Maori and the Kiwi

Yesterday evening I went to a Maori night. We had their typical food, cooked in the hot water springs, listened to songs, plays and got some insight in their customs. At the end of the night we walked through Rainbow Springs to see the Kiwi, the national symbol of New Zealand.

About the Maori:

The word Māori refers to the indigenous Polynesian people of New Zealand, and to their language.

Māori came to New Zealand from eastern Polynesia, probably in several waves, most likely between AD 1280 to 1300. They spread throughout the country and developed a distinct culture. Europeans came to New Zealand in increasing numbers from the late 18th century, and the technologies and diseases they brought with them destabilised Māori society. After 1840, Māori lost much of their land and went into a cultural and numerical decline, but population began to increase again from the late 19th century, and a cultural revival began in the 1960s.


About the Kiwi:

A kiwi is any of the species of flightless birds endemic to New Zealand of the genus Apteryx (the only genus in family Apterygidae). At around the size of a domestic chicken, kiwi are by far the smallest living ratites. All kiwi species are endangered. The kiwi is also a national symbol of New Zealand.



The North Island Brown Kiwi, Apteryx mantelli or Apteryx australis before 2000 (and still in some sources), is widespread in the northern two-thirds of the North Island and, with about 35,000 remaining, is the most common kiwi. Females stand about 40 cm (16 inches) high and weigh about 2.8 kg, the males about 2.2 kg. The North Island Brown has demonstrated a remarkable resilience: it adapts to a wide range of habitats, even non-native forests and some farmland. The plumage is streaky red-brown and spiky. The female usually lays two eggs, which are incubated by the male.