The discovery of New Zealand, the last place on earth to be peopled, is surrounded by myths. Maori Mana: the Power of New Zealand's First Inhabitants takes you on a journey exploring the histories of the country's first Polynesian discoverers, its encounters with Europeans and the subsequent settlin... Les mer

The discovery of New Zealand, the last place on earth to be peopled, is surrounded by myths. Maori Mana: the Power of New Zealand's First Inhabitants takes you on a journey exploring the histories of the country's first Polynesian discoverers, its encounters with Europeans and the subsequent settling by Westerners. Particular attention will be paid to the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman and the Dutch immigration wave of the 1950s. Through a discussion of the meeting house and meeting grounds, the relationships Maori maintain to the land will be considered. The vital role of the Treaty of Waitangi (1840) and its present-day repercussions will be looked at. Finally the role of taonga or cultural treasures embodying the ancestral identity of a Maori kin group in relation to particular lands and resources will be explained. In so doing attention will be paid to taonga made from different materials by men as well as by women. Also available in Dutch: "http://www.aup.nl/do.php?a=show_visitor_book&isbn=9789087280840">ISBN 978 90 8728 084 0

Fanny Wonu Veys is curator Oceania at the National Museum of Ethnology, Leiden. Lukk