Everything about M Ori Religion totally explained
Māori religion is the religious beliefs and practice of the
Māori, the
Polynesian indigenous people of
New Zealand.
Traditional Māori religion
Traditional Māori religion, that is, the pre-European belief system of the
Māori, was little modified from that of their tropical Eastern
Polynesian homeland (Hawaiki Nui), conceiving of everything, including natural elements and all living things as connected by common descent through
whakapapa or genealogy. Accordingly, all things were thought of as possessing a life force or
mauri. As an illustration of this concept of connectedness through
genealogy, consider a few of the major personifications of pre-contact times:
Tangaroa was the personification of the ocean and the ancestor or origin of all fish;
Tāne was the personification of the forest and the origin of all birds; and
Rongo was the personification of peaceful activities and agriculture and the ancestor of cultivated plants. (According to some, the supreme
personification of the Māori was
Io; however this idea is controversial.)
Tapu and mana
Certain practices are followed that relate to traditional concepts like tapu. Certain people and objects contain
mana - spiritual power or essence. In earlier times,
tribal members of a higher rank wouldn't touch objects which belonged to members of a lower rank. This was considered "pollution" and persons of a lower rank couldn't touch the belongings of a highborn person without putting themselves at risk of death.
Tapu can be interpreted as "
sacred", as "
spiritual restriction" or "implied prohibition"; it involves
rules and
prohibitions. There are two kinds of tapu, the private (relating to individuals) and the public tapu (relating to communities). A person, an object or a place, which is tapu, may not be touched by human contact, in some cases, not even approached. A person, object or a place could be made sacred by tapu for a certain time.
In pre-contact society, tapu was one of the strongest forces in Māori life; however in the early 1800s,many Māori enthusiastically embraced Christianity and its concepts and rejected their culture for christianity. A violation of tapu could have dire consequences, including the death of the offender through sickness or at the hands of someone affected by the offence. In earlier times food cooked for a person of high rank was tapu, and couldn't be eaten by an inferior. A chief's house was tapu, and even the chief couldn't eat food in the interior of his house. Not only were the houses of people of high rank perceived to be tapu, but also their possessions including their clothing. Burial grounds and places of death were always tapu, and these areas were often surrounded by a protective fence.
Today, tapu is still observed in matters relating to sickness, death, and burial:
- Tangihanga or funeral rites may take two or three days. The deceased lies in state, usually in an open coffin flanked by female relatives dressed in black, their heads sometimes wreathed in kawakawa leaves, who take few and short breaks. During the day, visitors come, sometimes from great distances despite only a distant relationship, to address the deceased. They may speak frankly of his or her faults as well as virtues, but singing and joking are also appropriate. Free expression of grief by both men and women is encouraged. Traditional beliefs may be invoked, and the deceased told to return to the ancestral homeland, Hawaiki, by way of te rerenga wairua, the spirits' journey. The close kin or kiri mate ("dead skin") may not speak. On the last night, the pō whakamutunga (night of ending), the mourners hold a vigil and at sunrise the coffin is closed, before a church or marae funeral service and/or graveside interment ceremony, invariably Christian. It is traditional for mourners to wash their hands in water and sprinkle some on their heads before leaving a cemetery. After the burial rites are completed, a feast is traditionally served. Mourners are expected to provide koha or gifts towards the meal. After the burial, the home of the deceased and the place they died are ritually cleansed with karakia (prayers or incantations) and desanctified with food and drink, in a ceremony called takahi whare, trampling the house. That night, the pō whakangahau (night of entertainment) is a night of relaxation and rest. The widow or widower isn't left alone for several nights following.
- During the following year, the kinfolk of a prominent deceased person will visit other marae, "bringing the death" (kawe mate) to them. They carry pictures of the person on to the marae.
- Unveilings of headstones (hura kōwhatu) are usually held about a year after a death, often on a public holiday to accommodate visitors who couldn't get to the tangihanga. The dead are remembered and more grief expressed.
Adoption of Christianity
Most Māori adopted
Christianity in the early 19th century. Large numbers of converts joined the
Church of England and the
Roman Catholic Church, both of which are still highly influential in Māori society. The Māori aspect of the Church of England in New Zealand has long been recognised by the ordination of Māori priests as
Bishop of Aotearoa; a well-known and sometimes controversial holder of that title was the late Rev.
Whakahuihui Vercoe, who is remembered for a frank speech he delivered in the presence of Queen
Elizabeth II during a
Waitangi Day ceremony. The Roman Catholic Church also ordains Māori to high positions. Other churches were also locally successful in the 19th century, including, among others, the
Presbyterian Church. The
Mormon church was also successful in gaining limited numbers of Maori converts from the 1880s.
In the 19th and early 20th centuries, new religions arose, combining various aspects of Christianity with traditional and non-traditional Māori philosophies. These include
Ringatu,
Pai Marire and the influential
Ratana church. According to the 2006 New Zealand Census, there are 2,427 followers of Maori religions of various denominations, including 609
Hauhau.
Today, Christian prayer (karakia) is the expected way to begin and end Māori public gatherings of many kinds. Prayers are also made at the beginning of many new projects, personal journeys, and endeavours. In some ways, however, the modern religious practices of the Māori can be seen as utilising Christian practice to satisfy traditional cultural imperatives.
In recent years the
fundamentalist Destiny Church founded by
Brian Tamaki has also had a large impact.
Islam
Islam is also the fastest growing religion amongst the Maori community. Census figures show the number of Maori Muslims increased from 99 to 708 in the 10 years to 2001. But Kireka-Whaanga, the leader of "Aotearoa Maori Muslim Association" (AMMA), said numbers had shot up since September 11, as global media focused on radical Islam.The AMMA, the most influential
Māori Muslim movement, has roots in the Hawkes Bay Province. They view tino rangatiratanga as a jihad, and that Islam is the perfect vehicle for Maori nationalism. It has been claimed that most numbers have been gained from prisoners taking up Islam and that the AMMA tend to teach a more politically and racially motivated form of Islam like the
Nation of Islam, rather than more "traditional" Islam.
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