Traditional Maori Beliefs Trivia Quiz

Answer: Mana

Mana is power. It is enduring, it is indestructible and it is inherited from birth. The higher the rank of the person passing down the mana, the greater the mana is in the individual. Mana provides an individual with the power to lead or to make decisions on behalf of his tribe or community.

Mana can also be bestowed by the community upon an individual. An individual's mana can also grow or decline depending upon the success or failure of their exploits. As Chris Winitana, in an article for New Zealand Geographic - "The Meaning of Mana" (March, 1990) - describes it, "if mana allows us to walk tall, then it also casts a long shadow - humility".

The picture is of honey, which is what manna was thought to taste like.

This question was managed by Phoenix Rising's pollucci19.

Answer: False

To the Maori mana cannot exist without mauri but they are distinct concepts not to be confused with each other. In fact the two concepts were codified in the 2014 Te Urewera legislation.

A person or an object can have mana which is an ever-present energy and is seen in a more spiritual light that applies to people, the natural world, and the universe. Mauri is the life energy that binds and animates all things in the physical world as we perceive it. Without mauri, mana cannot flow into a person or object. In essence, mauri is the life force/energy that empowers mana.

The concept of mauri can be likened to the concept of chi or qi in traditional Chinese Medicine and Prana in Ayurveda.

The picture is of dentures - aka false teeth! Did it give you a hint?

This question flowed into existence at the hands of Phoenix Rising member tazman6619.

Answer: Sacred / holy

Tapu is a powerful force within Maori beliefs. It invokes decrees that cannot be broken, in other words the people, objects or areas that cannot be touched or approached. The penalties for doing so could be death by either sickness or at the hands of the one violated.

There are two types of tapu: one that concerns individuals (private) and one that covers the community (public). For example, priests were considered to be of a higher rank and were considered tapu. Likewise, the food cooked for a priest was viewed in a similar manner and could not be touched or eaten by an individual of an inferior rank. Burial grounds were always considered to be tapu. Possibly the most famous of the Māori tapu are the sites of whale strandings. The whale is a highly revered creature within their culture.

The opposite of tapu is noa, which contains the concept of "blessing" and is capable of lifting the tapu off a person or an object.

(Footnote) If tapu or the concept behind it is starting to sound familiar, it should. The English word "taboo", which has a similar "untouchable" quality, was derived from it.

The leaf in the picture is holey - a homophone of holy!

This question produced an earworm for Phoenix Rising's pollucci19, who spent the rest of the day singing MC Hammer's "Can't Touch This... dum da-da da-da-dum".

Answer: Prayers

Another word would be incantations. The Māori people had numerous prayers and incantations that they would deliver to the spirits for both guidance and protection. The assistance sought could be any of a wide range of things, such as good fortune in catching fish, ensuring the crops grow, gaining the power and insight to overcome their enemies, locating a lost pet... in short, whatever they required to work and run their daily lives.

With the arrival of the Europeans came Christianity. The Māori people acknowledged the new faith and began to blend some of the teachings from it into their karakia. Additionally, the karakia is also seen or used as a public greeting or welcome and it is not unusual to have one of these prayers used to open a ceremony or public meeting.

The picture is of a man praying.

This question was put together by Phoenix Rising's pollucci19 who used to pray for patience but got tired of waiting.

Answer: Funerals

Tangihanga rites differ between each iwi (Maori tribe/nation) but generally last three days after the person's death. Tangihanga rites are still widely practiced but not universally observed in modern New Zealand. In many cases the traditional Maori customs are mixed with Christian traditions as is the case with many Māori traditions. The tangihanga is held on a marae, a communal or sacred place. The deceased is called the tūpāpaku and is never left alone over the three days.

The old-fashioned funeral hearse in the picture bore a coffin to the burial site.

This question was solemnly prepared by Phoenix Rising member, tazman6619.

Answer: Atua

Māori mythology speaks of the creation of the natural world and of the gods, and the word atua describes these gods in general. Specific names of various atua describe their function:
Tūmatauenga (war)
Tāwhirimātea (storms)
Tāne Mahuta (forests)
Tangaroa (sea)
Rongo-mā-Tāne (cultivated plants and peace)
Haumia-tiketike (wild food plants).

