Taha Māori is a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

phrase, used in both

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

and New Zealand English. It means "the Māori side (of a question)" or "the Māori perspective" as opposed to the

Pākehā Pākehā (or Pakeha; ; ) is a Māori term for New Zealanders primarily of European descent. Pākehā is not a legal concept and has no definition under New Zealand law. The term can apply to fair-skinned persons, or to any non- Māori New Z ...

or European side or perspective. In many New Zealand families, particularly those established for two or three generations or more, there has been intermarriage between Māori and Pākehā. This means that a large proportion of people born in New Zealand are of mixed descent, both Māori and Pākehā. The Taha Māori refers not to their ancestry so much as to the customs of their Māori ancestors and appropriateness of both acknowledging and following these customs. For many years Pākehā custom and usage has been dominant in New Zealand. However, since about the 1980s the place of Māori custom in New Zealand society has been increasingly recognized, albeit reluctantly, by many sections of the populace. A person who accepts their Taha Māori will often try to live according to

Tikanga Māori Tikanga is a Māori concept incorporating practices and values from mātauranga Māori, Māori knowledge. Tikanga is translated into the English language with a wide range of meanings — culture, custom, ethic, etiquette, fashion, formali ...

References

Māori culture Māori words and phrases Māori society {{Maori-stub

See also

References