Potatoes, ancient loose muskets and smoked prisoner heads for psychological warfare. Thanks to their military prowess and the competent use of European goods, New Zealand Maori escaped the fate of the Indians.

Since the arrival of the Europeans, over 3,000 indigenous battles, skirmishes and raids have occurred on the islands of New Zealand. The most important of them went down in history as Musket Wars and Land Wars. Their result was a treaty unique for colonial history - the Maori received equal rights with the subjects of the British crown.

Here are 7 reasons why they survived.

1. Discipline

The Maori are descendants of desperate seafarers who settled in New Zealand, Chatham and Cook Islands around 1200 AD. Muscular stately rowers were arriving in several waves from Eastern Polynesia. To drive 30m canoes waka with a hundred people on board, fighting the weather and finding food in the open ocean takes courage and even more discipline. Ordinary members of the tribe unquestioningly obeyed the leaders, captains and helmsmen.

Hawaii, Tahiti, the Marquesas Archipelago, Easter Island and some others.

Maori chieftain with a tattoo on his face, Sydney Parkinson, 1784. Source: National Library of New Zealand

2. The cult of war

Maori life was defined by the concept mana- this is both the glory of a fighter, and his position in society, and spiritual strength. To become an adult, the boy had to undergo a painful initiation - endure the first tattoo with a chisel on his face. Recognized as a man, he was most afraid of showing cowardice. Losing mana is worse than death for Maori. It was impossible to hide the episode of cowardice. Face tattoo ta-moko She told everything about the owner: from skills in crafts to behavior on the battlefield.

The tribes of New Zealand were constantly at war, and the war dictated their traditions. Among them are ritual cannibalism on the battlefield, a duel on tayakha, long-term blood feud for the death of a relative - utu, mooru- a mandatory campaign against the enemy in the event of the death of the leader of a friendly tribe, even if it is natural.

The severed heads of enemies were soaked in shark liver fat, steamed or smoked, and then dried. These trophies mokomokai, exhibited in sacred places, provoked wars and ended them - before the conclusion of peace, it was necessary to exchange heads.

A hybrid of hardwood cudgel and spear with a sharp tip.

Mokomokai collection, assembled by British officer Robley, 1895. Source: Wellcome Library, London / Wellcome Images

3. Potato revolution

The usual diet of Aboriginal people before trading with Europeans: fish, seals, shellfish, toe-sized sweet root kumara, algae, fern rhizomes, rare caught ducks. The first contact took place in 1642, when the captain of the Dutch East India Company, Abel Tasman, sailed to New Zealand. A hundred years later, the coastline of the islands was explored and mapped by James Cook.

This paved the way for whalers, merchants, and seal hunters. After a long voyage, they needed fresh water, greenery, fruit and wood for repairs. In exchange, local residents received weapons and food from the ship's supplies. Sweet potatoes and potatoes, planted by women and slaves, made a food revolution.

Two or three harvests a year, the appearance of long-term storage products, an increase in the survival rate of babies, increased competition among young men within the tribe, an increase in the number of soldiers in marching units to 2000-3000, the ability to feed more slaves and arming with muskets - all this could not but cause a big war ...

First meeting with Maori. Drawing from the travel journal of Abel Tasman, 1642. Source: Nationaal Archief / gahetna.nl

4. Lend-Lease

The tribes were divided. Trade with the Europeans strengthened some and deprived others of their chances of survival. Firearms made it possible to capture and hold more slaves. They grew b O Larger harvests, cut down more ship timber. In exchange, strong coastal tribes began to receive more muskets, gunpowder, and metal axes.

By the 1800s, New Zealand's North Island was crammed with pig pens and planted with potatoes. As soon as sailing ships appeared on the horizon, canoes with provisions, wood, heads rushed towards them. mokomokai, ceremonial clubs of jade or obsidian.

A gun in different years cost from 6 to 20 pigs. Some tribes used European adventurers as military advisers and weapon repair specialists. Despite the difficulties with the supply of gunpowder, the Maori mastered barrage and volley fire. By holding the charges between their fingers, they could quickly fire the first three shots.

