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Maori were the early inhabitants of New Zealand. Possibly about 1000 years ago their ancestors left the land of “Hawaiki.” These people were Polynesian. Also it’s impossible to find
Hawaiki on a map, because it is a part of maori myths and legends but we can say for sure that they came from an island or group of islands in Polynesia, the South Pacific Ocean. There’re ethnical connections, culture and language similarities between the Maori and other Polynesian people.
The early settlers lived in small hunting bands. They were practiced and skilled fishermen, hunters and gardeners. Fishing was significantly important to them as they were coastal residents. Maori wove and knitted fishing nets from flax, they made the hooks from stone or bone; hunted native birds, including Moa, which is the largest bird in the world. Penguins and seals were hunted and stored in the bags of bull kelp, could be maintained for many months and eaten by the native people. The Polynesians brought with them sweet potato (kumara). Vegetables were planted and harvested with different types of tools including clubs, diggers etc.
Maori Social Structure
Maori social structure can be simply described as a tribal one. The tribe (iwi) was a large political and territorially-based social unit. The leader of was called ariki. The members shared common descent and the tribe was named from their ancestor. When the first Europeans visited New Zealand, each tribe contained at least several thousand members. The iwi had its own objectives, infrastructure and responsibilities. The basic role of it was to protect the interests of individuals. There is also a concept of sub-tribe (hapu) which means a localized descent group; it was a unit with strong ties. Hapu had its functions like the control and defense of a definite territory, sometimes even by war against any other group. These needs also included religious and ceremonial gatherings, political issues, land use, economic activities such as fishing, stocking of food storage capacities, cultivations etc. The lands of sub-tribe was divided into sections; each of them was 
controlled by small social units, called whanau, which was a basic element of Maori society into which an individual was born and socialized. The word itself means “to give a birth.” It could consist of three or four generations; they lived together in grouped houses. The main function of whanau was to procreate and care for children. Parents were mainly gone for gardening, hunting or other activities, so in the absence of them children received care and affection from many others. More often, they were influenced by their kaumatua and kuia, which means grandparents.
There were three social strata: gentry (rangatira), commoners (tauwareware) and slaves (taurekareka). In general, the persons who were described as commoners were in fact the low-ranking relatives of gentry’s stratum. Slaves had no personal rights, but they were treated rationally and realistically well. Intermarriage between free people of low rank and slaves was quite common.
Maori Rank and Leadership
Leadership in Maori society depended on rank and age. Elders were respected much and their advice was always taken. The top figure of leadership in a tribe was the ariki, who was the first-born descendant. It is noticeable that a person of high rank could give his title through females as well as males. However, not all ariki were of high ability and this fact could give other men an achieved status, especially in war, which was frequent in Maori history. But while such men had a strong status and mana, he never could become ariki, because his success had been derived only from power and practical matters. Such person, whose rank and position was received from his personal skills, was called rangatira paraparau, which literally means a “pseudo-aristocrat.”
This is the sketch of traditions showing the relations, ranks, and positions of people, based on which modern Maori society functions.