NEW ZEALAND CULTURE

When searching “NZ Cultural diversity” I was firstly guided towards the 2013 New Zealand census. Which displayed a list of each different ethnicity present in NZ. A specific quote that stood out to me was the fact that “there are more ethnicities in New Zealand than there are countries in the world, that tells us that New Zealand is a diverse place and getting more so all the time" (Statistics New Zealand, 2013).

I feel that it is important to look beyond ethnicity although it is still an important aspect of culture in New Zealand, our ethnicity may shape who we are through influencing different values, beliefs, practices we need to look at culture from a deeper level.

Figure1:Kiwi
Identity Resource Pack. (n.d). Retrieved from https://nz.pinterest.com/pin/249668373064830919/

The overarching New Zealand or Kiwi culture is generally seen as unique because of their friendliness, individuality, invention and self resiliance- that can do kiwi attitude right? (New Zealand Tourism Guide, 2016).

But we are much more than that.

With the main ethnic population of New Zealand being Maori, European, Pacific Island and Asian- we are still continually growing with a variety of ethnicities residing here broadening New Zealands ethical culture ( New Zealand People, 2016)

Figure
2: New Zealand. (n.d). Retrieved from https://nz.pinterest.com/pin/557531628849402342/

Firstly when looking from  a bicultural Aotearoa perspective, The Maori, New Zealands first settlers make up to around 14.6% of New Zealands population (New Zealand Customs and Culture, 2016). Maori history, language and traditions are central to New Zealands history. This culture is enriched throughout New Zealand (New Zealand People, 2016). An example of this- to name a few is seen through the Haka performed before many of our countries sports games, kapa haka groups throughout our communities, Marae’s present throughout our country and the language that is Te Rea Maori that is learnt through our school systems and on an every day basis.

Because of the fact that New Zealand is a large festive country I researched the variety of different festivals present throughout the year in order to gain an idea of some specific cultures present- this result was huge. Some of these included food, arts, christian, Italian, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender pride, music, Russian film festival, steampunk, victorian heritage, chinese film festivals, lantern festivals, Waitangi day festivals the list once again goes on and on. Through this we can gather an idea at just how diverse New Zealand as a country is- we have no cultural boundaries and are continueing to grow in this.

The link below shows the variety of festivals present in the coming year

http://www.thecuriouskiwi.co.nz/festivals.html

Although there are many stated above, there is one cultural level that can only be observed when getting to know someone. The population of New Zealand is at 4.471 Million (Statistics New Zealand, 2013) within this population individuals differ in there own personal, underlying cultural ideas and beliefs which often aren't specifically visible to the eye. 

References

Festivals in New Zealand. (2016). Retrived from 

            http://www.thecuriouskiwi.co.nz/festivals.html

New Zealand People. (2016). Retrived from 

            http://www.newzealand.com/int/feature/new-

            zealand-people/

New Zealand Customs & Culture. (2016). Retrieved from 

            https://www.boppoly.ac.nz/go/international/new-zealand-

            customs-culture

New Zealand Tourism Guide. (2016). Retrieved from 

            http://www.tourism.net.nz

Statistics New Zealand. (2013). New Zealand has more ethnicities   

             than the world has countries. Retrieved from   

            http://www.stats.govt.nz/Census/2013-census/data-   

            tables/totals-by-topic-mr1.aspx

List of Illustrations
Figure1: Kiwi Identity Resource Pack. (n.d).
            Retrieved from https://nz.pinterest.com/pin/249668373064830919/
Figure2:
New Zealand. (n.d). Retrieved from https://nz.pinterest.com/pin/557531628849402342/