Many citizens prefer to minimise ethnic divisions, simply calling themselves New Zealanders or, informally, "Kiwis". New Zealand marks two national days of remembrance, Waitangi Day and Anzac Day, and also celebrates holidays during or close to the anniversaries of the founding dates of each province. New Zealand has two national anthems of equal status, "God Save the Queen" and "God Defend New Zealand" – the latter of which is often sung with alternating Māori and English verses. The Māori are the indigenous inhabitants of New Zealand. They originated with settlers from eastern Polynesian islands, who arrived in New Zealand in several waves of canoe voyages at some time between 1250 and 1300. Māori settled the islands and developed a distinct culture over several hundred years. Oral history tells of a long voyage from Hawaiki (the mythical homeland in tropical Polynesia) in large ocean-going canoes (waka). Māori mythology is a distinctive corpus of gods and heroes, sharing some Polynesian motifs. Significant figures are Ranginui and Papatūānuku, Māui, and Kupe. Central to many cultural events is the marae, where families and tribes gather for special occasions, such as pōwhiri or tangi. Māori often call themselves "tāngata whenua" (people of the land), placing particular importance on a lifestyle connected to land and sea. Communal living, sharing, and living off the land are strong traditional values. The distinct values, history, and worldview of Māori are expressed through traditional arts and skills such as haka, tā moko, waiata, carving, weaving, and poi. The concept of tapu (meaning taboo or sacred) is also a strong force in Māori culture, applied to objects, people, or even mountains. Europeans migrated to New Zealand in increasing numbers from 1855. Māori traditionally had a penchant for war, especially between 1805 and 1842 during the Musket Wars and diseases introduced, destabilized the traditional Māori society. The Treaty of Waitangi 1840 formed the basis of the establishment of British rule over New Zealand. New Zealand became partly self-governing in 1852 with the establishment of its own Parliament. The most serious conflict between Māori and European settlers was between 1863 and 1864 which resulted in land being confiscated from the defeated tribes. However Māori sold most of their land after 1870 and continued to do so until the 1980s.