Culture
New Zealand (Aotearoa)
"The Land Of The Long White Cloud"
日本語
New Zealand is a young country with a rich and
fascinating history. Its history is strongly influenced by
both British and Maori cultures. The Maori people were the
first people to reach and inhabit the island approximately
1,000 years ago. 
According to ancient Maori tales the Hokianga
people who are the direct Uri of Kupe and the first to reach
New Zealand. It is believed that the origins of the Maori
and Kupe lie within a small tribe located in a tiny cluster
of Polynesian islands, specifically the island of Hawaiki.
Using the stars and ocean currents to guide them across the
Pacific Ocean these voyagers spent weeks at a time in a canoe
they called "Wakahourua" traveling to their new land. It is
thought that this migration was a deliberate well-planned
action of the Maori making return trips in the Wakahourua
to Hawaiki using similar navigational methods over hundreds
of years transporting more of the tribal members to New Zealand.
Arriving in several different areas of the island and creating
many new settlements, the Maori thrived for centuries before
the first Europeans arrived.
 Today,
some of the Maori are tracing their tribal ancestral origins
back to a specific Wakahourua used to make the first crossings.
Some of these individuals are even replicating the canoe used
by their ancestors and are making this ocean voyage back to
Hawaiki.
The Maori, lived mostly along the coast of New
Zealand believe "Maui" to be their god, and who is the one
that "fished up" the northern island of New Zealand. The Maori
also believe that whales are their spirit guardians or "Kaitiaki"
and therefore eat whale flesh is a part of their diet to gain
strength and utilize the bones for weaponry.
A tradition amongst the Maori to this present
day is to throw back the first fish caught as an offering.
It is believed that this is a way of giving thanks to "Tangaroa",
the god of the sea, for the bounty he has provided them.
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