.7% a flush toilet, 81.6% a refrigerator, and 78.6% an electric washing machine. By contrast, for all (unshared) Māori private dwellings that same year, 76.8% had a bath or shower, 68.9% a hot water service, 55.8% a refrigerator, 54.1% a flush toilet, and 47% an electric washing machine.

The urbanisation of Māori proceeded apace in the second half of the 20th century. A majority of Māori people now live in cities and towns, and many have become estranged from tribal roots and customs.

Protests and political redress

Main articles: Māori protest movement and Treaty of Waitangi claims and settlements

Since the 1960s, Māoridom has undergone a cultural revival strongly connected with a protest movement. Government recognition of the growing political power of Māori and political activism have led to limited redress for unjust confiscation of land and for the violation of other property rights. The Crown set up the Waitangi Tribunal, a body with the powers of a Commission of Enquiry, to investigate and make recommendations on such issues, but it cannot make binding rulings. As a result of the redress paid to many iwi (tribes), Māori now have significant interests in the fishing and forestry industries. Tensions remain, with complaints from Māori that the settlements occur at a level of between 1 and 2.5 cents on the dollar of the value of the confiscated lands. The Government need not accept the findings of the Waitangi Tribunal, and has rejected some of them, with a most recent and widely-debated example in the New Zealand foreshore and seabed controversy.

There are seven designated Māori seats in the Parliament of New Zealand (and Māori can and do stand in and win general roll seats), and consideration of and consultation with Māori have become routine requirements for councils and government organisations. Debate occurs frequently as to the relevance and legitimacy of the Māori electoral roll, and the National Party announced in 2008 it would abolish the seats when all historic Treaty settlements have been resolved, which it aims to complete by 2014.

During the 1990s and 2000s, the government negotiated with Māori to provide redress for breaches by the Crown of the guarantees set out in the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840. By 2006 the government had provided over NZ$900 million in settlements, much of it in the form of land deals. The largest settlement, signed on 25 June 2008 with seven Māori iwi, transferred nine large tracts of forested land to Māori control.

Modern challenges

In many areas of New Zealand, Māori lost its role as a living community language used by significant numbers of people in the post-war years. In tandem with calls for sovereignty and for the righting of social injustices from the 1970s onwards, many New Zealand schools now teach Māori culture and language, and pre-school kohanga reo ("language-nests") have started, which teach tamariki (young children) exclusively in Māori. These now extend right through secondary schools (kura tuarua). In 2004 Māori Television, a government-funded channel committed to broadcasting primarily in te reo, began. Māori is an official language de jure, but English is de facto the national language. At the 2006 Census, Māori was the second most widely-spoken language after English, with four percent of New Zealanders able to speak Māori to at least a conversational level. No official data has been gathered on fluency levels.

Māori on average have fewer assets than the rest of the population, and run greater risks of many negative economic and social outcomes. Over 50% of Māori live in areas in the three highest deprivation deciles, compared with 24% of the rest of the population. Although Māori make up only 14% of the population, they make up almost 50% of the prison population. Māori have higher unemployment-rates than other cultures resident in New Zealand Māori have higher numbers of suicides than non-Māori. "Only 47% of Māori school-leavers finish school with qualifications higher than NCEA Level One; compared to 74% European; 87% Asian." Māori suffer more health problems, including higher levels of alcohol and drug abuse, smoking and obesity. Less frequent use of healthcare services mean that late diagnosis and treatment intervention lead to higher levels of morbidity and mortality in many manageable conditions, such as cervical cancer, diabetes per head of population than non-Māori. Māori also have considerably lower life-expectancies compared to New Zealanders of European ancestry: Māori males 69.0 years vs. non-Māori males 77.2 years; Māori females 73.2 yrs vs. non-Māori females 81.9 years. Also, a recent study by the New Zealand Family Violence Clearinghouse showed that Māori women and children are more likely to experience domestic violence than any other ethnic group.

There is a growing Māori middle class of high achievers who see the treaty settlements as a platform for economic development.

Bibliography

• Hill, Richard S (2009). "Maori and State Policy". In Byrnes, Giselle (ed.). The New Oxford History of New Zealand. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-558471-4.
• Howe, K. R. (2003). The quest for origins: who first discovered and settled the Pacific islands?. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 0-14-301857-4.
• Howe, Kerry (2006). "Ideas of Māori Origins". In Māori Peoples of New Zealand: Ngā Iwi o Aotearoa. Te Ara – The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Auckland: David Bateman.
• Irwin, Geoffrey (2006). "Pacific Migrations". In Māori Peoples of New Zealand: Ngā Iwi o Aotearoa. Te Ara – The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Auckland: David Bateman.
• King, Michael (1996). Maori: A Photographic and Social History (2nd ed.). Auckland: Reed Publishing. ISBN 0-7900-0500-X.
• King, Michael (2003). The Penguin History of New Zealand. Penguin. ISBN 0-14-301867-1.
• Lashley, Marilyn E. (2006). "Remedying Racial and Ethnic Inequality in New Zealand: Reparative and Distributive Policies of Social Justice". In Myers, Samuel L.; Corrie, Bruce P. (eds.). Racial and ethnic economic inequality: an international perspective, volume 1996. New York: Peter Lang. ISBN 0-8204-5656-X.
• McIntosh, Tracey (2005), 'Maori Identities: Fixed, Fluid, Forced', in James H. Liu, Tim McCreanor, Tracey McIntosh and Teresia Teaiwa, eds, New Zealand Identities: Departures and Destinations, Wellington: Victoria University Press
• Mead, Hirini Moko (2003). Tikanga Māori: living by Māori values. Wellington: Huia Publishers. ISBN 1-877283-88-6.
• Orange, Claudia (1989). The Story of a Treaty. Wellington: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 0-04-641053-8.
• Sorrenson, M. P. K (1997). "Modern Māori: The Young Maori Party to Mana Motuhake". In Sinclair, Keith (ed.). The Oxford Illustrated History of New Zealand (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-558381-7.