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Whenua Hou
In New Zealand, tangata whenua () is a Māori term that literally means "people of the land". It can refer to either a specific group of people with historical claims to a district, or more broadly the Māori people as a whole. Etymology According to Williams' definitive ''Dictionary of the Māori Language'', ''tangata'' means "man" or "human being", whilst ''tāngata'' (with the macronated "ā") is the plural, and means "people". ''Tangata''—without the macron—can also mean "people" in reference to a group with a singular identity. ''Whenua'' means both "land" and "placenta" (again referencing Williams, who lists five definitions). It is an ancient Austronesian word with cognates across the Malayo-Polynesian world, from Malay ''benua'' (now meaning "continent"), Visayan *''banwa'' and to Rapa Nui ''henua''; ultimately from Proto-Austronesian *''banua''. Unlike European thought, wherein people own land, in the Māori worldview the land is regarded as a mother to the people. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Māori Language
Māori (), or ('the Māori language'), also known as ('the language'), is an Eastern Polynesian language spoken by the Māori people, the indigenous population of mainland New Zealand. Closely related to Cook Islands Māori, Tuamotuan, and Tahitian, it gained recognition as one of New Zealand's official languages in 1987. The number of speakers of the language has declined sharply since 1945, but a Māori-language revitalisation effort has slowed the decline. The 2018 New Zealand census reported that about 186,000 people, or 4.0% of the New Zealand population, could hold a conversation in Māori about everyday things. , 55% of Māori adults reported some knowledge of the language; of these, 64% use Māori at home and around 50,000 people can speak the language "very well" or "well". The Māori language did not have an indigenous writing system. Missionaries arriving from about 1814, such as Thomas Kendall, learned to speak Māori, and introduced the Latin alphabet. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
