LANDING OF THE MAORI IN NEW ZEALAND AROUND 1350.

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aukepalmhof
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LANDING OF THE MAORI IN NEW ZEALAND AROUND 1350.

Post by aukepalmhof » Mon May 21, 2018 2:57 am

Landing of Maori in New Zealand around 1350, in the background of the stamp you see a double hulled waka prow.

Maori history was transmitted orally from generation to generation in pre-European times. A continuing examination of the traditions, archaeological, linguistic and cultural evidence, has discredited the 'great fleet theory' of the Maori arrival in New Zealand. The consensus among scholars now is that the Polynesians originally moved into the Pacific from the west, spread eastwards, and that the Maori came most recently from the eastern Pacific (that is from Tahiti or the Marquesas). They began to arrive here in small groups, starting more than 1000 years ago, probably via islands to the north-east. The scene depicted on the stamp is an original conception by the artist of the arrival of one of the canoes The Maoris have been pictured as arriving in a state of physical exhaustion, the inevitable consequence, despite their magnificent seafaring skills, of weeks spent in open canoes.

The first Maori arrived in the canoe ARAWA or TAINUI.

New Zealand 1940 ½d sg613, scott?
Source: New Zealand Post.

The legendary voyager Kupe is a semi-divine figure who appears in the traditions of several Polynesian islands. According to some Māori accounts, he fled from Hawaiki with Kuru-maro-tini about the waka Matahorua. During this voyage he discovered New Zealand, which he named Aotearoa, which they explored extensively before returning to Hawaiki. Kupe is of most importance in the traditions and place names of the Cook Strait area (such as the landform near Cape Palliser known as Kupe's Sail). This landform is shown on the stamp, along with a 'rock-art' style drawing of Kupe and a double canoe of the type used for long sea voyages.

Source: New Zealand Post.
New Zealand 1997 80c sg2052, scott 1413.
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1940 landing of the Maoris in New Zealand..jpg
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