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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...
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...
Representational image of a tamil bell from inside of Meenakshi Hindu temple in Tamil Nadu, South India. Source: Владимир Журавлёв / Adobe Stock

The Age-Old Mystery of New Zealand’s Tamil Bell

It was 1836 when William Celenso, a Christian missionary from Cornwall in England, first stumbled upon the mysterious Tamil Bell in a remote Maori village in New Zealand. It was being used as a...
Scientists Bring Global Pole Shift Fears Into Focus

Scientists Bring Global Pole Shift Fears Into Focus

Scientists have published a paper revealing the catastrophic effects of a “Laschamps excursion” around 42,000-years-ago. A Lascah-what? A “Laschamps excursion” is better known in today’s vocabulary...
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...
The site of secondary mining of Phosphate rock in Nauru, 2007.        Source: CC BY 2.0

Nauru, The Tiny Nation with a Blackened Name

One of the many micro-nations in the Pacific is Nauru, once known as Pleasant Island. This small island has a rich and complex history. It is the third-smallest country in the world and, at one point...
Preserved Megalapteryx (moa) foot, Natural History Museum.

The Frightening Discovery of the Mount Owen Claw

By April Holloway | The Epoch Times Nearly three decades ago, a team of archaeologists were carrying out an expedition inside a large cave system on Mount Owen in New Zealand when they stumbled...
An aerial view of Atafu atoll in Tokelau         Source: DFAT / CC BY 2.0

Tokelau, a Small Nation with Great Traditions

Many dream of living on an island in the Pacific beneath endless blue skies and along golden beaches, far from the stresses of modern living. While few have heard of the islands of Tokelau, fewer...
Scenic Talava Arch, Niue                   Source:  Brian Scantlebury / Adobe Stock

Behold the Coconut! There’s Nothing Savage About Niue

There are many small countries in the vast South Pacific and they are often unknown to the world outside the region. Niue is one of these - a tiny country with a unique culture as a result of its...
An illustration shows the approximate height of a giant penguin next to a woman. Source: Canterbury Museum

Huge Penguins Added to the List of New Zealand’s Extinct Species

A new species of giant penguin - about 1.6 meters (5.25 ft.) tall - has been identified from fossils found in Waipara, North Canterbury. The discovery of Crossvallia waiparensis , a monster penguin...
Palmerston Island part of the Cook Islands.

Populating Palmerston Island: One Man, Three Wives and A Desert Island Paradise

Palmerston Island is part of the Cook Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. This island is one of the six main islands located on a coral atoll and is the only one that is inhabited. Palmerston Island...
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...
 Preserved Megalapteryx (moa) foot, Natural History Museum

Extinct Bird with Dinosaur-Like Claw May Soon Be Resurrected

A clawed, flightless bird that went extinct in New Zealand in the late 13th century might be brought back to life, claim scientists at Harvard University. Nearly three decades ago, archaeologists...
 “Big Foot”

The Maero: Bigfoot in New Zealand Folklore

The Maero is a creature found in the mythology of the Māori, the indigenous people of New Zealand. This mythological creature may be described as a type of wildman, like the Yeti of the Himalayas, or...
The Waitomo Glowworm Cave, New Zealand

Living Lights: Majestic Glowworm Cave of Waitomo is Like a Starry Night

The Waitomo Glowworm Cave is a magnificent subterranean cave system in Waitomo, New Zealand, which as its name suggests, is renowned for its glowworm population. The glowworms, sometimes referred to...
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 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...
Kaipawa Harbour

Unknown Shipwreck could rewrite New Zealand history

Last week, an 11-year-old boy stumbled upon an old bronze canon in Darwin, Australia that predates the arrival of the acclaimed Captain James Cook to the continent in 1770. Now, a new discovery has...
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...
Ancient New Zealanders

Archaeologists Reveal Details about Lifestyle of First New Zealanders

A new study published in the international journal, PLOS ONE, has revealed new information about the diet, lifestyles and movements of the very first New Zealanders by analysing their bones and teeth...

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