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Maori

Rakau Momori Moriori tree carvings. Source: Royston Vasey / CC BY-SA 3.0

Endangered Heritage: The Rakau Momori Tree Carvings of the Moriori

Wood carving, or whakairo , has a long and rich history in Maori culture. Traditionally, Maori artisans, utilizing woods like totara, kauri and pohutukawa, crafted intricate designs laden with...
Assyrian relief carving, circa 883 to 859 BC, which includes a representation which looks surprisingly similar to modern-day handbags. Source: Public domain

Why Are Mysterious Handbags Prevalent in Ancient Carvings Worldwide?

One of the more mysterious symbols that has been found in carvings from the ancient world is an image that looks uncannily like a modern-day handbag. The shape appears in depictions made by the...
Screenshot of recently discovered traditional waka canoe. Source: Screenshot/1 News

Delighted Maori Recover ‘Hidden’ Waka Canoe in New Zealand River

A long-abandoned waka , the traditional canoe of the Maori people, was recently discovered in the shallow waters of the Patea River in the Taranaki region of western New Zealand. Current estimates...
Antiquity’s Fierce Child Warriors Who Died For Their Tribes

Antiquity’s Fierce Child Warriors Who Died For Their Tribes

Standing at the spearhead of many of history's greatest battles were battalions of grotesque weapon wielding, combat-trained children, as ready and willing as their parents to die for their city-...
Maoris Credited With First Discovery of Antarctica in Latest Study

Maoris Credited With First Discovery of Antarctica in Latest Study

A new historical analysis has called into question the accepted story about the discovery of Antarctica. The continent was supposedly first seen by Russian and British explorers in the early 19th...
The Mythological Maori Origin Stories

The Mythological Maori Origin Stories of New Zealand

The Maori people (Māori) are the natives of New Zealand who, like other societies, have myths that are related to the creation of the world and mankind. These Maori creation stories were memorized...
Matariki: Mythology, Astronomy and Warring Gods of the Maori New Year

Matariki: Mythology, Astronomy and Warring Gods of the Maori New Year

The Māori, or the indigenous Polynesian people of New Zealand , use a special word Matariki , which identifies the cluster of stars known to astronomers as the Pleiades, and to mythologists and...
Gods Forgotten Mount Sea Mountain Frozen Ocean

The Mythological Pantheon of Ancient Islands: Cosmic Sharks and Whale Riders

Complicated words and pictures printed on parents’ newspapers mean absolutely nothing in the imaginative realm of children; however magical beings, fantastic creatures and obscure landscapes...
A Maori Warrior

The Maori: A Rich and Cherished Culture at the World’s Edge

New Zealand was one of the last landmasses to be colonized by humans. When Pleistocene megafauna had gone extinct elsewhere in the world, New Zealand was still inhabited by the moas, giant flightless...
Te Wairoa Dwelling

Te Wairoa: The Buried Village of New Zealand

Te Wairoa Village was established by the Christian missionary in 1848, but by the time the eruption of Mt. Tarawera buried the site in volcanic debris, it had survived for less than 40 years. Its...
Legends of The Sun: From Solar Gods to Flying Chariots

Legends of The Sun: From Solar Gods to Flying Chariots

Thanks to scientific discoveries, we know for certain that life on Earth depends upon the sun. But long before scientists even discovered that our planet revolves around it, ancient cultures...
Bones and stone tools found at the site of the Māori village

14th Century Maori Village Brought to Light by Logging Yard Project

Archaeologists in New Zealand have made a special discovery at Eastland Port in Gisborne. They have unearthed the indications of a 14th century Maori (Māori) village, a rare find for the area. The...
Maori Warrior

Maori Artifacts Indicate Early Polynesian Settlement on New Zealand Island

Live Science reports that a team of archaeologists in New Zealand has been untangling the mysteries of an early Polynesian settlement near the northern tip of the islands that could have been...
“The Painted Ones” hand-colored version of Theodor de Bry’s engraving of a Pict woman who is either painted or tattooed.

Power, Perils and Rites of Passage – The History of the Female Tattoo

Emily Poelina-Hunter / The Conversation Almost a quarter of Australian women now have tattoos - a trend some attribute to the influence of feminism. What I find interesting is that the mainstreaming...
The Spirit of the Dead Keeps Watch’ (1892) by Paul Gauguin.

Ghost Beliefs in Polynesia: When Spirits Return and Possess

A belief in ghosts is held by many cultures (both modern and ancient) around the world. Some of these ghost beliefs are well-known, whilst others, such as those held by the Polynesians, are less so...
A Māori warrior.

Mokomokai: Preservation of the Tattooed Maori Heads of New Zealand

Mokomokai are preserved heads that are produced by the Māoris of New Zealand. These are not just any heads, but heads that have been decorated by moko. Moko is a traditional art form practiced by the...
“Tourist art” bullroarer decorated with a kangaroo design.

The Bullroarer: An Instrument That Whirls Through Cultures and Time

Music is believed to have been made by human beings since prehistoric times. Paleolithic tombs suggest that one of the earliest and longest-surviving artifacts that can be called a ‘musical...
Tattooed Maori head

Tattooed Maori head returns to New Zealand from British Museum

It’s not every day that someone receives a tattooed mummified head as a gift, but this is exactly what happened when Maori elders and New Zealand officials met with officials from Guernsey museum in...