Gender Roles
As with every culture today, the Māori people have developed specific gender roles that are considered socially normal and are practiced in the culture day to day.
Although the Maori share the factor that gender roles play in society, the types of socially acceptable behaviour is very different from western society. Women could not fight in war, perform the war dance, or have full facial tattoos; they were, however, considered sacred because of their childbearing abilities and this assistance to the future tribe.
Only women were allowed to do opening calls for a meeting, and were in charge of songs to welcome guests, dances, and storytelling. Women cared for the family, and unlike today's western society, both men and women did the cooking.
This is one of the few cultures that does not entirely put home care in the hands of the women, and the women in this civilization had more rights than other tribes of the time. Women could not, however, go near carvers because of their menstrual cycles and tattoos on women were mainly on the chin - the more you had, the higher rank you were - the placement of these tattoos also determined your social rank (d’Arbeloff, T.) There was also evidence of an elevated degree of violence and domestic abuse suggested, when a poll was done on (Wilson, P.J.)
(Women in Maori Culture. (n.d.). Kayak High School. Retrieved June 12,
2013, from http://www.newriveracademy.org/kayakblog/women-in-maori-culture/ )
Although the Maori share the factor that gender roles play in society, the types of socially acceptable behaviour is very different from western society. Women could not fight in war, perform the war dance, or have full facial tattoos; they were, however, considered sacred because of their childbearing abilities and this assistance to the future tribe.
Only women were allowed to do opening calls for a meeting, and were in charge of songs to welcome guests, dances, and storytelling. Women cared for the family, and unlike today's western society, both men and women did the cooking.
This is one of the few cultures that does not entirely put home care in the hands of the women, and the women in this civilization had more rights than other tribes of the time. Women could not, however, go near carvers because of their menstrual cycles and tattoos on women were mainly on the chin - the more you had, the higher rank you were - the placement of these tattoos also determined your social rank (d’Arbeloff, T.) There was also evidence of an elevated degree of violence and domestic abuse suggested, when a poll was done on (Wilson, P.J.)
(Women in Maori Culture. (n.d.). Kayak High School. Retrieved June 12,
2013, from http://www.newriveracademy.org/kayakblog/women-in-maori-culture/ )