An explosive mixture of military traditions and new weapons gave rise to fierce conflicts over a pile of stones on the border of the sites, a girlish quarrel for the attention of a white captain, theft of fruit.

In 1830, 1,400 warriors were involved in a battle that erupted after a dispute between girls from rival tribes. 100 of them died.

Chief Hongi Hike (center) meets missionary Thomas Kendall, 1820. Source: National Library of New Zealand

5. Professionalization of the army

In 1820, a British missionary took the chief of the Ngapuhi tribe, Hongi Hike, to London, where he attended an audience with King George IV. He returned home with 500 guns, gunpowder, sabers, daggers and a set of armor.

The carnage began. In a short time, the Ngapuhs destroyed six tribal groups. Hongi Hike fought in the forefront. The giant in metal armor that withstood the blows of clubs and musket bullets at the end was terrifying and was considered invulnerable. After the assault on the Mokoya settlement, the ngapukhs massacred more than 1,000 residents.

In the campaigns led by Te Rauparah on the South Island, 4,000 people were killed and taken prisoner. The invading army was followed by slaves carrying baskets of potatoes and human flesh for a victorious feast. In the Musket and Land Conflicts, more than 21 thousand Maori died, while the number of the entire Maori people rarely exceeded 100 thousand.

The traditional way of life and the economy were inevitably changing. The prisoners were forced to cut wood and work to the point of exhaustion in the fields to create goods for exchange. The dead were cut off their heads, stuffed with fake tattoos of the leaders and sold to Europeans for guns. More guns brought more slaves. The war nourished itself, creating a new elite and professional soldiers.

Military hack, drawing circa 1845.

Maori- Polynesian people, indigenous people of New Zealand.
The self-name "Maori" means "ordinary" / "natural". This is how mortal people are designated in Maori myths, in contrast to deities and spirits. The Maori have a legend about how they arrived in New Zealand by 7 canoes from their ancestral home of Hawaiki. Modern research shows that then uninhabited New Zealand was inhabited by Polynesians around 1280 AD. By that time, all the present habitats of mankind were already inhabited. The ancestral home of the Maori and all Polynesians is the island of Taiwan near mainland China. People came directly to New Zealand from the islands of Eastern Polynesia.

Polynesian migration map to New Zealand:

Maori and the giant moa bird. Photo collage made in 1936. Moa were killed by the Maori long before Europeans arrived in New Zealand. According to unconfirmed testimonies, some representatives of these birds were still found in the late 18th - early 19th centuries.

Less than 4 centuries after the settlement of New Zealand, the first Europeans appeared here. It was the Dutch navigator Abel Tasman. The meeting of the Maori and the Europeans, which took place in 1642, ended tragically: the Maori attacked the landing Dutch, killed several sailors, ate them (Maori practiced cannibalism) and fled. Frustrated by the incident, Tasman called this place Assassin's Cove.

Modern Maori. Photo by Jimmy Nelson

Once again, the foot of a European set foot on New Zealand land only 127 years later: in 1769, the expedition of James Cook arrived here, which marked the beginning of the colonization of New Zealand by the British. James Cook himself escaped the teeth of the Maori, but was killed and eaten by another Polynesian people - the Hawaiians.

By 1830, the number of Europeans in New Zealand reached 2 thousand with 100 thousand Maori. The Maori traditionally did not have commodity-money relations and trade, but practiced commodity exchange. The British traded land with the Maori in exchange, for example, for firearms.

artist Arnold Frederick Goodwin - First plow in New Zealand

Between 1807 and 1845, the so-called Musket Wars broke out between the tribes of New Zealand's North Island. The impetus for the conflict was the proliferation of firearms among the Maori - muskets. The northern tribes, in particular the longtime rivals Ngapuhi and Ngati Fatua, were the first to receive firearms from Europeans and inflicted significant damage on each other and neighboring tribes. In total, 18 and a half thousand Maori died in these wars, i.e. about a fifth of all native New Zealand residents. By 1857, there were only 56,000 Maori in New Zealand. In addition to wars, diseases brought by Europeans have caused great damage to the local population.

