Activity one :The first settlers
It is widely believed that the first people to arrive in New Zealand came from Polynesia. Most historians believe that they landed in New Zealand over 700 years ago. Although they were originally from many different countries, these settlers learned to live together and, eventually, formed their own distinct culture known as ‘Māori.’ Māori have their own language, traditions, and culture.
Follow this link to read a short story about a famous man in Māori mythology – Maui. On your blog, post three facts that you learned about this interesting man. What other stories have you heard about Maui?
Maui
I found out that Maui’s canoe became the south Island and the North island is the big fish he caught when he snuck into the boat. When he did he catch the most biggest fish. When they got back Maui’s brothers cut off mountains of fish and that’s what became the mountains of the North island.
Maui, realized that there was no more fire in the world. So he went to the goddess of fire Mahuika, but tricks her wanting to know we're she gets it from. She was furious when she found out. Maui only barely made it out. When Maui had found out the secret of fire he soon after went fishing with Maui’s sister Hina her husband Irawaru. They refuse and go back to shore when their lines get tangled up. Maui, turns Irawaru into a dog and Hina throws herself into the sea but doesn’t die.
Maui went seeking for immortality for human beings and goes out with his friends following him from behind. Once he gets there he goes into the woman's body telling his friends to not laugh. But once Maui is inside the body, one of his friends, the Fantail, couldn’t hold it in and bursts out laughing. The woman claps her legs and cuts Maui in half.
Activity two :Setting sail
The first settlers to come to New Zealand must have been really brave! They had to leave their original homes and sail thousands of miles across the ocean on a special boat called a ‘waka’ to reach New Zealand.
Imagine that you were on board one of the wakas. On your blog, write a short letter to a friend telling them about your voyage to New Zealand. In the letter be sure to tell them how you feel about moving to a new country. If it was me, I would have felt really nervous…
Dear Mika,
We have been going fine sailing in our waka, although we had some obstacles that came in our way we stood tall. I feel very scared at this point, writing a letter to you. We have been sailing for over two weeks now but I see no island. Don’t worry we have enough food and water, but I really hope that we get there soon knowing that anything could happen to us. The splashing waves aside our boat makes me nervous. Everyone helps to push the boat to the right direction which is really tiring but making sure we're all going in the same direction. I feel scared and excited. I will send you a letter again once we have got onto land.
From Mia
Bonus Activity: Waka Ama
Watch this short video of a Waka Ama race. On your blog tell us whether you would like to be in a Waka Ama race one day. Why or why not?
I would like to but no, because I do like team sports but imagined you fell into the water, because I’m not that great at swimming I would be scared because they go quiet fast.
