Who were the original inhabitants of New Zealand?

Māori are the tangata whenua, the indigenous people, of New Zealand. They came here more than 1000 years ago from their mythical Polynesian homeland of Hawaiki. Today, one in seven New Zealanders identify as Māori. Their history, language and traditions are central to New Zealand’s identity.

Who was on New Zealand before the Māori?

Māori were the first to arrive in New Zealand, journeying in canoes from Hawaiki about 1,000 years ago. A Dutchman, Abel Tasman, was the first European to sight the country but it was the British who made New Zealand part of their empire.

When did Moriori arrive in NZ?

1400 AD
The people who became the Moriori arrived on the islands from Eastern Polynesia and New Zealand around 1400 AD. They had no contact with other people for about 400 years, and developed their own distinct culture.

Did the Māori eat the Moriori?

That the Moriori were primitive, inferior folk. And that eventually, when Māori arrived on these shores, they massacred, ate, and completely wiped out the Moriori people. The myth was busted decades ago – yet it has persisted for generations.

Are Māori and Moriori the same?

It was once believed that Moriori were a Melanesian people, but it is now thought that they share the same Polynesian ancestry as Māori people. Current research indicates that Moriori came to the Chatham Islands from New Zealand about 1500.

Who invaded New Zealand?

Though a Dutchman was the first European to sight the country, it was the British who colonised New Zealand.

Who was the first person to discover New Zealand?

explorer Abel Tasman
The dutch explorer Abel Tasman is officially recognised as the first European to ‘discover’ New Zealand in 1642. His men were the first Europeans to have a confirmed encounter with Māori.

Did Moriori live in NZ before Māori?

According to that story, Moriori arrived on mainland Aotearoa before Māori but were pushed out to the Chathams by later and more dominant Māori migrants arriving from Polynesia. For the record, the first Moriori ancestors, according to our own traditions, arrived directly from Eastern Polynesia to Rēkohu.

What percentage of New Zealand’s population is Maori?

In the 2018 census, there were 775,836 people in New Zealand identifying as Māori, making up 16.5 per cent of the national population. They are the second-largest ethnic group in New Zealand, after European New Zealanders (” Pākehā “). In addition, more than 140,000 Māori live in Australia.

How did Maori come to New Zealand?

According to legend, Māori came to New Zealand from Hawaiki . Current anthropological thinking places their origin in eastern Polynesia, mostly likely from the Southern Cook or Society Islands region, and says that they arrived by deliberate voyages in seagoing canoes -possibly double-hulled, and probably sail-rigged.

How did the New Zealand Maori get their food?

Pre European Māori Ingredients. Māori brought edible plants from their homeland,including kūmara,yam and taro.

How did the Maori arrive at New Zealand?

in New Zealand It is generally thought that the Maori’s arrived by canoe in several waves from eastern Polynesia between 1250 and 1350 C.E. However, there are alternative viewpoints that say that people inhabited New Zealand well before that time.