Post by Kiwi Frontline on Dec 28, 2022 15:31:50 GMT 12
R B writes > MAORI WONDERFULNESS…
We’re bombarded with claims that Maori are wonderful and should be respected and even admired. That prior to the arrival of the Europeans they enjoyed an idyllic distance that was shattered by the Europeans. But there’s very little basis for this given the reality of their history.
Prior to the arrival of the Europeans, Maori were a very primitive Stone Age people. They had no metal tools or weapons, their clothing was very rudimentary, their housing just sticks and reeds, and their food meagre and cooking methods were very basic. They didn’t even develop earthenware pots or bowls, or the bow and arrow!
Cannibalism and slavery were widespread and infanticide was evident. They had no written language, their political structures tribal, and legal systems largely “law of the jungle”. They were in a constant state of conflict with other tribes. And there’s no evidence that they were environmentally savvy having wiped out several bird species, including the moa. Any environmental benefits arose not out of enlightened practices but rather just because they were few in number!
It seems that the original Maori arrivals from the Pacific islands had developed good navigational and sailing skills. But upon arrival in NZ their development stalled. Thereafter they invented/developed nothing…socially, politically or technologically!
Despite the carping and wailing we hear, the arrival of the Europeans and “colonisation” was the best thing that could have happened to ancient Maori. They brought warm clothing, abundant food, weather proof housing, metal tools, and brought an end to cannibalism and slavery. Moreover, the Europeans did not steal land. The vast bulk was sold willingly by Maori, despite subsequent protestations.
What infuriates me most about all this is that, rather than being honest and acknowledging the reality of their past and the benefits the Europeans brought to a desperately primitive people, Maori are doing the opposite. In order to extort greater benefits and compensation for fictitious “wrongs”, they’re misrepresenting their history and attempting to paint the European settlers as ghastly, oppressive people. In reality it was the opposite. As Sir Apirana Ngata said "I doubt whether any native race has been so well treated by a European people as the Maori of New Zealand."
We’re bombarded with claims that Maori are wonderful and should be respected and even admired. That prior to the arrival of the Europeans they enjoyed an idyllic distance that was shattered by the Europeans. But there’s very little basis for this given the reality of their history.
Prior to the arrival of the Europeans, Maori were a very primitive Stone Age people. They had no metal tools or weapons, their clothing was very rudimentary, their housing just sticks and reeds, and their food meagre and cooking methods were very basic. They didn’t even develop earthenware pots or bowls, or the bow and arrow!
Cannibalism and slavery were widespread and infanticide was evident. They had no written language, their political structures tribal, and legal systems largely “law of the jungle”. They were in a constant state of conflict with other tribes. And there’s no evidence that they were environmentally savvy having wiped out several bird species, including the moa. Any environmental benefits arose not out of enlightened practices but rather just because they were few in number!
It seems that the original Maori arrivals from the Pacific islands had developed good navigational and sailing skills. But upon arrival in NZ their development stalled. Thereafter they invented/developed nothing…socially, politically or technologically!
Despite the carping and wailing we hear, the arrival of the Europeans and “colonisation” was the best thing that could have happened to ancient Maori. They brought warm clothing, abundant food, weather proof housing, metal tools, and brought an end to cannibalism and slavery. Moreover, the Europeans did not steal land. The vast bulk was sold willingly by Maori, despite subsequent protestations.
What infuriates me most about all this is that, rather than being honest and acknowledging the reality of their past and the benefits the Europeans brought to a desperately primitive people, Maori are doing the opposite. In order to extort greater benefits and compensation for fictitious “wrongs”, they’re misrepresenting their history and attempting to paint the European settlers as ghastly, oppressive people. In reality it was the opposite. As Sir Apirana Ngata said "I doubt whether any native race has been so well treated by a European people as the Maori of New Zealand."