Culture

Most of the people who live in New Zealand are New Zealanders with European descent, the so called Pākehā. This ethnic group mostly descends from the British islands but also from Germany, Italy, Poland, Netherland and numerous other European countries. The second biggest population group are the indigenous inhabitants of Polynesian origin, the Māori, who represent 14.6% of the population. Also, many Asians are residents in New Zealand. Thus, in New Zealand different cultures from the Pacific area meet the western lifestyle of the British to which the country still has a strong bond.
The Māori have a distinctive narrative culture with countless sagas and tales that are only passed on orally to the next generation. Important subjects for these myths are among others the formation of the world and New Zealand. The latter is inseparably connected to the tale of the demigod Maui, who fished New Zealand from the sea. Other tales tell the story of the journey of Kupe, who discovered New Zealand for the people of Hawaiki, and also of the settlement of the country as well as of the life of the Māori in the modern New Zealand. Even though publication in the language of the Māori increase, the majority of the literature of New Zealand is written in English. The earliest documents about New Zealand are reports from European discoverer. To these belong especially the diaries from James Cook, which he kept during his three journeys to the Pacific, as well as travel reports from Georg Forster, who accompanied Cook on his second Pacific-journey.