These wakas were huge canoes, built to withstand heavy seas and able to carry many people over great distances. .
2.2 Traditional life.
The first Maori colonies came into existence on the eastern planes of the southern island, despite unfavourable climate at least as far as farming was concerned. One reason for this circumstance was the Moa, a giant flightless bird, which was easy to hunt and hence part of the daily meal. Later, as the Moa and other birds were extinct, almost all settlements were located on the northern island, where the Maori focused on fishing and agriculture. For the latter and to build their villages, they cleared forests for timber and are responsible for the vast grassy countryside, New Zealand of these days is famous for. .
As the population became more and more dense, which was mainly the case on the coast and next to rivers, conflicts arose. It's not certain to what extent they fought each other, the scientists' opinions differ. Some say that the wars were rather small, since there was no time in consideration of hard work on the fields, which was essentially to survive. Others say there were horrifying massacres and cannibalism. What's for sure is that Maori villages quickly adapted to the new, sometimes hostile environment and fortified their villages, building palisades, watchtowers and digging trenches. These modified constructions were called "Pa-.
In the course of time a complex social structure developed with "iwi- (tribes), "hapu- (sub-tribes) and "whanau- (extended family units). Usually two hapu lived together in one "kainga- (village), which consisted of one or more residential buildings, including structures for storing food. Important people as the chieftains or the priests lived isolated since they were "tapu-, that means that in certain times or situations they mustn't get in touch with the rest of the tribe. .
Furthermore the Marea Complex is part of every kainga.
