Maori Culture

Some key moments in Aotearoa - New Zealand's Maori history from Polynesian migrations and British colonisation to the modern renaissance of Maori language.

'Kai' is the Māori word for food. New Zealand's indigenous Māori people were traditionally hunters, gatherers and crop farmers, who gathered food from forest, stream, sea and garden.

Rongoa is the Māori term for medicines that are produced from native plants in New Zealand.

Since man first stepped ashore on the islands of New Zealand, the sea and sailing have played a vital role in the lives of New Zealanders.

A conservator specialising in Māori and Pacific objects has turned an expert hand to restoring one of New Zealand’s oldest surviving Māori waka (canoe).

The pōwhiri or pōhiri, a central part of Māori protocol, is a ceremony of welcome involving speeches, dancing, singing and hongi.

New Zealand Māori chef Charles Royal has come a long way since his days as a field chef in the New Zealand Army when the bush was a means of survival.

In recent years New Zealand has seen a resurgence in the traditional practice of ta moko – the permanent body and face marking of the indigenous Māori people.

Ta moko - traditional Māori tattooing, often on the face - is a taonga (treasure) to Māori for which the purpose and applications are sacred.

Skies above New Zealand will sparkle with extra significance in 2009 as the International Year of Astronomy sees some major initiatives in 'astro tourism'.