The long and intriguing story of the origine of the indigenous Maori people can be traced back to the 13th century, the mythical homeland Hawaiki, Eastern Polynesia. Due to centuries of isolation, the Maori established a distinct society with characteristic art, a separate language and unique mythology. Defining aspects of Maori traditional culture include art, dance, legends, tattoos and community. While the arrival of European colonists in the 18th centure had a profound impact on the Maori way of life, many aspects of traditional society have survived into the 21th century.

Is it strange to party in a cemetery, do you think? Thousands, many elaborately dressed and made up, thronged the Hollywood Forever cemetery on October 30th to celebrate the Day of the Dead with music, dancing, food and artistic renditions of family altars, all among the graves of Rudolph Valentino, Marion Davies, Tyrone Power, Douglas Fairbanks and Johnny Ramone.

A Tibetan rider fires his weapon as he perfoms his riding skills at the Qinghai Yushu Horse Racing Festival on July 27, 2007 in Yushu County of Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, northwest China. The Horse Racing Festival of Tibetan nomads in Yushu Prefecture falls in late July and early August on the Tibetan calendar. During the festival, various equestrian skills will be performed along with singing, dancing and costume shows. (Photo by China Photos/Getty Images)

Aerial dancers from Voloa, perform a dress rehearsal ahead of their performance at the opening night of Salisbury International Arts Festival on May 20, 2011 in Salisbury, England. The 39th Salisbury International Arts Festival runs from tonight until Saturday 4 June 2011 and features a programme of theatre, dance, circus, film, music, comedy and spoken word in locations around the historic city, from Salisbury Cathedral to Stonehenge. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

A man dressed as a zombie poses during the Thrill The World 2009 event, which sees fans from all over the world dance simultaneous to Michael Jackson's “Thriller” at Luna Park on October 25, 2009 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)

Occupy Denver protesters dance on an American flag on November 5, 2011 in Denver, Colorado. Hundreds of the demonstrators marched through downtown Denver, denouncing the U.S. Federal Reserve and urging customers to close their accounts with large banks and deposit their funds into local credit unions. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

The mystifying flow of motion. We can rarely appreciate its beauty. Though there are ways to capture it on film, allowing us to marvel at its complexity. Stephen Orlando is a photographer who takes pleasure highlighting the magnificence of aquatic sports by using the brilliance of light. The beauty of the images that he creates comes not only from the composition of the photo, but also from the way Stephen managed to show the color transitions between each stroke of the kayaker. Even the rapids do not stand in the way of the marvelous dance of light. (Photo by Stephen Orlando)

Street photographer Yassine Alaoui Ismaili follows 16-year-old Emeer Guesmi, aka B-boy Zulu Rema, as he trains and performs breakdance moves – all without the use of his legs. At a breakdance championship in Tunisia, Casablanca-based street photographer Yassine Alaoui Ismaili noticed an unusual competitor: Emeer Guesmi, dancing without the aid of his lower legs. He started following him as he trained and performed. (Photo by Yassine Alaoui Ismaili/The Guardian)