Maori men. Photos from the early 20th century:

In 1840, Great Britain and some of the leaders of the Maori tribes signed a written agreement called the Treaty of Waitangi, in accordance with the provisions of which the Maori transferred New Zealand under the tutelage of Great Britain, but retained their property rights, and Great Britain received the exclusive right to purchase land from them. However, even after the signing of the treaty between the Maori and the British, military clashes arose.

Maori tribal leaders:

Maori chopping a flagpole with the British flag. 1845 year

The British attack the Maori village. 1845 year

artist Joseph Merrett. Maori (1846)

artist Joseph Merrett. Four Maori girls and a young man (1846)

maori girl

Maori girl (1793)

Maori man and girl:

Maori girls:

In 1891, the Maori made up only 10% of New Zealand's population and owned 17% of the land, mostly low-quality.
In the 30s of the 20th century, the number of Maori began to increase, largely thanks to the family allowance introduced for Maori, which was issued at the time of the birth of a child.

Maori married couple, early 20th century

Maori girls in European clothes

maori girls

maori grandfather

maori grandmother

Now in New Zealand live, according to the 2013 census, 598.6 thousand Maori, which is 14.9% of the country's population. About 126 thousand Maori live in Australia and 8 thousand in the UK.
Despite the fact that the Maori language, along with English, is the official language of New Zealand, most Maori prefer English in everyday life. About 50 thousand people are fluent in the Maori language and about 100 thousand understand the language, but do not speak it.
Christianity supplanted traditional Maori beliefs and today most Maori are Christians of various branches, including syncretic cults created among the Mori themselves. About 1,000 Maori are Muslims.

children in the New Zealand Museum at the Maori Culture Exposition

Mary Te Tai Mangakahia (1868-1920) - Maori feminist who fought for the rights of Maori women

Despite all attempts to equalize whites and Maori, the indigenous population of New Zealand remains the most backward social group in the country, behind not only whites, but also migrants from Asia. Maori have the lowest educational level, they make up half of all prisoners in New Zealand (despite the fact that they make up only 14.9% of the population of the state). Finally, Maori life expectancy is lower than that of the rest of New Zealanders. This is due to the fact that Maori have a much higher percentage of alcoholism, drug addiction, smoking and obesity.

modern Maori woman:

modern Maori man:

modern Maori girls:

New Zealand actor Manu Bennett. The blood of Maori warriors, flowing in his veins, helped the actor to convincingly play the grim gladiator Crix in the American TV series "Spartacus: Blood and Sand" (2010) and its sequels

Maureen Kingi is the first Maori to win the Miss New Zealand title. It happened in 1962

Artist Edward Cole. Maori girl with apples (30s of the 20th century)

Poster "New Zealand for Your Next Vacation" (1925)

See you in New Zealand poster (1960)

Maori

The Maori are an indigenous people, the main population of New Zealand before the arrival of Europeans. The number of Maori in New Zealand is more than 526 thousand people, about 10 thousand people each. live in Australia and the United States. In the Maori language, the word maori means "normal", "natural" or "ordinary". In legends, oral traditions, the word Maori distinguished people from deity and spirit. Marai Maori - premises for the general gathering of the tribe.

Earlier, the European settlers of the islands of New Zealand referred to the Aborigines as "Indians", "Aborigines", "local" or "New Zealanders". Maori remained a Maori self-name for self-identification. In 1947, the New Zealand government renamed the Department of Aboriginal Affairs the Department of Maori Affairs.

Humans settled in New Zealand after settling in nearly every habitable place on the planet. Archaeological and linguistic research suggests that several waves of migration arrived from Eastern Polynesia to New Zealand between 800 and 1300 AD.

