Māori cultural experience in NZ: all the insider info you need

A big part of conscious and sustainable travel is learning about the cultural aspects of the country you’re visiting. And in New Zealand, this means learning about NZ’s customs, and more specifically, Māori traditions and legacy.

You can do that by visiting the Te Papa museum in Wellington, the Te Kōngahu Museum of Waitangi in Bay of Islands, the Auckland War Memorial Museum in Auckland, the Okains Bay Māori and Colonial Museum in Canterbury, but the best immersive experience is to visit a Māori village. 

Here’s everything to know about the Māori cultural experience, including cultural etiquette, the Haka performance, traditional Māori food and its preparation in an earth oven, and what the face tattoos mean.

The Māori cultural experience: an overview

As someone who seeks authentic and ethical experiences, I was mildly concerned that the Māori cultural experience would feel performative and not genuine. But it obviously has to be somewhat performative because there’s no chance of me randomly encountering a group of Māori people dressed in traditional clothes and willing to talk to me about their culture for a few hours, and also make me food. Also, a cultural performance and show does not necessarily mean it’s not authentic.

The experience turned out to be really informative and interesting, with a unique glimpse into Māori culture and history, traditions, their connection to nature, and more.

Most of the Māori villages, where you get to see a Haka performance and learn about daily life and traditions, are in the Rotorua region, an area rich in natural hot springs. Some (if not most) also offer dinner prepared in the traditional Māori way. 

Insider tip: It’s more convenient to rent a car and drive there than take public transportation, but most people choose to book group tours (linked below) with convenient pickup and drop-off service. We stayed in Rotorua for a couple of nights and rented a car.

There are a few Māori villages to choose from:

• Mitai Māori village (this is the one I chose due to budget restrictions, and I loved the experience, particularly due to the natural surroundings. Details below)
• Te Pā Tū (Tamaki Māori village). This is the most popular one and has won awards
• Whakarewarewa Māori village (this is the last true Māori village)

The Mitai Māori Village experience

Here’s a breakdown of my Māori cultural experience at Mitai Māori village. 

1. Welcome chat and history

After parking on site, we all gathered in the dining hall, where the hostess welcomed us and gave us an overview of Māori history, and also explained how our ticket purchases for this experience go directly back into the community. 

• Māori people are Polynesian
• They arrived from East Polynesia and settled in New Zealand (called Aotearoa in the Māori language) between 1250–1300 CE
• They didn’t arrive all at once, but rather in multiple migratory waves, in large canoes called waka
• They were explorers and seafarers, and used the stars and wind patterns to navigate
• Māori were the first people to inhabit New Zealand, and remained the only inhabitants until the Europeans arrived in the 17th century, and are considered the indigenous people of NZ
• The arrival of the Dutch and British brought trade but also conflict and eventual colonisation of NZ by the British
• Māori chiefs and the British Crown signed the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, which promised protection of Māori land and rights, but it wasn’t all rosy, as there were still disputes over land confiscation and ownership
• Today, NZ recognises Māori as an important community that adds greatly to NZ’s rich cultural heritage, and the Māori language is one of the official languages of NZ
• Fun fact: the plural of Māori is Māori because in the Māori language, nouns don’t change to indicate plural forms
• Face tattoos (Ta moko) in Māori culture represent identity, family heritage, and social status.
  • Women usually get chin tattoos only (moko kauae) while men have full facial tattoos (mataora)
  • During the British colonisation period, facial tattoos received a lot of stigma, and fewer Māori were getting their face tattooed. However, today, more and more people are bringing back the tradition of getting their faces tattooed and reclaiming this Māori custom
  • The Māori people we met at this cultural experience had face and body tattoos, but they told us that most of it was just paint that they can wash off

2. Arrival by canoe

Most Māori cultural experiences start with the traditional welcoming ceremony (pōwhiri), but at Mitai we got to first do a bush walk and explore the surrounding natural springs, where we saw a group of Māori coming up the Wai-o-Whiro stream in a war canoe. This was our first glimpse into the Māori world.

3. Food prep explanation

After the bush walk and canoe arrival, we were shown how the food was being prepared, in a traditional Māori cooking method called hāngī, using an earth oven. 

This is how hāngī works:

• A hole is dug in the ground to form an earth oven
• Stones are heated in fire and help to maintain the temperature for cooking
• The food (meat and veggies) is wrapped in aluminium or cloth and placed in baskets, and the baskets are placed on the stones
• The hole is then covered up with soil and wet sacks to trap the steam and heat, to allow the food to cook
• The food takes around 3-4 hours to cook

4. Welcoming Ceremony

And now for one of the most important activities of the Māori cultural experience: pōwhiri, the traditional welcome ceremony. The pōwhiri is a symbolic ceremony to represent the Māori welcoming us into their world, and is an invitation to experience their culture with a respectful and open mindset. 

• Pōwhiri begins with someone being chosen from the audience to go on stage and act on behalf of all the guests
• The Māori warrior greets the guest, acts a bit disgruntled to demonstrate suspicion, but then offers a token of peace, which can be in the form of a leaf
• The guest has to accept the token and show a gesture of thanks
• The Māori warrior and guest then press their noses against each other, a traditional greeting known as hongi 

Insider tip: It’s considered very disrespectful to smile or laugh at any point during the pōwhiri ceremony. And if you’re selected from the audience to participate in the ceremony, you might automatically feel tempted to smile in greeting or as a response, but please refrain from doing so.

5. Haka Performance

After the pōwhiri, we stay seated in the same area to see the Haka performance. 

• Haka is a war dance, but also a dance that signifies strength, unity, and identity
• The dance involves synchronised movements and chanting, and is quite captivating to watch
• During the Haka dance is where you really get to notice the Māori’s facial expressions, though you might have noticed it too during the canoe arrival. The facial expressions, like opening the eyes really wide or sticking out the tongue, are intimidation tactics to scare off strangers

Fun fact: A few traffic lights in NZ have a haka figure instead of a circle for the lights. We saw one near the Te Papa museum in Wellington. 

6. Traditional Māori Food

After the Haka performance, it was time to go back to the dining hall for our buffet dinner. Everything was very well organised, and we took turns to get our meals. The food tasted fresh and was delicious. 

Insider tip: Traditional Māori food and main dishes all contain meat, and there are no vegan-only options, though there were plenty of vegetables. 

7. Final walk and glowworms

The final activity during the Māori cultural experience was another walk around the village, where we saw glowworms. Glowworms are larvae that look like worms, and they are bioluminescent (they emit a glowing light to attract prey). You can also see glowworms on a tour of the Waitomo Caves.

Māori cultural experience: FAQs

• Who are the Māori?

Māori are the indigenous people of New Zealand, having arrived there by large canoes around the 13th century CE. They are of Polynesian descent. 

• What not to do in Māori culture?

Do not smile or laugh during rituals and ceremonies, including the traditional welcome greeting or the Haka performance; remove your shoes before entering a house; do not touch another person’s head without permission; do not take photos of people without permission (though this one applies to every culture). More NZ and Māori cultural etiquette here.

• Is the Māori cultural experience worth it?

In my opinion, yes it’s worth it, because I got so much first-hand, insider knowledge that I would not have gotten from museums. The performances were also very interesting to see, and the food was tasty.