Best Cultures In New Zealand

Culture

New Zealand has a multicultural society and the people from various parts of the world are welcomed warmly. Racism is something which has very minimal existence in New Zealand as compared to other countries and thus many people from other countries migrate to settle down in New Zealand. Due to the remote location of New Zealand, the people here are self-reliant and do not depend on others for anything. They emphasize on natural environment and do their best to protect it from all situations.

The Maori culture has been very strong throughout the past in New Zealand. The Maori people had distinct tribes, arts, beliefs and way of living life. Role of family is highly valued in the Maori culture. There were gatherings during special occasions and the traditional values included sharing and living in a community. They have immense respect for their elders and family members. This was affected when the Europeans entered New Zealand which caused the New Zealanders to lose their lands, identities, and way of living as well. The Europeans brought along their own culture and working style in New Zealand. When New Zealand became an independent country it became all the more self-sufficient.

Society

New Zealand is often regarded as a classless society since there is a lack of aristocracy and opportunities for the residents there. Also, for quite a long time there was no major difference between the rich and the poor people in the society. In the past few years the gap has widened and increased due to a lot of materialism. Things and goods are being continuously imported into New Zealand leaving no job opportunities for the people there. Artists and musicians struggle to make a living here since there are no platforms to acknowledge their talents. Now New Zealand has started various schemes for the promotion of these artists. New Zealand is soon coming into the picture as many Oscar winning movies such as ‘The Piano’ and high budget movies such as ‘Lord of the Rings’ have been shot here. Also, many award-winning famous writers are from New Zealand such as Katherine Mansfield, Maurice Gee and Austin Mitchell.

Religions

New Zealand has varied religions practiced here. Maoris have their traditional religion which is kind of pagan religion where number of different Gods are worshipped by the people. This religion only governed the lives, society and behavior of the people in New Zealand for many years. With the settlement of Europeans in New Zealand, Christianity crept in. More than half of the people in New Zealand started practicing Christianity and became Christians. There were various other Christian churches there such as Roman Catholic, Anglican, Presbyterians, Baptists, Mormons, Eastern Orthodox, and a few others came into existence.

Many people in New Zealand who did not follow Christianity adopted other religions such as Judaism, Islam, Hinduism and Paganism. However, almost 30 percent of the people in New Zealand do not practice any religion at all.

New Zealand Cultural Facts

The people of New Zealand describe themselves as ‘friendly but reserved’ and ‘open but respectful’. While it may appear confusing as to what it actually means, it is not hard to get along with them. The people of New Zealand are famously known as “Kiwis”. The Kiwis are a lot who love to travel and explore. Kiwis love to share food as they see it as a gesture of mixing with people easily. Be it a picnic or a casual hangout, a  h?ngi (traditional Maori style of cooking) always takes place.