The Maori were militant and independent. Several pages from history show their character. In 1642, Abel Tasman, a Dutchman, discovered New Zealand. More than a century later, it was rediscovered by James Cook. Both provoked bloody clashes. In 1762, the French captain Surville, who stopped off the coast of New Zealand, burned an entire Maori village for a stolen skiff. Captain Dufresne came here three years later. He and 16 of his sailors were killed in retaliation for Surville's deed. Dufresne's successor burned three Maori villages and killed over a hundred civilians. These facts have forever revived the Maori against the overseas visitors.

These islands were named New Zealand by Abel Tasman. The Maori themselves call their country "Ao Tea Roa" (White Long Cloud). North Island - Te ika a Maui (Fish Maui), South Island - Te Waka a Maui (Boat Maui).

At the beginning of the 19th century, whalers began to visit the islands, the Maori acquired firearms, and civil wars began. To "restore order" the British came there, the "Maori Wars" began (the most famous is the War of the Flagpole in 1845-1846). As a result, the British, having gained the upper hand, captured New Zealand.

The need for firearms prompted Maori tribes to carry out numerous raids on their neighbors in order to obtain mokomokai. In addition, local residents resorted to tattooing slaves and prisoners, whose heads were then exchanged for weapons. The peak of the head trade was in the year 1820-1831. In 1831, the Governor of New South Wales announced a ban on the head trade outside New Zealand, and during the 1830s the demand for firearms in the islands declined due to market saturation.

By 1840, when the Waitangi Treaty was concluded and New Zealand became a British colony, the export sale of mokomokai had virtually ceased. At the same time, among the Maori themselves, the Mokomokai tradition began to fade, although the minor head trade continued for several more years.

Crafts - weaving, weaving, boat building, wood carving. The boats had 1 or 2 hulls. Wood carving deserves special attention, here it has been developed at a high level. New Zealand was rich in trees, there was plenty to carve out of. Maori carving is intricate and masterful. The main element of the ornament is a spiral, but it had a lot of options. There were no animistic motives, the main figures in the plots were humanoid. These are legendary ancestors or deity "tiki". Houses, primarily communal ones, the bow and stern of boats, barns, weapons, sarcophagi and almost all household items were decorated with carvings. In addition, the Maori carved statues of ancestors. Usually such a statue stood in every village.

The traditional settlement (pa) was fortified with a wooden fence and a moat. Houses (headlights) were built from logs and planks, unlike the rest of the Polynesians. The façade was always facing east. The roof is thatched. Thick sheets of straw were also used for the walls. The floor fell below ground level, it was necessary for insulation. New Zealand's climate is colder than Hawaii or Tahiti. For the same reason, Maori clothing differed from general Polynesian clothing. They made cloaks and capes, women wore knee-length skirts. The material was made from New Zealand linen, and dog skins and bird feathers were woven into the fabric.

Traditional Maori dwelling

In addition to dwelling houses, the settlements had communal houses (fare-runanga), entertainment houses (fare-tapere), houses of knowledge (fare-kura). Experienced craftsmen, priests, and artists taught young people there.

The main tool in agriculture was the digging stick. Types of weapons - a pole, a cross between a spear and a club (taiakha), a spear (kokiri), a dart (huata). A kind of club (measure) was used - a stone on a rope. They used snares in the hunt. The tool for wood carving and other procedures (also for tattooing) was a jade or jadeite chisel. Maces (measure) were made from jade. Nature gave the Maori something that is not found in other parts of Polynesia.

Cannibalism was prevalent before. Prisoners were usually eaten. There was a belief that the power of the eaten enemy is transferred to the one who eats it. Another significant tradition is tattooing, it showed the public rank. At the same time, it was an initiation - a test of endurance, since the procedure is painful.

Maori chief with ta-moko tattoo on his face

Face tattoos were a traditional feature of Maori culture until the middle of the 19th century, when this tradition gradually began to disappear. In pre-European Maori society, they reflected the high social status of the bearer. Traditionally, only men have had their faces fully tattooed, although some high-profile women have had tattoos done on their lips and chin.

