myth & belief

Myths are set in the remote past and their content often has to do with the supernatural. They present Māori ideas about the creation of the universe and the origins of gods and of people. The mythology accounts for natural phenomena, the weather, the stars and the moon, the fish of the sea, the birds of the forest, and the forests themselves. Much of the culturally institutioned behaviour of the people finds its sanctions in myth. "Perhaps the most distinctive feature of myth, as distinct from tradition, is its universality. Each of the major myths is known in some version not only throughout New Zealand but also over much of Polynesia as well" (Biggs 1966:448).

The Māori understanding of the development of the universe was expressed in genealogical form. These genealogies appear in many versions, in which several symbolic themes constantly recur. "Evolution may be likened to a series of periods of darkness (pō) or voids (kore), each numbered in sequence or qualified by some descriptive term. In some cases the periods of darkness are succeeded by periods of light (ao). In other versions the evolution of the universe is likened to a tree, with its base, tap roots, branching roots, and root hairs. Another theme likens evolution to the development of a child in the womb, as in the sequence “the seeking, the searching, the conception, the growth, the feeling, the thought, the mind, the desire, the knowledge, the form, the quickening”. Some, or all, of these themes may appear in the same genealogy" (Biggs 1966:448). The cosmogonic genealogies are usually brought to a close by the two names Rangi and Papa (father sky and mother earth). The marriage of this celestial pair produced the gods and, in due course, all the living things of the earth (Biggs 1966:448).

The earliest full account of the origins of gods and the first human beings is contained in a manuscript entitled Nga Tama a Rangi (The Sons of Heaven), written in 1849 byWī Maihi Te Rangikāheke, of the Ngāti Rangiwewehi tribe of Rotorua. The manuscript "gives a clear and systematic account of Māori religious beliefs and beliefs about the origin of many natural phenomena, the creation of woman, the origin of death, and the fishing up of lands. No other version of this myth is presented in such a connected and systematic way, but all early accounts, from whatever area or tribe, confirm the general validity of the Rangikāheke version. It begins as follows: 'My friends, listen to me. The Māori people stem from only one source, namely the Great-heaven-which-stands-above, and the Earth-which-lies-below. According to Europeans, God made heaven and earth and all things. According to the Māori, Heaven (Rangi) and Earth (Papa) are themselves the source' " (Biggs 1966:448).^[3]

^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C4%81ori_mythology}

In New Zealand, the Maoris had the belief that human souls are made of menstrual blood

In Oceania, the peoples of oceanic islands are characteristic astral myths, heroes mythical twins, with their mother, and the death of primitives, whose body born of different crop plants. In the earliest stages of culture of Melanesia, is faced with intense belief in a great god, in other parts there is also a defendant monotheism, with a Supreme Being idle character, sometimes in the form of a serpent and other women. In Micronesia and Polynesia's most polytheism, even among Micronesians highlights a character creator supreme god, and among its many gods Polynesians represent natural deities, deified ancestors and heroes, with elaborate myths about the origin of the world and the origin and succession the gods. In New Zealand it is found the idea of a great god, superior to others, whose existence is a secret knowledge of the priests (cosmogonic myth)

Behaviors

Marriage and family
The weddings are celebrated with a banquet and a dance. The families of European origin are frequently small and most have their own home. Many young adults go to work in other countries for several years (often to the UK). This time abroad known as Overseas Experience (OE, overseas experience). Even those who emigrate permanently usually maintain close contact with their families in New Zealand. In recent years there has been an increase in the number of couples living together without being married, single mothers and women who work outside the home. Women account for 46.1% (2006) of the labor force. Among the Maori, the extended family is still very important, and it may be the case that several generations living in the same house. For Maori also important community center, called marae, where ceremonies take place, meetings and recreation.

meals

The traditional British style hearty breakfasts and meals of meat and potatoes have been replaced by a more varied and healthy diet. New Zealanders have long been eating beef, pork and lamb as well comopescado, but now are consuming more poultry. They have plenty of fruits and dairy products. New Zealand produces good wines, and beer is a popular drink. The takeaways are the most common meat pies, sandwiches and stuffed bread rolls for lunch, and Chinese food, pizza, burgers and fried chicken for dinner, in addition to the more traditional fish and chips wrapped in newspaper. In major cities, the restaurants serve a diverse cuisine from Thailand, Malaysian, Chinese, Indian, Greek and Mexican.
New Zealanders generally eat three meals a day, and many still retain the British tradition of having a cup of tea in the morning and once in the evening, around 15 or 16 hours. The main meal is usually done in the afternoon, between 18 and 19 hours, though if dining out is more likely to
takes place around 20 hours.


