The cuisine of the Māori people includes sweet potatoes, fern roots, birds, and fish prepared into various meals with earthen ovens, roasting and steaming over natural hot springs and pools. Greetings are also an important part of the social fabric of New Zealand with parties acknowledging each other with a simple “Good day!”Ĭuisine Green-lipped mussels are a common delicacy in New Zealand. For instance, during communication, too much eye contact and closeness translate to the invasion of personal space. They value aspects such as personal distance during communication, greeting, and have defined expectations on showing affection in public. New Zealanders, also called Kiwis, are social people who believe in basic politeness and hospitality to all. Although the earlier culture of the Māori displayed social stratification with three different hierarchies of belonging in their society, the classes relatively disappeared with influence and interaction with other cultures.
Though the relations between the Indigenous peoples and Western settlers have varied throughout its history and have been strained at times, New Zealand is founded on the principles of equality and classlessness.
Social Beliefs And Customs New Zealand flags held up by a crowd. Currently, New Zealand is committed to promoting its cultural heritage, especially the Māori culture, which is unique to this country. These interactions between the Indigenous Māori and the European settlers gave rise to the Pakeha people. Cultural interactions among the Europeans and the Māori people created a new set of new practices both for the Māori and for the Europeans as they exchanged different aspects of religion, dress, music, and language. These Europeans carried with them traditions and practices of their native lands, most of whom were from Britain. The migration of the Europeans into New Zealand in the 1800s forever changed the course of history for its inhabitants. The Māori culture developed from Polynesian influences of their traditional lands, and when they arrived on the island we now know as New Zealand in about the 14th century, their culture developed under the influence of their new surroundings. Before the 1800s, the Māori pre-colonial culture was dominant on the island. New Zealand is a diverse nation, with colonial Western culture influenced by Māori customs and traditions. The island of New Zealand is located in the southwestern region of the Pacific Ocean, southeast of Australia.