New Zealand Culture, Economy and Society

Tikanga Maori, Te Reo, Arts and Cultural Traditions

58 practice questions, each with the answer and an explanation.

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Random questions from this topic, one at a time. You see the answer and the explanation straight after each one.

All 58 questions

  1. What is the traditional Maori war dance, now performed before rugby matches, called?
  2. Which haka, said to have been composed by the chief Te Rauparaha in the early 1820s, is the best known?
  3. What is the traditional Maori greeting in which two people press their noses and foreheads together?
  4. What is the name of the sacred Maori meeting ground, with a carved meeting house at its head?
  5. Which Maori New Year festival is linked to the rising of the Pleiades star cluster in midwinter?
  6. Which traditional Maori method cooks food in a pit with hot stones covered with earth?
  7. Which stone, called pounamu in Maori, is prized for carved ornaments found mostly in the South Island?
  8. Which spiral motif based on an unfurling fern frond is common in Maori art and symbolises new life?
  9. Which Maori term describes the art of traditional tattoo marks on the face and body?
  10. In Maori tradition, which pair are the sky father and the earth mother whose children were separated from them?
  11. In Maori tradition, which figure pulled the North Island out of the sea with a magic fish hook?
  12. Which two languages other than English are official in New Zealand?
  13. How many red stars appear on the flag of New Zealand, representing the Southern Cross?
  14. Which two songs are both official national anthems of New Zealand?
  15. Which short-story writer born in Wellington in 1888 wrote The Garden Party?
  16. Which New Zealand author won the 1985 Booker Prize for the novel The Bone People?
  17. Which writer wrote the Maori coming-of-age novel The Whale Rider, later made into a film?
  18. Which Wellington-born director filmed The Lord of the Rings trilogy in New Zealand?
  19. Which museum in Wellington is the national museum, with the Maori name Te Papa Tongarewa?
  20. Which sport do the All Blacks play?
  21. Which soprano, born in Gisborne in 1944 to a Maori father and a European mother, became world famous in opera?
  22. What is the Maori word for a New Zealander of European descent?
  23. Which painter is regarded as New Zealand's most important modernist, known for his Northland series and word paintings?
  24. What does the Maori term tangata whenua mean?
  25. Which of these is a correct match between a Maori name and a New Zealand place?
  26. In traditional wharenui (meeting house) architecture, what does the central ridge beam (tahuhu) symbolize?
  27. In the powhiri (formal welcoming ceremony), what role is performed by the karanga?
  28. What fundamental concept in tikanga Maori pairs with tapu to restore balance and normality?
  29. What does the Maori cultural concept of kaitiakitanga entail?
  30. What does the Maori concept of manaakitanga emphasize in social relations?
  31. What is the difference between male puhoro and female moko kauae in traditional ta moko (tattooing)?
  32. What is the largest national competitive Maori performing arts festival in New Zealand, held every two years?
  33. What are taonga puoro in traditional Maori culture?
  34. What are tukutuku panels in traditional wharenui decoration?
  35. What is represented by the mangopare design in kowhaiwhai ceiling rafter scroll paintings?
  36. What famous waka taua (war canoe) built for the 1940 Centennial is housed at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds?
  37. What winter star cluster's rising signals the traditional Maori New Year celebrated as a national public holiday?
  38. For iwi in Taranaki and Whanganui where Matariki is obscured by western ranges, which star marks the New Year?
  39. What is the meaning of the famous whakatauki (proverb): 'He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tangata, he tangata, he tangata'?
  40. What covenant of non-violence was established by Nunuku-whenua among the Moriori of the Chatham Islands (Rekohu)?
  41. What was the impact of the landmark 'Te Maori' art exhibition in the United States between 1984 and 1986?
  42. What is a whare wananga in traditional and modern New Zealand education?
  43. What are the two digraph consonants in te reo Maori that represent single phonetic sounds?
  44. What carved pounamu design represents a traditional stylized adze blade symbolizing strength, determination, and courage?
  45. What is the traditional Maori garden pit used to store winter root vegetables like kumara called?
  46. What is the significance of the Treaty House at Waitangi in New Zealand national heritage?
  47. What form of traditional Maori song is chanted without musical accompaniment as a classical lament or historical narrative?
  48. What is an elevated carved storehouse raised on posts in a traditional village to protect food and treasures from rodents called?
  49. What is the traditional Maori art of tukutuku weaving materials sourced from?
  50. What is the term for a traditional Maori boundary marker or sacred stone post connecting an iwi to its tribal territory?
  51. What is the Maori word for the customary protocols, correct procedures, and traditional laws governing ethical behavior?
  52. What is a tangihanga (tangi) in contemporary Maori society?
  53. What traditional close-combat wooden staff weapon features a carved face with a protruding tongue on one end and a blade on the other?
  54. What is the traditional Maori food preservation technique of packing cooked game birds in their own melted fat inside kelp bags called?
  55. What is the unique traditional Maori musical instrument known as a 'bullroarer', swung on a cord to produce a whirring spirit voice?
  56. What traditional Maori game played with a woven flax ball (kiorahi) across concentric circular field zones has experienced a modern sporting revival?
  57. What is a 'koha' in the context of marae protocol?
  58. What is the customary Maori concept of 'turangawaewae'?

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