Māori religion is the religious beliefs and practice of the Māori, the Polynesian indigenous people of New Zealand. This article discusses the Māori people of New Zealand For their language see Māori language, and for other meanings see Māori (disambiguation. Polynesia (from Greek: πολύς many, νῆσος island) is a Subregion of Oceania, comprising a large grouping of over New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island

Contents 1 Traditional Māori religion 1.1 Tapu and mana 2 Adoption of Christianity 3 Islam 4 References 5 See also

Traditional Māori religion

Main article: Māori mythology

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. Māori mythology and Māori traditions are the two major categories into which the Legends of the Māori of New Zealand may usefully be divided This article discusses the Māori people of New Zealand For their language see Māori language, and for other meanings see Māori (disambiguation. Polynesia (from Greek: πολύς many, νῆσος island) is a Subregion of Oceania, comprising a large grouping of over Whakapapa or Genealogy is a fundamental principle that permeates the whole of Māori culture. 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. Genealogy (from Greek: el γενεά el-Latn genea, "descent" and el λόγος el-Latn logos, "knowledge" is the study of In Māori mythology, Tangaroa is one of the great gods the god of the sea Māori mythology, Tāne (also Tāne Mahuta is the god of Forests and of Birds, and the son of Ranginui and Papatuanuku, the sky father and the Māori mythology, Rongo is a major god the god of cultivated food especially the kūmara, a vital food crop (According to some, the supreme personification of the Māori was Io; however this idea is controversial. Personification is an ontological metaphor in which a thing or abstraction is represented as a person Io Matua Kore ( Māori for " Io the Parentless who was always existent without beginning or end" is in some Māori traditions the supreme )

Tapu and mana

Certain practices are followed that relate to traditional concepts like tapu. Certain people and objects contain mana - spiritual power or essence. Mana is the concept of an impersonal force or quality that resides in people animals and inanimate objects In earlier times, tribal members of a higher rank would not touch objects which belonged to members of a lower rank. A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally consists of a Social group existing before the development of or outside of States Many anthropologists use This was considered "pollution" and persons of a lower rank could not 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. SACRED was a Cubesat built by the Student Satellite Program of the University of Arizona. Spirituality, in a narrow sense concerns itself with matters of the Spirit, a concept closely tied to religious belief and Faith, a transcendent reality A moral is a message conveyed or a lesson to be learned from a story or event 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. 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 could not be eaten by an inferior. A chief's house was tapu, and even the chief could not 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. A coffin (also known as a casket in North American English) is a funerary Box used in the display and containment of deceased remains – either for Kawakawa, Macropiper excelsum, is a small tree of which the subspecies M 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. Karakia is the Māori word for Incantations and prayers. Usage Karakia are generally used to ensure a favourable outcome of important That night, the pō whakangahau (night of entertainment) is a night of relaxation and rest. The widow or widower is not 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 could not get to the tangihanga. The dead are remembered and more grief expressed.

Adoption of Christianity

In the early 1800s, many Māori embraced Christianity and its concepts. ^[1] 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 Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England, the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican 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. The Bishop of Aotearoa is a Bishop in the Anglican Church of New Zealand. Whakahuihui Vercoe, who is remembered for a frank speech he delivered in the presence of Queen Elizabeth II during a Waitangi Day ceremony. The Most Reverend Whakahuihui ("Hui" Vercoe PCNZM MBE ( 4 June 1928 &ndash 13 September 2007) was For the ship see RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Context States headed by Elizabeth II Waitangi Day is the National day of New Zealand. It is a public holiday held each year on February 6 to celebrate the signing of the Treaty 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. Presbyterianism is a family of Christian denominations within the Reformed branch of Protestant Western Christianity The Mormon church was also successful in gaining limited numbers of Maori converts from the 1880s^[2][3]. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the fourth largest Christian denomination in the United States and the largest and most well-known

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. The Ringatu church was founded in 1868 by Te Kooti Rikirangi The symbol for the movement is an upraised hand or "Ringa Tu" in Māori. The Pai Mārire movement was a syncretic Māori religion that flourished in New Zealand from about 1863 to 1874 The Ratana movement is a Māori Religion and pan- tribal Political movement founded by Tahupotiki Wiremu Ratana in early 20th century According to the 2006 New Zealand Census, there are 2,427 followers of Maori religions of various denominations, including 609 Hauhau. Hauhau is a Māori term that was applied to a branch of the religious movement Pai Marire, founded by Te Ua Haumēne of the Taranaki tribe in New Zealand

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^[4]. Fundamentalist Christianity, also known as Christian Fundamentalism or Fundamentalist Evangelicalism, is a movement that arose mainly within British and For unaffiliated churches which share the same name Destiny Church. Brian Raymond Tamaki (born 2 February, 1958) heads Destiny Church, a charismatic and Pentecostal Christian organisation

Islam

Main article: Islam in New Zealand

Islam is also the fastest growing religion amongst the Maori community. Islam in New Zealand has grown with inward immigration to that country ^[5] 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. This article discusses the Māori people of New Zealand For their language see Māori language, and for other meanings see Māori (disambiguation. A Muslim (مسلم pronounced Muslim, not Muzlim) is an adherent of the Religion 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^[6]. The Nation of Islam ( NOI) (أمة الإسلام Ummah al-Islāmu) is a group founded in Detroit, Michigan,

References

See also

• Rangi and Papa
• Māori
• Māori culture
• Māori mythology
• Ratana

Māori mythology the primal couple Rangi and Papa (or Ranginui and Papatuanuku) appear in a Creation myth explaining the origin of the world This article discusses the Māori people of New Zealand For their language see Māori language, and for other meanings see Māori (disambiguation. Māori culture is the culture of the Māori of New Zealand, and Eastern Polynesian people and forms a distinctive part of New Zealand culture Māori mythology and Māori traditions are the two major categories into which the Legends of the Māori of New Zealand may usefully be divided The Ratana movement is a Māori Religion and pan- tribal Political movement founded by Tahupotiki Wiremu Ratana in early 20th century

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