Lost Tribe?

The ADDeRebbetzin and I spent our motha’ei Shabbat watching the movie ‘Whale Rider’. We both really enjoyed it. After the movie, I wanted to learn a bit more about its subjects, the Maori of New Zealand. I read the following about them:

With the loss of much of their land, Māori went into a period of decline, and by the late 19th century most people believed that the Māori population would cease to exist as a separate race and become assimilated into the European population.

The predicted decline of the Māori population did not occur; instead levels recovered. Despite a substantial level of intermarriage between the Māori and European populations, many Māori retained their cultural identity. There are a number of discourses as to the meaning of Maori and who or who is not Maori. The Maori population is not monolithic and no one political or tribal authority can seek to speak on behalf of all Maori.

In case you missed it, try reading that again, substituting ‘Jews’ or ‘Jewish’ for ‘Maori’.