Kia ora everyone.
Raise your hands if you are a proud New Zealander.
We are proud of our country and its peoples. New Zealand is the most peaceful country in the world today. Do you wonder why? Well, let me tell you why.
Aotearoa New Zealand is a beautiful South Pacific country. Most parts of the country enjoy lots of sunshine and rainfall and the weather is always changing but not the people and the cultures.
As we know, New Zealand culture now has many other cultures mainly from the Pacific Islands, East Asia and South Asia. European and Māori remain the two largest cultures, but the Polynesian culture is also very large with many Polynesian people calling New Zealand home.
The culture of New Zealand is unique because of the Maori, the English, the European, the Asian and the Polynesian cultures, customs and traditions.
The Māori culture is a big part of New Zealand’s history. Once the Maori people settled in NZ, they established separate tribes, built villages (Pā), hunted, fished, traded, developed agriculture, arts and weaponry.
The English people introduced the Maori to many new things like religion, technology, and the English language. In 1840 Māori leaders signed the Treaty of Waitangi, to enable the tribes to live peacefully with the English people. Inspite of some problems, the Māori culture has regained much of its lost language and culture. In the late 20th century the Treaty of Waitangi became part of the school curriculum and this helped to promote understanding, peace and harmony between Māori, Pākehā and the other people who live in NZ.
New Zealand has two special days, Waitangi Day and ANZAC Day, and it also celebrates holidays and other cultural festivals and celebrations. The national anthem, "God Defend New Zealand” is often sung with both Māori and English verses. Many citizens prefer to just call themselves New Zealanders or Kiwis. This shows that we are united as a nation of different peoples. We do have unity in diversity.
We are very lucky that New Zealand has unique and different cultures. We have our Maori culture but we also get to learn about other cultures of people that live here too. Having different cultures in New Zealand helps us understand each other and helps us live as one people, all different but all united. This is Unity in Diversity.
By Micheal
Ka pai Michael,
ReplyDeleteYou have put a lot of thought and research into your speech about New Zealand, and I am sure it will sound really good when you read this to us.
Well done
Miss B :)