Maori culture (Maoritanga) is the customs, cultural practices, and beliefs of the

indigenous Maori people of New Zealand. It originated from, and is still part of,
Eastern Polynesian culture. Maori culture also forms a distinctive part of New
Zealand culture and, due to a large diaspora and the incorporation of Maori motifs
into popular culture, is found throughout the world.[1][2] Within Maoridom, and to
a lesser extent throughout New Zealand as a whole, the word Maoritanga is often
used as an approximate synonym for Maori culture, the Maori-language suffix -tanga
being roughly equivalent to the qualitative noun-ending -ness in English.[3][4]
Maoritanga has also been translated as "[a] Maori way of life."[5]

There have been four distinct but overlapping cultural eras�before Maori culture
had differentiated itself from other Polynesian cultures (Archaic period), before
widespread European contact (Classical period), the 1800s in which Maori began
interacting with European visitors and settlers, and the modern era since the
beginning of the twentieth century. Maoritanga in the modern era has been shaped by
increasing urbanisation, closer contact with New Zealanders of European descent (or
Pakeha) and revival of traditional practices.

Traditional Maori arts make up a large section of New Zealand art and include
whakairo (carving), raranga (weaving), kapa haka (group performance), whaikorero
(oratory), and ta moko (tattoo). The patterns and characters represented record the
beliefs and genealogies (Whakapapa) of Maori. Practitioners often follow the
techniques of their ancestors, but today Maoritanga also includes contemporary arts
such as film, television, poetry and theatre. The Maori language is known as te reo
Maori, shortened to te reo (literally, "the language"). At the beginning of the
twentieth century, it looked like te reo Maori as well as other aspects of Maori
life might disappear. In the 1980s, however, government-sponsored schools (Kura
Kaupapa Maori) taught te reo, educating those of European descent as well as Maori.
[6]