NEW ZEALAND

  

Ancestry and Inmigration in New Zealand

 

Nowadays, the population there is made up of people from different backgrounds; 70% are of European descent, 16.5% are indigenous Māori, 15.1% Asian and 8.1% non-Māori Pacific Islanders. 

Originally, there was only indigenous Māori people because in 1769 two Indians arrived at the island and they reproduced rapidly until they filled the island.



It is a safe and friendly environment for families, offers great career opportunities and the possibilities for exploration and travel. The high quality of life New Zealand offers is what draws immigrants from all over the world to the country, so there are lot of different ethniticies such as European, Māori, Pacific peoples, Asian and Middle Eastern, Latin American and African which are called MELAA.


Religion

 


Christianity
 is the predominant religion in New Zealand, although its society is among the most secular in the world. In the 2018 census, 44.7% of respondents identified with one or more religions, including 37.0% identifying as Christians. Another 48.5% indicated that they had no religion. 

Of those who affiliate with a particular Christian denomination, the main responses are Anglicanism (6.7%), Roman Catholicism (6.3%), and Presbyterianism (4.7%). Immigration and demographic change in recent decades have contributed to the growth of minority religions, such as Hinduism (2.6%), Islam (1.3%), Buddhism (1.1%), and Sikhism (0.9%).

 


 

Cuisine

 

The national cuisine has been described as Pacific Rim, incorporating the native Māori cuisine and diverse culinary traditions introduced by settlers and immigrants from Europe, Polynesia, and Asia. New Zealand yields producefrom land and sea, most crops and livestock, such as maize, potatoes and pigs, were gradually introduced by the early European settlers.  

Distinctive ingredients or dishes include lamb, salmon, kōura… Around 1930, the kiwifruit began to be widely cultivated and traded in New Zealand.



 

 


Arts

 

As part of the resurgence of Māori culture, the traditional crafts of carving and weaving are now more widely practised, and Māori artists are increasing in number and influence. Māori decorated the white wood of buildings, canoes and cenotaphs using red (a mixture of red ochre and shark fat) and black (made from soot) paint and painted pictures of birds, reptiles and other designs on cave walls. 

In terms of architecture the wharenui are very common. They are communal and meeting houses of the Maori and is considered the most important thing for a Marae. Also, they are considered sacred but no as a church.



 

 

Māori tattoos (moko) consisting of coloured soot mixed with gum were cut into the flesh with a bone chisel.  It shows an ancestry which is really important for them and the personal history of each one. In times past, it was an important indicator of knowledge and social status.

The country's isolation delayed the influence of European artistic trends allowing local artists to develop their own distinctive style of regionalism.

 


 

 

 



Language


Mainly, in New Zealand, the language spoken is English but, also Māori, which is a language of the indigenous people living there. In the 2013 census, 90% people spoke English and a 3% of people speaking Māori.  


The rest, are other languages such as Mandarin or Samoan.

 

Literature

 

Māori quickly adopted writing as a means of sharing ideas, and many of their oral stories and poems were converted to the written form. Most early English literature was obtained from Britain, and it was not until the 1950s when local publishing outlets increased that New Zealand literature started to become widely known. 


Participation in the world wars gave some New Zealand writers a new perspective on New Zealand culture. 

Katherine Mansfield was a really important writer between 1898 and 1923,