AOTEAROA --- the Land of the Long White Cloud.
Contrary to popular belief, the earliest settlers of New Zealand was not Captain James Cook but were actually ancestors of the Maori from the Polynesian Islands. They came in huge canoes, bringing with them their rich culture and heritage that lives on till today.

Before the Polynesians arrived, there were no mammals ashore until they released rats and dogs they had brought with them. They could have brought with them pigs and fowls, but these did not survive in the climate. The lack of food was made up by the large supply of seafood; fish, crab, seaweed, dolphins, seals, among others. There were near to 200 species of birds, most of them edible. They also cultivated the crops they had brought with them; sweet potato, yam, gourds, mulberry and others. There was no worry for a shortage of food.

The New Zealand trees were bigger than what the Polynesians had previously seen and with them, they built bigger canoes and a complex tradition of carving evolved. Later, they used the trees as structural beams. Materials such as raupo and nikau made excellent house walls and roofs. Flax also plaited well into baskets and provided fine fibre for garments. There was a sufficiency of suitable carving materials and tools. Through these artefacts and crafts, the New Zealand Polynesians developed one of the world's most sophisticated Neolithic culture.
Many of the Polynesians became hunters, gatherers, and cultivators. The Moa, a four metre tall flightless bird, was a much hunted animal as it was very huge and provided food enough for days. However, it's exploitation soon led to it's extinction.

Competitive tribalism was an accepted way and basis of the Maori life. The whole of life to Maori was unified in which every aspect of life is related to every other. Art, religion, war, food gathering, love-making, death were all an integrated pattern on a single fabric --an intricate piece of tapestry. Universal acceptance of concepts like sacredness, spiritual authority, life force, satisfaction and a belief in sorcery regulated all these aspects of life.
There is a hierarchy system in the Maori tribe. People were either born into chiefly families or as commoners. They became slaves if they were captured in a war. Society was divided into two classes. The upper class composed of the highest nobles and the military generals or chiefs. The lower class was made of commoners. Those outside these classes were slaves who held no rights. They did menial work and often died as sacrificial victims or to provide food when special events required human flesh.
Whole communities which shared a common ancestor were under the jurisdiction of a family who earned the authority partly from hereditary and partly from past achievement. Tribes would sometimes join forces against a foreign element or to search or trade resources. Communities range from a handful of households to more than 500 living in villages. The village would be close to water, food resources and cultivations. Maori settlements were constricted with an interior stronghold, ditches, banks and palisades. Some of these defences were impregnable while others were easily broken into and taken away. Communal patterns of life in Maori settlements were organized around food growing, food gathering and in areas of frequent fighting, warfare. Large parties of workers carry out cultivation and the search of food seasonally. When there is a shortage of food items, there is a prohibition laid on the people.
Warfare is an important competitive feature of Maori life in most parts of the country. It is carried out to obtain territory with food or other natural resources, to avenge insults; either real or imagined, to obtain satisfaction from sub-tribes whose members have broken the social code. And sometimes as a result of serious disagreements over control or authority.
Such reasons were often lame and could be nurtured from generation to generation. The important factor, however was that wars or rumours of it kept tribes alert and strong. It also brought about the destruction of sub-tribes which did not possess these qualities. However war did not bring about much destruction prior to the introduction of the musket as it often only involved individuals or small raiding parties. Even when larger parties met for confrontation, the numbers of deaths amounted to only a few. Fighting never occurred far from the home territory. Therefore it was only carried out during the summer months, except when migration was underway.
Although warriors receive high standing and respect, it was possible also to achieve high standings in the arts or as priests as these people were given the same treatment as warriors. And only priests and Maoris from higher ranks were allowed to carry out tattooing. The Maoris had many beautiful pieces of art which can be found in museums. One example can be seen in the canoes which they use extensively as a form of transport. In many aspects, the lives of the Maoris were short and brutish. There was always the danger of being tortured or killed as a result of warfare. There was also ritual cannibalism the possibility of disinheritance and enslavement in defeat. Furthermore, research shows that the life-spans of the Maoris seldom exceed 30 years. From the late twenties, people would have suffered from numerous diseases. The Maoris also had no concept of nationhood or race, having been so long separated from other races and cultures. They were fiercely assertive of their ancestry. But they were happy as they went along with their life in the land they called Aotearoa which the white men were soon to invade...

Raupo -- Bulrush, a tall grasslike waterside plant
Nikau -- A type of palm tree
Flax -- the thread made from the stems of a flax plant