Word of the Day
Maori (MOW-ree)
Common clue: Polynesian New Zealander
Maori is the name of the indigenous people of New Zealand, and their language. It is also the name of the people and language of the Cook Islands, referred to as Cook Islands Maori. Today, many Maori prefer to refer to themselves as Tangata whenua (literally "people of the land").
Maori are believed to have migrated to New Zealand from eastern Polynesia in the latter part of the 1st millennium AD. Archaeological evidence suggests that there were probably several waves of migration over the period between 800 and 1300. Maori oral history describes their arrival from the mythical Hawaiki by large ocean-going canoes (waka). Migration accounts vary among Maori tribes or iwi, whose members can identify with the different waka in their genealogies or whakapapa.
In 2001 a dispute arose between Danish toymaker LEGO and several Maori tribal groups fronted by lawyer Maui Solomon, and also several members of an online discussion forum Aotearoa Cafe, over the popular LEGO toy line, Bionicle, which used many words that were an appropriation of Maori language, imagery and folklore, was settled amicably. LEGO refused to withdraw the game, saying the names it used were drawn from many cultures, but later agreed that it had taken the names from Maori, and agreed to change certain names or spellings to help set the toy line apart from the Maori legends. This however did not prevent the many Bionicle users from continuing to use the disputed words resulting in the popular Bionicle website BZPOWER coming under a Denial of service attack for 4 days by a cyber attacker using the name Kotiate.
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html). It uses material from the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eero_Saarinen
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The tide continues to turn
against the international practice of housing Maori human remains,
with a Scottish museum agreeing to return two toi moko (tattooed
heads) this year.
Councillors on Perth and Kinross
Council's lifelong learning committee have agreed to a request by
Te Papa Museum to return two toi moko stored in Perth Museum, 70km
north of Edinburgh.
[Source: The New Zealand Herald, January 24, 2005]
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