Māori language

Pounamu is several types of nephrite jade found only in southern part of South Island of New Zealand. Pounamu is green hence the name greenstone in common English. The gem Pounamu comes from boulders on river beds (specifically the Arahura river) and when carved out, most are no bigger than the palm of a human hand. Pounamu is regarded as taonga or treasure and is significant in Maori art culture. Pounamu comes in many shapes because different shapes have different meanings from status and…

ensure that British settlement could commence. There would have been immense pressure on Hobson from British government, to get the Maori approval of the terms within the treaty. Considering Hobson’s responsibility he would have done everything he could in his power to get the Maori to sign the treaty, even if that meant telling them the fabricated version of the treaty. There was, without a doubt a mass amount of pressure on missionaries to get Maori to sign the treaty. Less than a month prior…

Grace v Minister of Land Information [2014] Facts: Mrs Patricia Grace, the objector, owned a block of land that had Maori freehold status. On 6 June 2013, the Minister of Land Information, the respondent, signed a Notice of Intention to take a section of Grace’s land to enable the construction of the Kapiti Expressway. Grace then filed a Notice of Objection to the Environment Court. In an attempt to protect her land, she applied to the Maori Land Court to set aside her land as a Maori…

Ethnobotany is the interactions of culture and plants and how the two affect each other over time Cordyline australis also known as ti Kouka or Cabbage Tree is a plant endemic to the New Zealand islands. Often described as out of place among the native fauna of New Zealand it is an iconic symbol of the country. Its uses have changed over the centuries, evolving along with New Zealand as Maori and then Europeans settled New Zealand and the resulting cultural shift that accompanied. Ti…

I) Introduction: This is a significant case regarding Māori freehold land in Environmental law. Mrs Grace (the plaintiff) declined to negotiate the sale of her land with the Minister of Land Information (the defendant) for the purpose of a motorway. Her land, was needed for the building of a state highway in Wellington. In the Environment Court, Thompson J stated that it was not “fair, sound and reasonably necessary” for Mrs Grace’s land to be taken, following the requirements of the Public…

Question 1: Māori Magna Carta or Mega-Fraud? The quote from the preface to The Treaty of Waitangi Companion: Māori and Pākehā from Tasman to Today provides a fascinating insight into the contemporary conceptions that people have of the Treaty of Waitangi. The quotation is broad in its content and has so many different facets. I am taking the approach that each of the various aspects speaks to the principal question posed in the quote, and is, is the Treaty of Waitangi a Māori Magna Carta or…

The early contact period between Maori and Pakeha 1769-1840 is highly significant to New Zealand because as Michael King states, ‘All these early encounters between Maori and European... contained seeds for future patterns of racial and cultural relations in New Zealand. In this way King is saying that this period of Early Contact essentially defined the relationship between Maori and Pakeha, and instructs our relationship as New Zealanders today. The cultural and racial landscape of New Zealand…

Captain James Cook was the first navigator that tried to explore the whole Polynesia Triangle. In 1771, when James Cook returned to Tahiti from his first Voyage, he introduced the word “tattoo”. Tattoo he explained was a way the Polynesians delivered information of its owner. It’s also a traditional method to draw spiritual power, protection and strength. The Polynesians use tattoos as a sign of one’s character, their position and the levels in a hierarchy. They also believe that a person’s…

The world encompasses many different cultures, which governs way of living. Culture is defined as the characteristics that mutually make up societies or groups of people identified by beliefs, behaviours and customs. Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of social reproduction formed from culture studies created the concept cultural capital. Divided into three types of cultural capital aspects embodied, objectified and institutionalised state all contributing to shaping lifestyles and individuals. Presence,…

1 How have you demonstrated a more culturally responsive environment for your tamarisk? Through: Documentation – I have moved from just using singular Te Reo words in my learning stories to full sentences and brief paragraphs. Leadership – I have been modelling the behaviour I want to see i Practice – I have been making a big effort to use more of the Reo in my everyday practice. This includes using singular words, simple sentences, singing the children songs, counting, and reading cultural…