The Maori

The New Zealand Maori are a fascinating and incredibly unique folk group. There are many intangible and tangible objects that make up their culture. The Maori people are strongly influenced by their environment and surroundings. They have traditions and rituals that have been in their culture for many years. They also have artifacts that reflect their culture. The Maori folk group is made up of many components such as the environment, their traditions, and also artifacts that have shaped their culture and made the culture what it has become.

The Maori are very creative and have their own style of art. Whether

it is in paintings, tattoos on their bodies, or in the carvings they make, they

all represent different aspects of their culture. The carvings the Maori make are very important to them. These carvings take a lot of time to make and

have many meanings behind them. They make the carvings resemble a famous

warrior in the group by including details of the face such as the tattoos. These

carvings represent the fierce warriors and are somewhat worshiped by the group.

Rituals make up a major part of any culture, but the rituals of the Maori

define the people perfectly. The Maori participate in funerals for the most respected members of the group. The funeral wakes generally last a few days and reunite the groups by requiring all relatives and acquaintances that live away from the village to come to the burial ceremony. This ceremony includes all of the

important aspects in the culture. When they perform the ceremony they introduce

their legends, myths, and songs from the past generations. Having these in the

ceremony are important because it is exposed to the younger generations which

they will perform and pass on to even younger generations.

The Maori live in the northern part of New Zealand and seem to be very secluded. New Zealand is a beautiful country and is full of fertile soil, forests, rivers, and is surrounded by a sea and ocean. This environment is very influential on the Maori. They take advantage of their environment and grow their own crops. They also