Maori Culture
Visitors to New Zealand are presented with many opportunities to experience Maori culture first-hand. The best-known of these is the thermal region of Rotorua in the North Island, where tourists can experience Maori kai (food) cooked on hot stones underground as part of a traditional hangi. They can also enjoy a Maori powhiri (welcome ceremony), visit local marae (meeting grounds), listen to kapa haka (traditional performances of song and dance) and relax in the popular thermal pools.
Maori culture has been passed on from generation to generation through music, carvings, art, storytelling and reciting genealogies (whakapapa). The strength and beauty of Maori art is evident in architectural carving and interior designs of marae, and in ornate whakairo (carvings) in wood, bone or pounamu (greenstone or jade) for pendants and other taonga (treasures). Carving and weaving skills arose from the practical requirements of traditional Maori lifestyle. Fibre for clothing, ropes and other uses was created by weaving flax and other natural fibres. Hard New Zealand pounamu (greenstone or jade) was originally made into weapons and carving implements. Native wood was carved into spiritual objects that adorned Maori meeting houses (wharenui) and canoes. The modern outlet for the creation of such traditional objects comes through artworks, many of which are highly sought after in the art world.
Cultural Mix
The marriage between the Maori and European traditions in New Zealand has led to some unique cultural events. Rotorua's Opera in the Pa is an example of the way in which Maori and Pakeha (European) influences have given rise to a fresh Pacific culture. Maori and Polynesian voices sing the operatic works of Verdi, Puccini and Mozart at the sacred Rotowhio marae, against a backdrop of bush and geysers. Annual events, such as Pasifika in Auckland, display New Zealand's cultural diversity, of which Maori is the foundation. The festival has been running since 1993 and features traditional arts, music, entertainment and food of the 250,000 Pacific Island people who call Auckland home.
Two worlds combine
Many New Zealand writers fuse Maori culture and legend into works written in English. Keri Hulme won the prestigious Booker Prize in 1985 for her groundbreaking novel, The Bone People. Others to combine the two worlds and create distinctly New Zealand literature include Patricia Grace, Witi Ihimaera and Alistair Te Ariki Campbell.
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