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The arrival of the Maori people to New Zealand is deemed as somewhat of a mystery. It is estimated that the first Polynesians arrived over 1000 years ago. Linguistic and cultural evidence suggests that the Maori travelled originally from the Cook Islands - an enormous feat at that time considering the prevailing winds make sailing in a southeast direction extremely difficult. It is because of this that the first navigators probably came here by design, looking for land whose presence may have been indicated by migratory birds, still flying these paths today. It is unknown if these first explorers actually settled here, or if in fact they returned to the Rarotongan Islands.
By the end of the C14th, Maori settlement had been established throughout New Zealand, most being in the warmer climes of the north (closer to that of their origins). Being Neolithic, devoid of hides and textiles, they clothed themselves in cloaks constructed with woven flax and adorned with dog fur or feathers provided by many native birds including kiwi and moa. The northern conditions were favourable for many of the subtropical food plants they brought with them, in particular Kumara. The Maori people also lived off the abundant produce provided by native birds and the sea. In the south the bird life was hunted to extinction, the most famous of which being the Moa, the spectacular flightless bird that could reach up to 3.7m in height.
Before they met Europeans, Maori had an intact and complete culture – in other words, their culture had a world view which encompassed everything in their lives: past, present and future. The Maori knew who they were, where they had come from (eg Maui fishing up the North Island) and how their world was created. They understood everything they ‘needed’ to in their world.
As the population increased, their lifestyle of opportunism gradually adjusted to a more conservative existence involving garden agriculture, storing of food and distinctive settlements emerged. Communities grew up around fertile land that was close to birding and fishing locations, resulting in a home focus for the whanau and connecting families in the hapu. Geographical features established natural territorial boundaries and as marriage loyalties were encouraged within the whanau and hapu, the iwi culture evolved.
Maori were very adaptable people. They had adapted from East Polynesia to very different circumstances in New Zealand. The modern view is that Maori were able to select and adapt that which they wanted or needed from their contact with Europeans up to 1840. This contrasts with the previously held view of passive Maori being severely affected by the arrival of Europeans. Maori culture continued, modified but intact, even after 1840; Maori were able to make decisions for themselves in the light of their own beliefs and practices.
At the beginning of the C19th there were a number of possible ways in which race relations between Maori and Europeans, mostly British, could have evolved. Maori could have kept Europeans and their culture out of NZ by refusing to deal with them and through the use of force. Such Europeans as chose to live in NZ might have been completely absorbed or assimilated into Maori culture, so that European influence was limited or prevented. Europeans could have been restricted in both number and place by Maori, so that Maori would have access to the European things they wanted, but also maintain control of their land and culture.
