The Origins of the Maori

The Origins of the Maori people of New Zealand

The legends of the Maori have it that their ancestors came by sea from a land called “Hawaiki”. The Maoris first arrived in New Zealand around a thousand years ago to a land that was shaped by volcanism and hid its highest mountain peaks in majestic snow. The Maoris called this beautiful land “Aotearoa”, which means the Land of the Long White Clouds.

The Maoris have many ideas about their place of origin. They commonly agree that “Hawaiki” may be referring to Hawaii or to a place thereabouts. Most scholars of Maori culture agree that the ancestors of the Maori came via South East Asia from somewhere in China.

Others argue that the Land of the Long White Clouds may have been discovered by accident when they were blown of their voyage routes. However, there is compelling evidence to disprove otherwise this notion since the Maori possessed ancient knowledge of navigation.