THE MAORI

Description

Maori: Heirs of Tane New Zealand, the “Land of the Long White Cloud“, which was entirely uninhabited until nomads Polynesians who came by sea tropics arrived with their canoes, there are about 750 years AD. During their first period of colonization, the people, the Maori, lived mainly on hunting and fishing. But gradually, during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the natural resources of the earth are exhausted and Maori have become farmers. Their agricultural system brought with it a new way of life structured around extended family clans ruled by gods and marked by constant wars. Drawing on his extensive knowledge of navigation, archeology and anthropology, David Lewis tells the story of these creative and warlike peoples from their origins to the nineteenth century when the Europeans arrived. The gods were believed to be linked to the people, and even the trees had souls. Maori myths, songs and art, alternately sensual and fierce turn, joyous and tragic, are part of the book. It shows how all aspects of Maori life were connected.