Socializing
New Zealanders often greet with a handshake (in formal circumstances, a man is usually wait for the woman who offered primerola hand), and after an initial presentation is usual to address people by their first names. Greetings include informal version of Good Day New Zealand (hello), pronounced Gidday, or a simple Hello or Hi (Hi). Maori often greet with a hug or a traditional hongi, which consists of gathering nose with eyes closed and soft beeping like mm-mm. The Kia Ora Maori greeting, a wish of good health, is being used increasingly among the general population (and the tourism industry in particular). A Kia Ora can be answered with the same expression. New Zealanders tend to enjoy their free time at home and barbies (barbecues) are very popular, especially summer weekends. There are few established standards relating to the label, and usually are informal social relations. New Zealanders are known to be very hospitable to visitors, and often invite people to their homes shortly after meeting.



 http://cibercuaderno.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/maorc3ades.pdf

Traditions

Unlike the Australians, who for various reasons have lost the traditions of the mother country, New Zealanders have changed very little habits of Englishmen transplanted to the southern hemisphere. Also, in the early, there was a remarkable phenomenon of urbanization, formed many medium-sized cities, inhabited by a few thousand inhabitants, in which life was centered on a main street with stores. Less parochial characters are the four cities with regional pole functions of both islands. From the point of view of urbanism are similar to European cities, primarily English, with a management and commercial center, consists of various styles palaces that house banks, offices, shops and cinemas, around which lie the residential neighborhoods, often by houses made ​​of wood, covered with corrugated sheets, and the small front garden, quiet streets and scattered trees, where the family is its intimacy.

Anzac Day

Anzac is an acronym for the Army Corps of Australia and New Zealand. Anzac Day celebrates the country's armed forces who fought in the wars. The Boxing Day comes from an old British tradition is to give small gifts in boxes to service workers and traders the day after Christmas. Today is a day to visit and relax. In addition to the parties mentioned, each administrative region celebrates its Anniversary Day, which commemorates its foundation.

Typical Traditions

The New Zealand public holidays include New Year (the first two working days of January are public holidays), Waitangi Day (6 February), Easter (Good Friday to Easter Monday), Anzac Day (April 25th), the Birthday of Queen Elizabeth II (which is celebrated on the first Monday in June), Labour Day (the fourth Monday in October), Christmas (December 25) and Boxing Day (26 December).

National Day

Waitangi Day is the national day of New Zealand and is celebrated every year on February 6.
The history of this celebration dates back to about 1,000 years ago when Maori Indians arrived in what is now New Zealand, there lived by hunting and fishing, they decorated their boats and houses with magnificent woodcarvings. Maori lived in this area until the arrival of Europeans brought war and disease and in less than 50 years, almost half of the population died.
On February 6, 1840 an agreement was signed with the British in a place called Waitangi, which means "water that mourn." In the agreement, Maori accepted the Queen of England as their sovereign and in return, the British agreed to respect their land and rights.
The treaty was never ratified by the Parliament of New Zealand and is still today, a source of much controversy.

However, this day is celebrated with music concerts, children's activities and traditional markets.

Religion

The Anglican Church, Catholic and Presbyterian churches are in first place, because they are the most practices in New Zealand. Then we find other minority religions such as Protestant, a small percentage of Buddhists, Hindus, and others.
As in any country, there is also a certain percentage of the population of New Zealand tha has not  religion. That percentage slashing 25% of the country's habitants. These are just data, but will give us an idea of ​​the kind of religion in the country and others. It is always interesting to know the religious theme of a country to be better informed of it.

The settlement of English in the North Island and northern South Island and Scottish in the Deep South is reflected in the dominance of Anglicanism and Presbyterianism in the respective regions. (Fuente Wikipedia)

In New Zealand the majority of the population, given its European origin, is Christian. Today there live more than 2 million Christians, most of which is distributed among Anglicans, Catholics and Presbyterians

Education

The New Zealand education system is based on the British system, recognized abroad allowing transfer between institutions within New Zealand or other English speaking countries.

The New Zealand education system has three levels of education Primary, Secondary and Tertiary through which students can pursue a variety of flexible itineraries. Education is compulsory for all students aged between six and 16 years, although the vast majority of students start school at age five.


