{"id":28087,"date":"2026-07-13T12:26:37","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T06:56:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=28087"},"modified":"2026-07-13T14:49:36","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T09:19:36","slug":"maori","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/maori\/","title":{"rendered":"Maori"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>Maori Latest News<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Addressing the Indian community in Auckland, Prime Minister recently invoked the Maori concept of &#8216;waka&#8217; to describe India-New Zealand ties. <\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>About Maori<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Maori Tribe is an <\/span><b>indigenous tribe<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> who have inhabited<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/new-zealand\/\" target=\"_blank\"><b> New Zealand<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for centuries.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>New Zealand<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> consists of <\/span><b>two islands<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the<\/span><b> North Island<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and the<\/span><b> South Island.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The South Island is larger and more mountainous than the North Island.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The vast <\/span><b>majority<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (86%) of present-day Maori <\/span><b>live on the North Island.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They<\/span><b> first arrived<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on the islands in the early <\/span><b>13th century.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Today M\u0101ori make up about <\/span><b>a sixth of New Zealand\u2019s population.\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Culturally, they are Polynesians<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, most closely related to eastern Polynesians.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Maori culture has endured <\/span><b>centuries of torture and struggle<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, first in the hands of the \u2018Crown\u2019, and later others who wished to claim a spot on their land.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Language:\u00a0<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Maori is classified as part of the <\/span><b>Polynesian group<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of the Eastern Oceanic Branch of the <\/span><b>Austronesian languages.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Approximately one-third of the Maori still speak their ancestral language, with the vast majority fluent in English as well.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>M\u0101ori language is an official language<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of New Zealand.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At the center of M\u0101ori tradition is the <\/span><b>marae<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2014a<\/span><b> sacred, communal meeting ground.\u00a0<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The marae usually consists of <\/span><b>buildings and an open space<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is used within the community for important<\/span><b> meetings, communal meals<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, arts and crafts, and cultural shows.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A famous aspect of Maori culture is the <\/span><b>Haka<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, a <\/span><b>powerful war dance<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> known for its <\/span><b>intensity, facial expressions<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and <\/span><b>rhythm<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Their distinctive costumes serve as a visual expression of their heritage, reflecting their deep connection to the land and ancestral spirits.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Another very prominent identity of the Maori people are their <\/span><b>tattoos<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which can be <\/span><b>seen on their faces.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These<\/span><b> tattoos are called \u2018ta moko\u2019<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> which is a <\/span><b>traditional Maori art form,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> deeply symbolic and respected.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ta moko designs are <\/span><b>unique to each person<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and are a depiction of their social status, their genealogy, what they have done for society, and more.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In recent decades, there has been a<\/span><b> resurgence of M\u0101ori culture and activism, <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">particularly following the civil rights movements in the 1960s and the establishment of the<\/span><b> Treaty of Waitangi Act in 1975,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> which <\/span><b>allowed for claims regarding historical grievances.\u00a0\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>What is Waka?<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Waka means a <\/span><b>canoe or vessel.\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, <\/span><b>in Maori culture<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the meaning of waka goes far beyond that of a boat. It<\/span><b> symbolises a shared journey, unity, and cooperation.\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Maori is an indigenous tribe who have inhabited New Zealand for centuries. Read more about Maori, Country, Language, Latest News.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":112896,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[8667],"class_list":["post-28087","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-upsc-prelims-current-affairs","tag-maori","no-featured-image-padding"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28087","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28087"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28087\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":112997,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28087\/revisions\/112997"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/112896"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28087"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28087"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28087"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}