Maori values

Maori values

This document is a little extract from “Once Were Warriors” published in 1990. It is here

illustrated by the film poster which was released in 1994. We are presented with the

character of Beth, a mother of 6, married to an uneducated violent alcoholic man. In this

extract, she gives her point of view about the evolution of the Maori lifestyle, in this more

and more modern New Zealand society. The author, Alan Duff who is of mixed origins, his

mum being a Maori and his dad being European, tells his in-between vision in a very oral

style, so that his book is very realistic, complex, and very touching at the same time.

Speak

1. The first picture is a photograph showing two maori women. It present an ideal image

of harmony and peace. They’re dressed in their traditional black white and red

clothes, sitting outside a wooden house, a marae, which could be a spiritual house, a

ceremonial place used for all types of rituals and gatherings. Or a wharenui which is a

meeting place. These women may be dancers, or musicians because they are holding

things which look like castanets. The second picture is a film poster which shows

three Maoris. We can they represent the father, the mother, and the daughter. The

atmosphere is very different from the first picture. There is a feeling or underlined

violence, there is something dark, something hard, attached to this family; it is not

pleasant. The third picture represents a traditional wooden Maori sculpture, portraying

a tattooed man. The face seems to be that of the warrior just above. To conclude, the

three pictures obviously tell us that the text is going to tell us about the Maori culture

and maybe not just the good side of it.

2. The Maori people live in the country of New Zealand and which means that not only

do they speak Maori but they speak English as well. Their ethnicities are also linked to

Polynesian people. New Zealand is located in the south of the pacific ocean and it is

mainly made up of two islands. It is liable to earth quakes and volcanic eruptions.

New Zealand is one of the wildest countries of the world, it has not been explored. It

was a former of the of the British colony and member of Commonwealth since 97. The

majority of the population is European, then Maoris, and non-Maori Polynesians.

English is spoken by 97% of the population whereas the Maori is spoken by 4%,

became the second official language in 87. In the 80s there was a consciousness that

some people start to realise that they have done things that are not correct; such as

the Americans realising that they committed genocide on the Natives. The land of the

long white cloud, Aotearoa. It is a constitutional monarchy. Maori culture is known for

carving, weaving, and the tattoo art Moko. Rugby is the national sport and the famous

Haka which a Maori dance which offers a challenge to the adverses.

3. The title “Once Were Warriors”, refers to the war culture and to the many wars that the

Maoris had to fight in the past to keep their land and culture in the phase of

colinisation. It may also refer to the various protest movements, against eurocentrism,

and for a better recognition of their civilisation and values. The title is in the past tense

which may imply that the present situation may be is more peaceful than it used to be.

Or, that the warriors are now tired of fighting and that they have more or less accepted

their situation.

Read

1. Beth is a Maori explaining how the Maori way of life is and what is their state of mind.

Beth discusses the Maori way of contemplating the past opposed to the “modern

stuff”. She also claims that she “hardly knew a European.”

2. The speech about Europeans is quite aggressive as Beth says “May as well come

from another country the contact the two races.” (l.15 - l.16). Europeans are known as

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