Culture of New Zealand
The culture of New Zealand is largely inherited from British and European custom, interwoven with Maori and Polynesian tradition.
Māori culture has predominated for most of New Zealand's history of human habitation. Māori voyagers reached the islands of New Zealand some time before 1300, though exact dates are uncertain. Over the ensuing centuries of Māori expansion and settlement, Māori culture diverged from its Polynesian roots. Māori established separate tribes, built fortified villages (Pā), hunted and fished, traded commodities, developed agriculture, arts and weaponry, and kept a detailed oral history. Regular European contact began approximately 200 years ago, and British immigration proceeded rapidly during the nineteenth century.
New Zealand marks two national days of remembrance, Waitangi Day and ANZAC Day, and also celebrates holidays during or close to the anniversaries of the founding dates of each province. The national anthem, "God Defend New Zealand" is often sung with alternating Māori and English verses. Many citizens prefer to minimize ethnic divisions, simply calling themselves New Zealanders or Kiwis.
The two main cultures of New Zealand is the Maori Culture and the Pākehā culture (New Zealand European)
Maori Culture
Central to many cultural events is the marae, where families and tribes gather for special occasions, such as pōwhiri or tangi.
Tangi is a traditional Māori funeral ritual.
Powhiri is a welcoming ceremony involving speeches, dancing, singing and finally the hongi.
Hongi is used at traditional meetings among Māori people and on major ceremonies and serves a similar purpose to a formal handshake in modern western culture
The distinct values, history, and worldview of Maori are expressed through traditional arts and skills such as carving, weaving, and the performance of art.
Europeans migrated to New Zealand in increasing numbers from the late 18th century, and the weapon technologies and diseases they introduced destabilised Māori society. After 1840, Māori lost much of their land and mana (prestige and authority), entering a period of cultural and numerical decline. However their population began to increase again from the late 19th century, and a cultural revival began in the 1960s, sometimes known as the Maori Renaissance.
Pākehā culture
Pākehā culture (usually synonymous with New Zealand European) derives mainly from that of the British settlers who colonized New Zealand in the nineteenth century. Although it is recognisably related to British culture, it has always had distinct differences, and these have increased as time has gone on.Within Pākehā culture are sub-cultures derived from Irish, Italian and other European groups, as well as various non-ethnic subcultures.
New Zealand has three official languages: New Zealand English, Te Reo Māori (the Māori language), and New Zealand Sign Language.
ANZAC day
Anzac Day marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War. The acronym ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, whose soldiers were known as Anzacs. Anzac Day remains one of the most important national occasions of both Australia and New Zealand, a rare instance of two sovereign countries not only sharing the same remembrance day, but making reference to both countries in its name.
Waitangi Day
commemorates a significant day in the history of New Zealand. It is a public holiday held each year on 6 February to celebrate the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, New Zealand's founding document, on that date in 1840.
The Treaty made New Zealand a part of the British Empire, guaranteed Māori rights to their land and gave Māori the rights of British subjects.
Annual commemorations of the treaty signing began in 1947. The 1947 event was a Royal New Zealand Navy ceremony centering on a flagpole which the Navy had paid to erect in the grounds. The ceremony was brief and featured no Māori. The following year, a Māori speaker was added to the line-up, and subsequent additions to the ceremony were made nearly every year. From 1952, the Governor General attended, and from 1958 the Prime Minister also attended, although not every year. From the mid-1950s, a Māori cultural performance was usually given as part of the ceremony. Many of these early features remain a part of Waitangi Day ceremonies, including a naval salute, the Māori cultural performance (now usually a ceremonial welcome), and speeches from a range of Māori and Pākehā dignitaries.
In 1963, after a change in government, Waitangi Day was substituted for Auckland Anniversary Day as the provincial holiday in Northland.
Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_New_Zealand
Māori culture has predominated for most of New Zealand's history of human habitation. Māori voyagers reached the islands of New Zealand some time before 1300, though exact dates are uncertain. Over the ensuing centuries of Māori expansion and settlement, Māori culture diverged from its Polynesian roots. Māori established separate tribes, built fortified villages (Pā), hunted and fished, traded commodities, developed agriculture, arts and weaponry, and kept a detailed oral history. Regular European contact began approximately 200 years ago, and British immigration proceeded rapidly during the nineteenth century.
New Zealand marks two national days of remembrance, Waitangi Day and ANZAC Day, and also celebrates holidays during or close to the anniversaries of the founding dates of each province. The national anthem, "God Defend New Zealand" is often sung with alternating Māori and English verses. Many citizens prefer to minimize ethnic divisions, simply calling themselves New Zealanders or Kiwis.
The two main cultures of New Zealand is the Maori Culture and the Pākehā culture (New Zealand European)
Maori Culture
Central to many cultural events is the marae, where families and tribes gather for special occasions, such as pōwhiri or tangi.
Tangi is a traditional Māori funeral ritual.
 |
| An example of Hongi above |
Hongi is used at traditional meetings among Māori people and on major ceremonies and serves a similar purpose to a formal handshake in modern western culture
The distinct values, history, and worldview of Maori are expressed through traditional arts and skills such as carving, weaving, and the performance of art.
Europeans migrated to New Zealand in increasing numbers from the late 18th century, and the weapon technologies and diseases they introduced destabilised Māori society. After 1840, Māori lost much of their land and mana (prestige and authority), entering a period of cultural and numerical decline. However their population began to increase again from the late 19th century, and a cultural revival began in the 1960s, sometimes known as the Maori Renaissance.
Pākehā culture
Pākehā culture (usually synonymous with New Zealand European) derives mainly from that of the British settlers who colonized New Zealand in the nineteenth century. Although it is recognisably related to British culture, it has always had distinct differences, and these have increased as time has gone on.Within Pākehā culture are sub-cultures derived from Irish, Italian and other European groups, as well as various non-ethnic subcultures.
New Zealand has three official languages: New Zealand English, Te Reo Māori (the Māori language), and New Zealand Sign Language.
ANZAC day
Anzac Day marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War. The acronym ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, whose soldiers were known as Anzacs. Anzac Day remains one of the most important national occasions of both Australia and New Zealand, a rare instance of two sovereign countries not only sharing the same remembrance day, but making reference to both countries in its name.
Waitangi Day
commemorates a significant day in the history of New Zealand. It is a public holiday held each year on 6 February to celebrate the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, New Zealand's founding document, on that date in 1840.
The Treaty made New Zealand a part of the British Empire, guaranteed Māori rights to their land and gave Māori the rights of British subjects.
 |
| Prime Minister Helen Clark being welcomed in West Auckland, Waitangi Day 2006 |
Annual commemorations of the treaty signing began in 1947. The 1947 event was a Royal New Zealand Navy ceremony centering on a flagpole which the Navy had paid to erect in the grounds. The ceremony was brief and featured no Māori. The following year, a Māori speaker was added to the line-up, and subsequent additions to the ceremony were made nearly every year. From 1952, the Governor General attended, and from 1958 the Prime Minister also attended, although not every year. From the mid-1950s, a Māori cultural performance was usually given as part of the ceremony. Many of these early features remain a part of Waitangi Day ceremonies, including a naval salute, the Māori cultural performance (now usually a ceremonial welcome), and speeches from a range of Māori and Pākehā dignitaries.
In 1963, after a change in government, Waitangi Day was substituted for Auckland Anniversary Day as the provincial holiday in Northland.
Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_New_Zealand