MORIORI

extinct native inhabitants of the Chatham Islands of New Zealand. They were a Polynesian people whose language and culture was related to those of the Maori. They lived on fern root, eels, fish, karaka berries, and birds. Albatrosses were obtained by perilous expeditions to the outlying rocks where they nested. The clothing of the Moriori was of sealskin and rudely woven flax. Estimated to number more than 1,000 when discovered in the late 18th century, they were easily conquered and enslaved by a party of Maori in 1835 and were gradually assimilated. The last pureblood Moriori died in 1933.