Maoritanga is Maori culture: the Maori way of life and view of the world. Maoritanga is a growing and changing part of life in Aotearoa (New Zealand). Maori have adopted many aspects of western culture as their own, and more and more New Zealanders now share in the riches of Maori heritage. Most Maori people can trace descent for the chiefs of Hawaiki who sailed to Aotearoa in ocean-going sailing canoes. Aotearoa had been discovered by the great explorer Kupe who passed on sailing directions when he returned to Hawaiki. Archaeological evidence supports Maori oral traditions and genealogical records which suggest Kupe lived about 1200 years ago. The colonists from Hawaiki--probably situated in the area now known as French Polynesia--found other Polynesian people already living in Aotearoa. The voyagers inter-married with them and established a tribal society in which kinship and links with land are key elements. The marae--the meeting house and land around it--is the focus of Maori community life. The land and buildings are the venue for major social, political and ceremonial occasions. The meeting house synthesizes many aspects of Maori design and craft: the structure itself has a human form. and is named after an ancestor, and it signifies the unity of the tribal group. The open ground in front of the house is symbolic of the tribal land holding from which tribal identity and mana (prestige) are derived. The whole marae operates according to democratic principles which have evolved from the strict codes of behaviour that governed every aspect of traditional life. Today, the majority of Maori people live away from the marae. Many live and work in cities and must make special efforts to maintain social and cultural links with their Maori heritage. It is especially difficult for younger people who are two or three generations removed from tribal lands and lifestyle. The decline of Maori language especially since the Second World War, is an indicator of the stress affecting the Maori community. Nevertheless, Maori have succeeded in maintaining their distinctive identity, their Maoritanga, and these traditional values and institutions are the springboard for the current resurgence of Maori culture. We learn from the passage that the first settlers of New Zealand were ______.