Early Childhood Education (Early Childhood Education - ECE) is for children under five years and is characterized by a strong quality assurance and a national curriculum leader in the world. There is a high degree of participation in ECE and increasing levels of teacher quality.

Secondary education, including education for early childhood, is free in the state system. New Zealand has about 2,600 schools, most of which are publicly owned and financed by the government. They follow a national curriculum and are governed by elected local councils for administration. Secondary education in the early years provides a solid foundation in reading, writing and arithmetic and an introduction to a broad curriculum and balanced, while the high school years (13-17 years) provide an excellent learning based on specific topics and career counseling.

Tertiary education in New Zealand is offered by a variety of vendors. Universities, Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics (Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics (ITPs)), private training establishments (Private Training Establishments (PTEs)) and Industry Training Organisations (Industry Training Organisations (ITOs)) offer a variety of educational options often flexibly to meet the needs of students. Tertiary education in New Zealand and its programs are internationally recognized for their quality and focus on graduate preparation.

Politics

New Zealand is an independent parliamentary democracy. The country is officially a constitutional monarchy, which the titular head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, represented by Governor General, Sir Anand Satyanand today.
Historically, New Zealand followed the system 'Westminster' British parliamentary government, but there is no upper house since the abolition of the Legislative Council, an unelected body, in 1951. Parliament is now composed only of the House of Representatives consists of 120 members elected by proportional representation since 1996.

Music and traditional dance

Contemporary music is represented widely in different styles. This is the case of the OMC rapper (Pauly Fuemana) or the rock group Crowded House who are certainly one of the best and most famous musicians of New Zealand. Another of the most recognized contemporary artists are Bic Runga, Stellar, Shihad, Moana and the Moa Hunters, and King Kapisi.

Traditional dance

Haka is a term used to define any Maori tribal dance, but this name usually refers specifically to Maori tribal war dance. However, dance is often used as a sign of welcome and hospitality.

Maori's Art

Maori carvings and abstract painting are the most common expressions of painting New Zealand. The wood carvings can be seen in museums and exhibitions

New Zealander has contemporary art authors as Ralph Hotere, John Pule, Michael Parekowhai or Kahukiwa Robyn, who create showy images with dramatic and important influence of feminist groups and Pacific cultures.

Literature

The most important figure in New Zealand literature is Katherine Mansfield (1888-1923) His best-known stories are: The Doll's House, At the Bay, and The Garden Party, which tells of a great way Zealand life from the early colonial XX.

at the beginning of the twentieth century the country saw new and prominent writers emerged like John Mulgan (Man Alone), Robin Hyde (The Godwits Fly), Maurice Shadbolt (Strangers and Journeys), and Janet Frame (Owls do Cry). Currently many of the great figures of literature are Maori. Such as Patricia Grace, Witi Ihimaera and Alan Duff.
Much of the poetry written in this country has as its central theme the landscape of the islands. the poets most highlighted are: James K. Baxter, ARD Fairburn, Denis Glover, Allen Curnow, and Sam Hunt.

General Aspects

New Zealand's population is about 4 million. The Zealanders resident are  European or Polynesian the most numerous, almost three quarters of the population live in the North Island. Eighty-five percent live in cities and towns. The largest cities are New Zealand Auckland (1 million inhabitants), Wellington (335,000 inhabitants) and Christchurch (330,000 inhabitants).

"Aotearoa (often translated as "land of the long white cloud") is the current Māori name for New Zealand, and is also used in New Zealand English. It is unknown whether Māori had a name for the whole country before the arrival of Europeans, with Aotearoa originally referring to just the North Island. Abel Tasman sighted New Zealand in 1642 and called it Staten Landt, supposing it was connected to a landmass of the same name at the southern tip of South America. In 1645 Dutch cartographers renamed the land Nova Zeelandia after theDutch province of Zeeland. British explorer James Cook subsequently anglicised the name to New Zealand.

Māori had several traditional names for the two main islands, including Te Ika-a-Māui (the fish of Māui) for the North Island and Te Wai Pounamu (the waters of greenstone) or Te Waka o Aoraki (the canoe of Aoraki) for the South Island. Early European maps labelled the islands North (North Island), Middle (South Island) and South (Stewart Island / Rakiura)." (wikipedia)

The flag of New Zealand shows in red the four main stars of the constellation of the Southern Cross with a dark blue background and the "Union Jack", the Union Jack in the upper left corner.
The coat of arms is a shield topped with a crown and flanked by a Maori chief and a European woman

English is the common language for business and everyday use. The Maori is the second official language of New Zealand.