The Maori people are believed to be descendants of Polynesians, which are assumed to have arrived to New Zealand over 1000 years ago. By the end of the 14th century, settlements had been established throughout New Zealand. The early Maori people developed their mythology, rituals, religion, and cultural traditions such as singing, dancing, weaving, and woodcarving. The Maori tended to make their settlements close to the sea, as they hunted fish and seals for food. Another food source was a bird called the “moa”, which was hunted to extinction. The Maori based social status on reputation. Religion was based on concepts of mana and tapu. Mana is defined as “an impersonal force that can be both inherited and acquired by individuals in the course of their life” and Tapu as sacredness that was assigned by status at birth.” Ancestor worship was also very important to the Maori people.
As a result of cultural contact, the Maori society changed in the aspects of religion, technology, and culture. The first European to make contact with the Maori was British explorer Captain James Cook in 1769. After his discovery, the Maori society shifted from the Stone Age to the Iron Age. The first European settlers hunted the seal and whale populations almost to extinction. They also introduced disease and firearms. The Maori embarked on a wholesale slaughter, which, along with the diseases brought by Europeans, reduced the Maori population by 25% by 1830. This slaughter was known as the Musket Wars. Due to cultural contact, the Maori religion was changed greatly. It changed from an idea of many gods to the idea of one god. European missionaries were mostly responsible for the change to Christianity. The Maori saw converting to Christianity as a way of making peace with the Europeans.
British, French, and American explorers primarily visited the Maori. The Europeans traded goods, guns and metal tools for example, to the Maori for food, water, wood, flax, and sex. Metal was not...