Some notable figures are Rangi and Papa, Māui, and Kupe.Ĭentral to many cultural events is the marae, where families and tribes gather for special occasions, such as pōwhiri or tangi. Māori mythology is a distinctive corpus of gods and heroes, sharing some Polynesian motifs. Oral history tells of a long voyage from Hawaiki (the mythical homeland in tropical Polynesia) in large ocean-going canoes (waka). Many citizens prefer to minimise ethnic divisions, simply calling themselves New Zealanders or Kiwis. New Zealand has two national anthems of equal status ' God Save the Queen' and ' God Defend New Zealand'-the latter of which is often sung with alternating Māori and English verses. New Zealand marks two national days of remembrance, Waitangi Day and ANZAC Day, and also celebrates holidays during or close to the anniversaries of the founding dates of each province. Non-Māori Polynesian cultures are apparent, with Pasifika, the world's largest Polynesian festival, now an annual event in Auckland. More recently, New Zealand culture has been broadened by globalisation and immigration from the Pacific Islands, East Asia and South Asia. Pākehā culture became prevalent after the wars, but after sustained political efforts, biculturalism and the Treaty of Waitangi became part of the school curriculum in the late 20th century, to promote understanding between Māori and Pākehā. Pākehā began to forge a separate identity influenced by their pioneering history, a rural lifestyle and New Zealand's unique environment. These ties were weakened by the demise of the British Empire and loss of special access to British meat and dairy markets. With mass migration from Britain, a high Māori death rate and low life expectancy for Māori women, the indigenous population figure dropped between 18, becoming a minority.Įuropean New Zealanders ( Pākehā), despite their location far from Europe, retained strong cultural ties to 'Mother England'. Māori retained their identity, mostly choosing to live separately from settlers and continuing to speak and write te reo Māori. However, after several incidents, the New Zealand wars broke out from 1845, with Māori suffering a loss of land, partly through confiscation, but mainly through widespread and extensive land sales. In 1840 Māori chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi, intended to enable the tribes to live peacefully with the colonists. Colonists had a dramatic effect on the Māori, bringing Christianity, advanced technology, the English language, numeracy and literacy. Regular European contact began from 1800, and British immigration proceeded rapidly, especially from 1855. Māori established separate tribes, built fortified villages ( Pā), hunted and fished, traded commodities, developed agriculture, arts and weaponry, and kept a detailed oral history. Over the ensuing centuries of Polynesian expansion and settlement, Māori culture developed from its Polynesian roots. Polynesian explorers reached the islands between 12 CE. I will take submissions through March 1, 2022.The culture of New Zealand is essentially a Western culture influenced by the unique environment and geographic isolation of the islands, and the cultural input of the indigenous Māori and the various waves of multi-ethnic migration which followed the British colonisation of New Zealand. GIVEAWAY ALERT! Do you have an idea for a podcast episode? If it meets the criteria of being something my sister was into or something that we experienced as kids, I may select your idea and put together a show about it! If your show idea is selected, I will send you a few free stickers with the PCRP logo on it! Simply email me your show idea to : and include a mailing address. After just over a decade in business, Discovery Zone crashed and burned and you will learn why in today's episode. Discovery Zone opened their first location in Kansas City in 1989 and Leaps & Bounds opened their first location in Naperville, IL in 1991.

Thank you for tuning in! On today's show we will be taking a look back at both Discovery Zone and Leaps & Bounds, two companies with the same goal - provide opportunities for kids to engage in fun and fitness via an indoor recreation complex.

Discovery for kids culter