Important concepts in Maori culture are defined and discussed in short essay-style definitions in both English and Maori. The traditional knowledge of the ware wananga (school of learning) is drawn upon, and modern usage of Maori language is also described.

A comprehensive study of the Maori in New Zealand, this book covers Maori history and culture, language and art and includes chapters on the following: · Basic concepts in Maori culture · Land · Kinship · Education · Association · Leadership & social control · The Marae · Hui · Maori and Pakeha · Maori spelling and pronunciation There is an extensive glossary, bibliography and index. First published in 1967. This edition reprints the revised edition of 1976.

Ki te Whaiao: An Introduction to Māori Culture and Society, is intended for students of Māori studies at tertiary institutions. It is also aimed at several other audiences: those Māori who want to know more about their own world, Pākehā living in this country, and people from overseas who want to learn about the history of the Indigenous people of Aotearoa/New Zealand. The book describes traditional and contemporary Māori society and its interaction with Pākehā society since first contact. It gives expression to the voices and words of Māori scholars and those informed by their world-view. Emphasis has been placed on the clarification of Māori cultural concepts throughout, in order to give readers a deeper understanding of the Māori world and to excite their interest in the key themes developed throughout the text. The book has been arranged in two parts Part one is called Te Ao Māori (The Māori World) and examines a series of topics encompassing tribal histories about the creation,important cultural concepts, the migration journeys to Aotearoa, the origins of the Māori language, cultural traditions and practices, leadership and Māori performing and fine arts. Part two, Ngā Ao e Rua (The Two Worlds) examines early contact between Māori and Pākehā, the Treaty and related issues, religion, sovereignty, education and literature, and ends with a chapter on the Pacific peoples in Aotearoa/New Zealand.

Tikanga Maori is the authoritative and accessible introduction to understanding the correct Maori ways of doing things as they were done in the past, as they are done in the present - and as they may yet be.In this revised edition, Hirini Mead has added an extensive new chapter on mana whenua, mana moana, Maori authority over land and ocean, and the different interpretations and applications of mana whenua and mana moana historically and today.Hirini Mead has also updated the section on tangihanga to include contemporary issues about cremation choices and what happens to the deceased in Maori/non-Maori partnerships where there are disputes about following tangi tikanga or Pakeha traditions.The remainder of the book explores how tikanga Maori may influence contemporary life and society, and Hirini Mead proposes guidelines to help us test appropriate responses to challenges that may yet be laid down.

An exploration of New Zealand’s Maori cosmology and how it relates to classic ancient symbolic traditions around the world • Shows how Maori myths, symbols, cosmological concepts, and words reflect symbolic elements found at Göbekli Tepe in Turkey • Demonstrates parallels between the Maori cosmological tradition and those of ancient Egypt, China, India, Scotland, and the Dogon of Mali in Africa • Explores the pygmy tradition associated with Maori cosmology, which shares elements of the Little People mythology of Ireland, including matching mound structures and common folk traditions It is generally accepted that the Maori people arrived in New Zealand quite recently, sometime after 1200 AD. However, new evidence suggests that their culture is most likely centuries older with roots that can be traced back to the archaic Göbekli Tepe site in Turkey, built around 10,000 BC. Extending his global cosmology comparisons to New Zealand, Laird Scranton shows how the same cosmological concepts and linguistic roots that began at Göbekli Tepe are also evident in Maori culture and language. These are the same elements that underlie Dogon, ancient Egyptian, and ancient Chinese cosmologies as well as the Sakti Cult of India (a precursor to Vedic, Buddhist, and Hindu traditions) and the Neolithic culture of Orkney Island in northern Scotland. While the cultural and linguistic roots of the Maori are distinctly Polynesian, the author shows how the cosmology in New Zealand was sheltered from outside influences and likely reflects ancient sources better than other Polynesian cultures. In addition to shared creation concepts, he details a multitude of strikingly similar word pronunciations and meanings, shared by Maori language and the Dogon and Egyptian languages, as well as likely connections to various Biblical terms and traditions. He discusses the Maori use of standing stones to denote spiritual spaces and sanctuaries and how their esoteric mystery schools are housed in structures architecturally similar to those commonly found in Ireland. He discusses the symbolism of the Seven Mythic Canoes of the Maori and uncovers symbolic aspects of the elephant-headed Hindu god Ganesha in Maori cosmology. The author also explores the outwardly similar pygmy traditions of Ireland and New Zealand, characterized by matching fairy mound constructions and mythic references in both regions. He reveals how the trail of a group of Little People who vanished from Orkney Island in ancient times might be traced first to Scotland, Ireland, and England and then on to New Zealand, accompanied by signature elements of the global cosmology first seen at Gobekli Tepe.