Māori Daily Life
A short look at the traditional foods, clothing, and housing of Māori peoples.
Traditional Lifestyles of the Māori
The Polynesians who settled New Zealand around the 13th century brought with them a long tradition as farmers and fishermen. Their new home provided plenty of land and lush terrain, but relatively few food sources. Native plants like the fern root, while edible, often required extensive processing to be eaten safely. Similarly, the islands were home to few mammal species, with primarily birds, fish, and seals available.
To increase their food security, Polynesian explorers often brought more efficient crops from other islands. Most important of these were sweet potatoes (kumara), taro, yams, gourds, and cabbage trees. Māori farmers enhanced the somewhat poor soils of the island by improving their drainage, adding organic materials, and increasing their exposure to the sun. They used bottle gourds to make containers, carved bowls, and wove baskets from plant fibers. As a general rule, men did most of the farming, fishing, hunting, and tool-making within a village. Women, meanwhile, tended to the home, cooked meals in sand ovens called hangi, wove fabrics, and raised children.
The different clans of New Zealand all led distinct lifestyles within this common framework. Most families lived in rectangular thatched houses built with carved timber beams. Men and women often slept apart in separate areas. They wore a variety of clothing styles, most notably cloaks made from flax, feathers, or other natural fabrics. These were worn over skirts for women and breechcloths for men. Clothing quality, jewelry, tattoos, body paints, and hair style all marked a person’s wealth and status.
Modern Māori Lifestyles
After European arrivals, also known as Pakeha, began to settle the island, pork, poultry, potatoes, and other vegetables grew common among the Māori. The potato in particular proved easier to grow than standard crops and soon became a staple. The ‘boil-up,’ or pork and vegetables cooked in a hangi oven, remains a popular meal today. New textiles and clothing styles also emerged among the Māori as they conducted trade with outsiders. During this period of change, European lifestyles, industry, and Christianity altered much of their way of life. Modern Māori people still practice many of their ancestral customs while also participating in broader New Zealand society. Urbanization, wage labor, and modern housing are all common aspects of Māori life today.
References
Derby, Mark. “Daily Life in Modern Māori Communities.” Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu Taonga, 27 Sept. 2016, teara.govt.nz/en/daily-life-in-maori-communities-te-noho-a-te-hapori/page-3.
Furey, Louise. “Ngā Tupu Mai i Hawaiki – Plants from Polynesia - From Polynesia to New Zealand.” Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu Taonga, 22 Sept. 2012, teara.govt.nz/en/nga-tupu-mai-i-hawaiki-plants-from-polynesia/page-1.
McLintock, A.H. “1966 Encyclopaedia of New Zealand.” Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand, 13 Dec. 2012, teara.govt.nz/en/1966.
Metge, Joan. Rautahi: The Māoris of New Zealand. Routledge. 2004.
Tangata Whenua: An Illustrated History. Atholl Anderson, Judith Binney, Aroha Harris eds. Bridget Williams Books. 2014.
“The World Factbook: New Zealand.” Central Intelligence Agency, Central Intelligence Agency, 1 May 2018, www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/nz.html.
White, John. The Ancient History of the Māori, Vol. 1. G. Didsbury, 1887.
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