Maori were
New Zealand's earliest settlers.
The Maori are New Zealand's earliest settlers, who have been living in the islands for at least 1,000 years. The Maori's ancestors are thought to have been Polynesians who migrated across the islands of the South Pacific. Maori culture is traditionally distinct from that of white New Zealanders and has its own society, culture and food. Today Maori make up around 15 percent of New Zealand's population, and their language is an official language alongside English. Add this to my Recipe Box.
Plants
When the Maori arrived in New Zealand, they had brought with them cultivated tropical plants such as kumara, or sweet potato. Climatic conditions in New Zealand were not ideal for growing kumara, so the Maori stored them underground over winter to make cultivation possible. They also collected roots, berries, leaves and nut kernels. Kumara would not grow in the south island, so the Maori living there ate the trunks, underground roots and green leaf centers of the Ki, or cabbage tree.
Birds And Mammals
Although the Maori discovered that New Zealand had little in the way of mammal life, they supplemented their diet with many of the islands' birds. The large but flightless Moa bird was hunted to extinction by the 1500s. The Maori introduced rats to the islands as a food source and in parts of the south island also hunted and killed seals for food.
Cooking Methods
Many of the fruits and vegetables eaten by Maori were consumed raw, but they also cooked meat and kumara in a special underground oven known as a hangi. The hangi cooks food by using stones heated in a fire to create steam. The hot rocks are placed in a pit, food is wrapped in wet cloth or another protective material, and wet cloths and blankets placed on top. The pit is then filled in with earth and left for several hours until the food is cooked.
Today
Visitors to New Zealand today can sample traditional Maori food at several festivals. Each February, the town of Kawhia on the North Island marks the anniversary of the Waitangi Treaty, signed between British settlers and Maori chiefs in 1840. Food stalls sell freshly-prepared traditional and modern Maori-style food, while cultural groups perform on a stage.
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