What is Māori religion?
{{no sources|date=October 2016}} Traditional [[Māori people|Māori]] [[religion]], a pre-[[Europe|European]] belief system of the Māori, was very like the religion of the tropical Eastern [[Polynesia|Polynesian]] homeland ([[Hawaiki Nui]]). Both religions conceive of everything, including [[natural elements]], all living things, and that all are connected by common descent through whakapapa or [[genealogy]]. All things were thought of as possessing a [[life force]] or [[mauri]]. Illustrating this concept of [[connectedness]] through genealogy are the major [[Personification|personifications]] of [[pre-contact]] times. [[Tangaroa]] was the personification of the [[ocean]] and the ancestor or origin of all fish; [[Tāne]] was the personification of the [[forest]] and the origin of all birds. [[Rongo]] was the personification of [[Peace|peaceful]] activities and [[Farming|agriculture]] and the ancestor of [[cultivated]] plants. According to some, the supreme personification of the Māori was Io; however this idea is [[Controversy|controversial]]. {{DEFAULTSORT:Maori religion}} [[Category:Maori]] [[Category:Religion by country]]