The Maori are the indigenous people who lived in New Zealand before the British settled there.
There are various theories, but it is said that they arrived in canoes from an island called Hawaiki in the Polynesian archipelago over 1,000 years ago.
"Maori" means "ordinary people" in Maori, and is also known as "tangata whenua", or people of this land.
About 15% of the New Zealand population is Maori, and their traditional lifestyles and culture are highly valued.
As the Maori did not have their own writing system, they passed on their culture through oral language, dance, carving and tattooing.
The most famous of these is the folk dance called "Haka," which is also known as the dance performed by the New Zealand rugby team, the All Blacks, before games. Haka was originally a dance performed by Maori warriors to boost their morale and intimidate their opponents.
Maori culture has also influenced winemaking, and Maori words are often used in the names of wineries and wines.
In recent years, a concept that has been emphasized in New Zealand winemaking is the Maori word "Turangawaewae," which means "where I stand."
This "Turangawaewae" is similar to "terroir," the environment in which grapes grow and wine is made, but there are subtle differences in nuance.
While "terroir" is a word used to describe the natural environment, such as vineyards, from the perspective of the people who make wine, "Turangawaewae" is said to describe the mutual relationship between humans and nature, in which the humans cultivate the land and are also influenced by the land that they cultivate.
