According to Māori mythology, the demigod Māui (specifically Māui-tikitiki-a-Taranga) caught the North Island of New Zealand. Using a magic fishhook made from his grandmother’s jawbone, he fished it up from the sea, with the island (known as Te Ika-a-Māui or "The Fish of Māui") representing the fish, while his canoe was the South Island.
According to story, the fish of Maui is the North Island of New Zealand, which is shaped like a fish. Some tribes believe that the South Island is Maui's canoe and his hook is the cape at Heretaunga (Cape Kidnappers) on the east coast.
The next morning, when the waka was too far from land to return, he emerged from his hiding-place. His brothers would not lend him any bait, so he struck himself on the nose and baited the hook with his blood. Māui hauled a great fish, known as Hāhau-whenua, up from the depths.
Māui is said to have created Hawaii's islands by tricking his brothers. He convinced them to take him out fishing, but caught his hook on the ocean floor. He told his brothers that he had caught a big fish and told them to paddle as hard as they could.
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Who owns 98% of Maui?
In June 2012, Larry Ellison, then CEO of Oracle Corporation, purchased Castle & Cooke's 98% share of the island for $300 million. The state and individual homeowners own the remaining 2%, which includes the harbor and the homes where the 3,000 inhabitants live.
Noa is the opposite of Tapu and refers to ordinary, everyday things such as food or alcohol. Those two should be kept separated. That's why you should avoid sitting on pillows and touching or passing food over a person's head, since it's considered very sacred by Māori people.
The New Zealand land confiscations took place during the 1860s to punish the Kīngitanga movement for attempting to set up an alternative Māori form of government that forbade the selling of land to European settlers.
Alongside a highly successful game fishing career, working on the most successful boat in New Zealand for four years in a row, Matt wrote articles for New Zealand Fishing News and launched his television career with his own production company.
Hone Heke was the missionary-educated nephew of the famous and fearsome Maori warrior chief Hongi Hika, who terrorised many tribes throughout the north of New Zealand in the early 1800s.
Until 1974, and the passing of the Māori Affairs Amendment Act, a Māori was defined as someone with “half or more blood”. However, the definition was rather loosely applied, and did not require persons to provide proof of their “blood quantum” in order to receive whatever benefits were then available.
Yet, despite its allure, a significant portion of this island nation remains uninhabited. Approximately 80% of New Zealand's landmass lies untouched by human settlement.
Interestingly enough, the ancient Polynesians blended these two forms of storytelling to include real people who attained god-like powers with the fallibility of the human condition – creating what today we call demi-gods and goddesses. The most famous and well known of these is the demigod Maui.
However, it's estimated that there are only a handful of individuals who could be considered "full-blood" Māori, meaning they have no known non-Māori ancestors. In 2010, the New Zealand Herald reported that there were estimated to be around 20-30 individuals who could be considered "full-blood" Māori.
The British resorted to confiscating large areas of large used by the 'rebel' Maoris and using force to enforce the decisions of the courts but the Maori were not subject to the unlimited power used in new South Wales and South Africa where death squads were used to attempt the extermination of the local people.
Māori freehold land continues to be Māori land until the Māori Land Court changes its status. Today almost all Māori land is Māori freehold land. There are about 1.47 million hectares of Māori freehold land, which makes up roughly five percent of all land in Aotearoa.
This is because it was believed that others could find these body parts and place makutu on you. Cutting your hair and fingernails at night time meant that it would be easy for others to get a hold of these body parts and do harm to you.
A pūkana helps to emphasise a point in a song or haka and demonstrate the performer's ferocity, intensity or passion. For women, pūkana involves opening their eyes wide and jutting out their chin. For men, it means widening their eyes and stretching out their tongue or baring their teeth.
Sites or objects that Māori regard as tapu (sacred) are not to be touched or interacted with. The head is considered to be the most sacred part of the body and should not come into contact with other body parts. It is a cultural taboo to touch someone else's head without permission.
Filmmakers consulted the Oceanic Story Trust to help create respectful and accurate cultural portrayals. Lead actor Auli'i Cravalho, who voices Moana, is bisexual, but there isn't LGBTQ+ representation within the movie itself.
Simea is a supporting character in Disney's 2024 animated feature film Moana 2. She is a 3-year-old girl who is the youngest daughter of Chief Tui and Sina and the younger sister of Moana.
