Da Cousins

Hawai'i is only one of the Polynesian island cultures. Polynesia (many islands) is the home of many unique and exotic cultures. We'll dedicate this page to others as we go along.
The Maoris of New Zealand
Haere Mai, welcome	Haka, Dance of a Noble People		Some Important Events in New Zealand's History
Haere Mai, welcome. The land of New Zealand "is a land of majestic snow-capped peaks and unexplored rain forests, of pristine lakes swarming with trout and turquoise ocean bays speckled with wooded isles, of glaciers and fiords, geysers and volcanoes. it is a land of kauri forests and kiwifruit plantations, of modern cosmopolitan cities and backcountry sheep stations, of the flightless kiwi, the prehistoric tuatara, Phar Lap, Split Enz and Sir Edmund Hillary. Perhaps most important of all, it is the land of the Maori, the indigenous Polynesian inhabitants who have made these islands their home for at least 12 centuries. Pacific anthropologists say the Maori came to these islands by outrigger canoe about the A.D. 8th century. Maori legend tells a much different story, about the birth of all life in the stillness of a long dark night, *Te Po, from the primordial parents - Rangi, the sky father, and Papa, the earth mother. Tane, the god of the forests and their eldest son, pulled himself free of his parents in the darkness and with great effort, over a long time period, pushed them apart. He decorated Rangi* with the sun, moon and stars, and Papa with plant and animal life, thereby flooding this new universe with light and colour. But Rangi's sorrow at the parting from his mate caused tears to flood from his eyes, filling her surface with oceans and lakes."* *Source: Insight Guides: New Zealand, APA Publications, 3rd Edition (2nd reprint), pg. 15.
Haka, The Dance of a Noble People "What is Haka? Haka is the generic name for all Maori dance. Today, haka is defined as that part of the Maori dance repertoire where the men are to the fore with the women lending vocal support in the rear. Most haka seen today are haka taparahi, haka without weapons. An essential feature of haka taparahi is that at some stage during the haka the performers sink to the ground. As the haka concludes, the performers rise once more to a standing position. Haka taparahi, traditionally, began and ended with the performers upright. Haka, however, is more than dance. It is, as stated by the late Hamana Mahuika of Ngati Porou: ...not merely a pasttime, but it was also a custom of high social importance in the welcoming and entertainment of visitors. Tribal reputation often rose or fell on their ability to perform the haka. (Dewes, Te Kapunga, ed. Maori literature: He haka taparahi: men's ceremonial dance-poetry. p.2. Wellington, Department of Anthropology, Victoria University of Wellington, 1972. Of all the definitions of haka, that of Alan Armstrong in his book Maori Games and Haka (Reed, 1964), is the most apt and the most descriptive: The haka is a composition played by many instruments. Hands, feet, legs, body, voice, tongue and eyes all play their part in blending together to convey in their fullness the challenge, welcome, exultation, defiance or contempt of the words. It is disciplined, yet emotional. More than any other aspect of Maori culture, this complex dance is an expression of the passion, vigour and identity of the race. It is at best, truly, a message of the soul expressed by words and posture... Source: HAKA! THE DANCE OF A NOBLE PEOPLE, Timoti Karetu, Reed Publishing (NZ) Ltd., pp. 24, 25
"Some Important Events in New Zealand History:
c950		Polynesian explorer Kupe reaches New Zealand by canoe from Hawaiki. Circles North Island, probably touches South Island and returns to tell his people about the discovery.
c1150		Explorers Chief Toi and his grandson, Whatonga, arrive by canoe from Hawaiki and find inhabitants. One of them may have stayed in New Zealand while the other returned home to tell his people.
c1350		Arrival of an organized migration from Hawaiki, including seven or more canoes. Permanent settlement begins.
1503		French seafarer de Gonneville possibly sights New Zealand coast.
1521		Portuguese caravel probably stranded off North Island's west coast.
1576		Spanish sea captain Juan Fernandez may have landed in New Zealand.
1642		Dutch explorer Abel Tasman sails up South Island's west coast and anchors in Golden Bay, but is driven away by a hostile Maori tribe. Tasman thinks he has touched Staten Island off the tip of South America.
1769		English explorer James Cook lands at points on North Island's east coast on first of three voyages. Claims New Zealand for the British Crown.
1790		First European whalers, sealers and kauriwood traders arrive.
1814		First missionaries start converting the Maori to Christianity.
1838		French captain Jean Langlois provisionally buys land on Banks Peninsula in the hope of establishing a French colony in New Zealand.
1840		Treaty of Waitangi between Queen Victoria and Maori chiefs secures New Zealand for the British Empire, with a guarantee of Maori land rights. Wellington is founded as a colony by the New Zealand Company.
1845		First outbreak of fighting as Maori fiercely resist seizure or forced sale of their lands by European colonists.
1848		Dunedin is founded as an organized Scottish Presbyterian colony.
1850		Christchurch is founded as an organized Anglican settlement.
1852		First gold strike is recorded in Coromandel. The first parliament, with two chambers, is established in Auckland.
1855		Earthquake raises Wellington's coastline and harbour floor.
1860		Land Wars break out in the Taranaki and soon spread to other parts of the North Island. Violent conflicts last for two decades.
1861		Gold-rush begins in Otago, in the South Island.
1865		Capital moves from Auckland to Wellington.
1867		First four Maori members of Parliament are elected.
1870		Economic depression sets in as the gold-rush peters out.
1882		First refrigerator ship sails to London in 98 days with cargo of frozen meat. Start of a new economic era for New Zealand.
1893		New Zealand is the first country in the world to give women the vote.
1907		New Zealand, heretofore a colony, becomes a completely self-governing dominion of the British Empire.
1914		New Zealand enters the First World War on the Allied side.
1918		End of the First World War. New Zealand receives control over mandated territory of West Samoa.
1919		New Zealand joins the League of Nations.
1931		Earthquake destroys Napier, raises coast and harbour floor.
1935		Labour Party wins parliamentary majority, introduces the 40-hour work week and starts nationalization.
1939-45		New Zealand fights in Second Word War on Allied side.
1947		New Zealand becomes an independent, autonomous member of the British Commonwealth of Nations.
1950		New Zealand contributes troops to UN forces in Korea.
1953		First conquest of Mount Everest by New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary.
1962		West Samoa gains independence.
1973		Britain joins the European Common Market, ending preferential trade with New Zealand. Start of a new, precarious economic era for New Zealand.
1975		National Party (conservative) wins the general election.
1984		Labour Party is returned to power and initiates neutralist, anti-nuclear foreign policy."***

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