Each tattoo was unique in its own way and contained information about the rank, tribe, origin, profession and deeds of a person. As a rule, making a tattoo was not a cheap hobby, so only leaders or distinguished warriors could afford it. Moreover, the very art of tattooing, as well as the persons who made them, were considered tapu, that is, they were revered as something sacred, requiring the observance of a special protocol.

When a person who had ta-moko tattoos on his face died, his head was usually cut off to preserve it. For this, the brain and eyes were removed, and all existing holes were filled with either linen fiber or rubber. After that, the head was boiled or steamed in a special oven, and then smoked over an open fire and dried in the sun for several days. Subsequently, the head was processed with shark liver oil. These dried heads, or mokomokai, were kept by the host's family in carved boxes and were only pulled out during sacred ceremonies.

The heads of the hostile leaders who were killed during the battle were also subjected to conservation. These mokomokai, considered a trophy of war, were paraded in the marae. In addition, they played an important role during negotiations between the warring tribes: the return and exchange of mokomokai was a prerequisite for peace.

Maori wood carving

Society was organized in the same way as in the rest of Polynesia. The same classes stood out here: nobility (rangatira), ordinary members of the community (tutua), prisoner slaves (taurekareka). Among the nobility, the leaders (ariks) stood out especially. The priests (tohunga) enjoyed the honor. The word "tohunga" was also used to refer to artists (carvers). The community (hapu) consisted of one village and was divided into groups (wanau), that is, 1-2 houses.

In general, the Maori culture is different from that of other Polynesians. The reason for this is other natural conditions. In the field of spiritual culture, they preserved a lot of Polynesian, but created their own, distinctive heritage.

Popular are mythological, ethnogenetic, genealogical legends, legends about the resettlement of tribes. The Maori worship the common Polynesian gods, Tangaroa, Tane, Tu, Rongo. They had a secret cult of Io, the highest single god, the Creator of the entire universe. Perhaps this cult was created in later times, in opposition to Christianity penetrating here, and perhaps it existed earlier. In addition to the gods, the Maori pantheon included many minor characters, spirits, demons, monsters, etc. Ancestors (tupuna) are also revered. At present, there is a syncretic sect called the pa'i-marira.

Maori flag, proposed in 1998

Basic concepts: atua - god or spirit in general, mana - magical power, ponaturi - a demon, a spirit that lives in the ocean, kehua - a ghost, kopuvai - a monster with a human body and a dog's head, etc. Tiki - "Polynesian Adam", Hina - "Polynesian Eve". Maui is a culture hero.

Maori - who are they? Cannibals or highly intelligent people? Where did they live in the past? Where did they come from? How long did they fight for their independence? Do Maori people live on earth today?

How did the Maori get to New Zealand?

The Maori are a Polynesian people who arrived in the New Zealand islands in the 13th century. The Maori sailed in canoe boats, which, according to the Europeans who later familiarized themselves with them, could move at speed. Up to 40 kilometers per hour (22 knots). Maori myths say that they arrived in seven large canoes from the countries of Gavoiki in the Pacific Ocean. The exact location of the Maori ancestral home is unknown, it is likely that it is the islands of Tahiti or Samoa.

It is known that the Maori leader was called Tamm de Capua. The Maori brought with them rats and dogs: these animals were not found on the New Zealand islands. The Maori called their new homeland Aotearoa, which means "Long White Cloud" country.

What did the Maori do?

The Maori were engaged in hunting and fishing, growing vegetables such as sweet potatoes, taro, yams.

They lived in rectangular houses with gable roofs. The settlements consisted of several dozen houses and were fortified with defensive walls and ditches. If we consider that Europeans appeared in New Zealand only at the end of the 18th century, then it is clear that the Maori waged intra-tribal wars, since they needed such fortifications.

But despite their isolation from civilization, the Polynesian Maori people were not ignorant. So woodcarving was very developed. This skill was valued, considered sacred, and only men could practice it. Maori women were not even allowed to be present.