Each of these functions is represented by a particular design of tiki wananga - a wooden 'godstick' that can be held or staked to provide a temporary shrine used to 'channel' the deity's special power (not as an object of worship).

Did you get the hint in the picture? AtEWEa? None of the other options has that sound, so I hope so!

This quiz was whittled into the quiz by Phoeniz Rising member VegemiteKid.

Answer: Genealogy

The concept of whakapapa is intrinsic to Māori society, defining where a person belongs in terms of social and religious status. It draws a picture of clan leadership, land possession, fishing rights and kinship, and provides guidance for judgment on many social matters. It is a framework that provides a link for the Māori to both the material and spiritual worlds, to things that are known and those which are not known.

The word also means 'to place in layers, lay one upon another' a concept which helps to visualise the process by which it is applied. Each of the various types of whakapapa provide different emphasis (that's the layering concept) and include tāhū - the recital of a direct line of ancestry through only the senior line; hikohiko - the chronicling of a genealogy in a particular way, not following a single line of descent; and ure tārewa - drawing the male line of descent via the first-born male of each generation. There are several other types also.

The reciting of the various genealogies, apart from locating a person in his or her 'place', invokes the memory of important historical events and provides context for traditional activity, and helps define the background for tribal alliances.

The picture is, of course, a family tree, which is also a means of showing one's genealogy.

This question was traced into the quiz by VegemiteKid, one member of Phoenix Rising who is not very good at drawing.

Answer: Farmer

Europeans had looked upon Māori faith healers and workers of traditional medicines as "quacks" and sought to outlaw their practices and have them assimilate into the "white" population a lot quicker. This could have, potentially, been the death of Māori culture.

There was a strong belief that the spiritual practices employed by the "tohunga" were both impotent and a form of trickery. This belief, however, was a short-sighted one. The Europeans should have noticed that the Māori population was fit and strong when they'd first arrived. This was an indication that the Maori traditional healings did work. Where they fell down is against the diseases that the Europeans had brought with their own arrivals. These were illnesses that the tohunga had not dealt with and, as a result, their attempts to alleviate them were not as successful.

Fortunately, this Act was repealed in 1962.

The picture of the farmers should have helped dig you out of a hole if you didn't know the answer!

This question was patched up by Phoenix Rising's pollucci19 who, in his spare time, runs a webpage called Conjunctivitis.com - it's a site for sore eyes.

Answer: Māui

Māui is the son of Taranga and Makeatutara, the guardian of the underworld. Māui is seen as a trickster and shapeshifter who possesses superhuman strength and cleverness. He used the jawbone of his grandmother Murirangawhenua as a magic fish-hook to catch a great fish, Hāhau-whenua, from the depths of the sea. He hauled the fish up and it became the North Island of New Zealand. According to Northern Māori traditions, his canoe or waka became the South Island.

Hawaiian mythology also has a demigod named Māui but his parents, exploits, and story differs completely from the Māori tradition.

In this picture, the highlighted island in the chain is Maui.

This question was brought into the quiz hook, line, and sinker by Phoenix Rising member tazman6619.

Answer: The Ocean

Tangaroa is the son of Ranginui and Papatūānuku, the ancestors of human beings. He is the god of the sea and he controls the tides. One of his grandsons, Ikatere, inhabited the sea and became the ancestor of fish. Another of his grandsons, Tūtewehiwehi, made the land his home and became the ancestor of reptiles.

According to creation myths, Tangaroa and a few of his brothers forcibly separated their parents, Rangi and Papa, thereby creating the sky and the earth. Enraged over the actions of Tangaroa and his brothers, another of Tangaroa's brothers, Tūmatauenga, the god of war and the ancestor of humankind, fought with Tangaroa. To this day, humans continue the war between Tūmatauenga and Tangaroa when they go to the sea to fish.

I hope you were able to see the ocean in the picture!

This question was washed in on the tide by Phoenix Rising team members tazman6619 and purelyqing.