Q 01/05

Māori are descended from settlers who voyaged by canoe from which part of the Pacific?

A) East Polynesia

B) Melanesia

C) Micronesia

D) Southeast Asia

Answer · why

A) East Polynesia

East Polynesia launched the last great Pacific voyages: ocean-going canoes reached New Zealand roughly 700 years ago, and the settlers, isolated for c...

Q 02/05

In the Māori language, what does the word "māori" itself mean?

A) Brave or fearless

B) Normal or ordinary

C) People of the land

D) Sea voyager

Answer · why

B) Normal or ordinary

Normal or ordinary: in legend the word set mortals apart from gods and spirits, and it became a people's name only after Europeans arrived, to tell th...

Q 03/05

What is the traditional Māori greeting in which two people press their noses together?

A) Hongi

B) Hāngī

C) Haka

D) Hui

Answer · why

A) Hongi

Hongi shares the breath of life, recalling the story of the first woman, who was shaped from clay and came alive when a god breathed into her nostrils...

Q 04/05

What is a hāngī?

A) A ceremonial welcome given to visitors

B) Cooking food in a pit oven with hot rocks

C) A long wooden staff used in combat

D) A woven cloak of flax and feathers

Answer · why

B) Cooking food in a pit oven with hot rocks

Cooking food in a pit oven with hot rocks takes hours: meat and vegetables are layered over the heated stones, covered with leaves or wet cloth, then ...

Q 05/05

Which war leader is credited with composing "Ka Mate", the haka made famous by the All Blacks?

A) Hongi Hika

B) Te Kooti

C) Te Rauparaha

D) Tāwhiao

Answer · why

C) Te Rauparaha

Te Rauparaha hid from his pursuers in a food-storage pit while the local chief's wife stood over its mouth to shield him; the haka celebrates his esca...