The Moriori are the indigenous people of the Chatham Islands. Moriori are Polynesian settlers who came from the New Zealand mainland around 1500 CE. which was close to the time of the shift from the archaic to the classical period of Polynesian Māori culture on the mainland. Oral tradition records migration to the Chathams in the 16th century. The settlers' culture diverged from mainland Māori, and they developed a distinct Moriori language mythology, artistic expression and way of life. Currently there are around 700 people who identify as Moriori, most of whom no longer live on the Chatham Islands. During the late 19th century some prominent anthropologists proposed that Moriori were pre-Māori settlers of mainland New Zealand, and possibly Melanesian in origin.
Moriori family, c. 1910
Moriori designs carved into trees and rock
Moriori tree carving or dendroglyph
Moriori people in the late 19th century: these three men (standing) are wearing a mix of traditional and European clothing. They carry defensive staffs and wear flax mats around the waist and shoulders, feathers on the front of the head, and albatross tufts in their beards.
The Chatham Islands are an archipelago in the Pacific Ocean about 800 km (430 nmi) east of New Zealand's South Island. They are administered as part of New Zealand. The archipelago consists of about 10 islands within an approximate 60 km (30 nmi) radius, the largest of which are Chatham Island and Pitt Island (Rangiauria). They include New Zealand's easternmost point, the Forty-Fours. Some of the islands, formerly cleared for farming, are now preserved as nature reserves to conserve some of the unique flora and fauna.
The two largest islands: Chatham (Rēkohu) and Pitt Island (Rangiaotea), to the southeast
Schist rocks, Kaingaroa beach
Massive phytoplankton bloom around the islands
Chatham Islands Forget-me-not (Myosotidium hortensia)