A variety of cult sculptures were carved, figures of the ancestors, called tekoteko, which were installed on the bow of canoes and on the gables of houses, as well as images of spirits and gods.

The living quarters and public and public spaces were adorned with carved wood panels of astonishing beauty. They especially tried to richly decorate the meetinghouses - traditional buildings that were located in the center of the Maori settlements. These houses were the center of social life and were considered living things: the beams were called the spine, the carved wooden mask under the roof ridge was called the head, and the interior was called the belly. The panels depicted Maori mythology and history. As a rule, products were made from solid tree trunks. Canoe boats were also cut from individual trunks. And today, throughout New Zealand, you can find carved sculptures that speak of who the Maori are.

Maori and their wars

It is important to note that the Maori have always been a warlike people. The five Maori tribes were divided into numerous clans. Tribes and clans were often at odds with each other, and internecine wars were constantly going on on the islands. Captured people were often killed and eaten, and the heads of enemies were dried and stored as spoils of war. The bodies of Maori warriors were almost completely covered, which were filled with paint.

Tribal wars escalated with the emergence of Europeans on the islands, who sold alcoholic drinks and firearms to the Maori.

At the end of the 18th century, European whalers, farmers and missionaries appeared in New Zealand. Whaling was very profitable, but pretty soon the whales were almost completely wiped out. Although New Zealand was officially a British colony since 1804, a legal British government did not appear there until 1883, when William Hobson became governor. In 1840, Hobson signed the Waitangi Treaty with more than 500 Maori chiefs. According to this treaty, New Land was considered the possession of Great Britain, the leaders ceded to the English monarch all the rights and powers of their sovereignty. The Maori were given the right to own land, forests and fisheries. The Waitangi Treaty allowed Europeans to settle in New Zealand. After its signing, the conversion of Maori to Christianity began. The flow of immigrants from Europe has increased significantly. The seizure of land by the Maori began through fraudulent deals and violent seizures, to which these brave people desperately resisted.

The first Maori war took place in 1845-1847. But who are the Maori against the Europeans, behind whom stood a powerful power. Until 1872, the Maori rebelled constantly, and the British even had to send army and warships to New Zealand to pacify the warlike tribes. In the end, the Maori lost most of their land anyway.

In 1975, the Waitangi Tribunal was established in New Zealand. It has dealt with complaints of Maori rights violations since 1840. Although Waitangi Day on February 6 is a public holiday in New Zealand, this holiday is still controversial: the Maori still consider Europeans to be the invaders of their land.

However, the Maori were able to adopt the culture and religion of the Europeans, and today they are integrated into a single New Zealand society. Less than 15% of the population of modern New Zealand belongs to the Maori people, and there are even fewer purebred Maori among them. With such a rapid disappearance of this people, soon it will only be possible to learn about who the Maori are from history textbooks.

Read: Kuru-kuru or laughing death - cannibal disease

Read next: Maori Cannibals

Throughout the centuries, the people about which we will now talk was one of the most, we will not be afraid of this word, ominous on earth. His refined cruelty was combined with great cunning, composure and courage. Its regressive development did not follow the path of the Australian aborigines, who turned into an unorganized human herd. The regression of this people also followed the path of transformation of man into an animal, but the animal is predatory, aggressive. The people we are going to talk about are the Maori, the natives of New Zealand.

Unlike other parts of our planet, this land remained uninhabited until the 10th century. NS. NS. It is thanks to this that today it has preserved much better than other areas of the world, pristine nature, intact, created by God and not spoiled by human activity. No wonder travelers of all ages spoke of this land as one of the most wonderful corners of the world.

