Educational System

Most Maori did not undergo formal education before the arrival of Europeans. Like many indigenous cultures, Maori children learned the ways of their ancestors primarily by watching, imitating, and learning from the adults of their clan, especially familial and tribal elders.

Young girls would go with their mothers and aunts when they gathered berries or shellfish, or when they tended the kumara and fern root or cooked food. Females also began learning how to weave from a young age. Girls who showed extreme promise in weaving might be initiated into a whare-pora (a sort of weaver's guild) by a priest, and taught by kuia or female elders who were especially skilled the art. Some of the games girls played growing up helped them to improve finger dexterity which helped them in their weaving. Older girls usually learn about raising children by caring for younger siblings.

Young boys learned to hunt and fish from their fathers and uncles. They often played games where they would throw reed spears at one another, which functioned as important practice for their futures as warriors. They also practiced poi toa, a ball game where they learned many skills transferable to fighting techniques, and play fought with long sticks which they pretended were taiaha, the Maori weapon of choice for hand-to-hand combat.

Boys who were shown to have especially good memories were often chosen to take part in special “schools” called whare-maire (houses of learning) where they were taught the ancient chants and tribal stories. These boys would be charged with learning genaologies, the stories of the ancestors, preserving these stories for the future generations. High priests were trained in sacred lore and magic in whare-wananga or houses of learning.