Religion of Māori people

Traditional Māori religion, that is, the pre-European belief-system of the Māori, differed little from that of their perceived homeland, Hawaiki Nui, aka Raʻiātea or Raiatea, conceiving of everything – including natural elements and all living things – as connected by common descent through whakapapa or genealogy.

A violation of tapu could have dire consequences, including the death of the offender through sickness or at the hands of someone affected by the offence.

In earlier times food cooked for a person of high rank was tapu, and could not be eaten by an inferior.

Burial grounds (Māori: urupā) and places of death were always tapu, and protective fencing often surrounded such areas.

The 1837 'Māori New Testament' published by the CMS missionary and printer William Colenso was the first of the Bible translations into Oceanic languages.

[4] By then, there was probably a higher proportion of Māori attending Church in New Zealand than British people in the United Kingdom.

Sir Whakahuihui Vercoe, who is remembered for a frank speech he delivered in the presence of Queen Elizabeth II during a Waitangi Day ceremony.

[7][8] Today, an adaptation of Christian prayer, karakia, is often a way to begin and end Māori public gatherings.

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, several new syncretic religions arose, combining various aspects of Christianity with traditional and non-traditional Māori philosophies.