The discovery of New Zealand is associated with the name of the fisherman Kupe in the Hawaiian Islands (this is probably the island of Raiatea, north-west of Tahiti), who once, while fishing for squid, found himself far south of his native island until he saw land with high banks, shrouded in fog. Returning home, he told his fellow tribesmen about his discovery, and soon some of them during a storm were taken to this land, which they really liked and they stayed there. A little more than a hundred years have passed since then, until new boats sailed to the island. Legends say that the reason for this was the loss of his grandson Watong by a certain man named Toui, who was blown away by the wind during boat races. After long adventures, grandfather and grandson finally met in New Zealand. There, this small group, who had no women, met and came into contact with settlers, whose ancestors arrived here in the 10th century, forming a single people.

The third wave of resettlement dates back to the XIV century, sometimes the exact year is even called - 1335. The reason for this was the inter-tribal wars in Hawaii, as a result of which part of the population had to leave their homeland in search of a new land, which became New Zealand, known in Hawaii since times of the Coupe. Arriving on the island, the newcomers were amazed at its beauty. They divided his lands among themselves and settled at some distance from each other in order to avoid possible strife that forced them to leave their homeland. The land was divided among seven chieftains, who arrived on separate boats. They entered into an armed clash with the descendants of Toya, subjugating them in the end to their power, and then assimilating them.

Modern ethnography says that the Maori (Polynesians) were a transitional race that absorbed the features of different races. “The uniqueness of the Polynesians is not expressed in some predominantly developed feature that distinguishes them from a series of other racial types, or developed incomparably stronger or weaker than in other cases. This peculiarity lies in the exceptional combination of signs that mark other races, even the main ones, which makes it difficult for the Polynesians to converge on anthropological grounds with representatives of even the main racial branches. They are distinguished from Caucasians, even in the southern Mediterranean variant, by their darker pigmentation and weak development of the hairline, from Negroids, on the contrary, by lighter pigmentation, greater nose protrusion, large face sizes, from Australoids - lighter pigmentation, from Mongoloids - relatively strong in Mongolian scale of nose protrusion; from Americanoids - wavy hair ”. Undoubtedly, these features were influenced by a long and isolated stay on the islands. However, the main role in the formation of the Polynesians was played by the Australoid and Mongoloid components.

By language, the Polynesians (and their component Maori) are part of the Austronesian (the old name is Malay-Polynesian) family of languages. These languages ​​are spoken in Micronesia, Melanesia, Polynesia, Madagascar (!), Some of the tribes on the island of Taiwan and Vietnam (the language of teas). Also, the Japanese language is very close in phonetic aspect to the Polynesian (!). By the way, the Austronesians were the first to come to the Japanese archipelago. Today, Indochina is considered the homeland of the Austronesians, from where they came to Indonesia, and then they settled on the islands of the Pacific Ocean from Japan to New Zealand. So, let's sum up the general results of the origin of the Maori (Polynesians). Basically, they led their origin, of course, from Ham (which is confirmed by the similarity of the language groups of peoples of Hamitic origin), which gave rise to the Negroid and Mongoloid races. However, the original homeland (Indochina) was located near the lands of the descendants of Japheth in India, where they could partially mix with them, hence the appearance of the Polynesians, which is not quite typical for Negroids.

The first settlers of New Zealand (the first two waves) are classified as typical Negroids. So in appearance, language, family and cultural ties, the Maori were descendants of Ham. Having become the full-fledged owners of the island, the settlers of the third wave did not create a single state. Their formation was a kind of confederation, consisting of seven (then five) main tribal groups ("waka"). They, in turn, were divided into smaller Iwi cells, and those into clans (hapuu). Each Hapuu clan had its own leader and occupied a separate village, more precisely, a fortress (pa). The New Zealanders built their fortresses on impregnable, well-protected places. Pa was surrounded, as a rule, by three belts of fortifications; formed by two rows of a multi-meter picket fence and a willow fence with loopholes. Many of the pas also had ditches. The tops of the stakes "decorated" the heads of enemies, from which the brain was previously scraped out, the skin was removed, the noses were strengthened with small plates, and the mouths and eyelids were sewn together. Then such a head was smoked for thirty hours, which ensured its long-term preservation on the stockade stakes, to instill awe and respect for enemies.