Waka Migrations Flashcards
Why did people migrate to Aotearoa, specifically from Hawaiki?
Migrants left to escape conflicts over land boundaries, gardens and fruit trees; or conflicts between men of rank seeking to marry the same woman
Turi (of Aotea waka) left after hearing a threatening song composed by his opponent and which his wife had overheard and sung to him.
Internal cultural imperatives were probably a key driver.
Where does Te Reo Maori stem from?
Te Reo Maori groups with languages in Cook Islands, Society Islands and Tuamotu Islands, as the ‘Tahitic’ branch of Polynesian language tree.
Where the tools and objects from east and west Polynesia similar?
No, tools and objects found in East Polynesia are quite different from anything found in Fiji or West Polynesia (Samoa, Tonga etc).
Where is the ancestral homeland?
Hawaiki is the ancestral homeland
What is ‘Hawaiki’?
Hawaiki is not a single island or island group but a zone of islands, located in Southeastern Polynesia.
Who built the waka?
Teams of tohunga
Name the chief builder of Tainui waka.
Rakataura.
Who are Turi, Tama-te-kapua and
Whakaotirangi?
- Turi, commander of the Aotea waka
- Tama-te-kapua, commander of Te Arawa waka
- Whakaotirangi, female leader, Tainui waka
Waka names usually reflect…
… incidents which occurred during building
What does the waka name Horouta mean?
Swallowed-land because it was quick to build.
What does the waka name Tainui mean?
Big-in-sea, because it did not sit right in the sea and needed remedial work.
What kind of cargo was on the waka?
Plants (taro, kumara), animals (kiore = pacific rat, kuri = dog), tools, weapons, mauri (protective stones)
When was the earliest dated archaeological site in Aotearoa?
Mid-14th century
Was is meant by the ‘multi-generational migration pattern’?
Multiple arrivals over a century or so involving a number of canoes arriving from Hawaiki.
Waka arrivals over two or more generations.
What does mitochondrial DNA tell us about waka migrations?
Mitochondrial DNA studies in modern Maori suggest at least 190 females must have been present in founding crews, making about 500 people as founding population.
What is the relevance of Wairau bar?
Wairau Bar, at the mouth of the Wairau River in Marlborough, is one of the oldest archaeological sites in New Zealand. Artefacts have been radiocarbon dated to around 1300 AD.
Evidence here of early Maori settlement with strong evidence of direct link to Hawaiki.
Mitochondrial DNA study of human remains shows none of the remains were maternally connected, they originated from different genetic communities, i.e. different islands.
What do burial practices tell us about early settlement?
At Wairau bar the location of burial sites are close to the village, as in tropical East Polynesia, but in contrast to later Maori practices when bodies were secreted away from sites of occupation. This is evidence which supports that Wairau bar is a site of early Maori settlement.
During waka voyage the crew had different roles to play. Who would be the commander at the stern?
Rangatira
During waka voyage the crew had different roles to play. Who would have been responsible for navigation and protection from the elements?
Tohunga
Roughly speaking, how many people make up a crew of a waka?
About 22 - 70
Name some key waka.
Aotea
Horo-uta
Mataatua
Te Arawa
What happened to kurahaupo waka?
It got wrecked and washed ashore on Rangitahua Island.
What happened to crew on Tuwhenua waka?
They experienced leprosy.
Which waka lost goods and crew at Moeraki Boulders and capsized at Shag Point?
Arai-te-uru
What were some first actions upon landing? (5)
- Erect a tuahu (alter, sacred site) to thank the atua for their protection, comprising of fire, mauri (special stones), wooden posts.
- Karakia.
- Exploration and naming of the landscape.
- Identify resource base of new land, especially its industrial grade stone resource.
- Planting crops.
What adaptation had to happen in order to thrive in this new land? (3)
- Development of food storage techniques due to cooler weather.
- Maintaining and adapting ancestral tool kits due to lost resources.
- Adaptation to rich local resources: animals.
