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Māori Myths and Legends

Explore Māori culture through the pūrākau about creation myths including and Ranginui and Papatūānuke, the exploits of Maui Kupe’s voyage and discovery of Aotearoa, and legends about gods, goddesses, places and taniwha. SCIS no. 1808309

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Mahuika and her fingernails of fire

Mahuika and her fingernails of fire

In one tradition Auahi-roa (a comet) married Mahuika – goddess of fire and the grandmother of Māui.

Māori religion and mythology

Digitised copy of Elsdon Best’s work Māori Religion and Mythology.

Māori myths and legends in clay

Māori myths and legends in clay

Māori myths and legends expressed in clay by Lower Hutt sculptor Frances Wood.

Tiniru and Kae: a Māori legend

Newspaper article about the legend of Tinirau and Kae.

Fairy folk tales of the Māori

Māori legends of the “Patu-paiarehe” by James Cowen.

Māui

Carving of Māui capturing the sun. Māui was one of the great characters of Hawaiki, renowned for his daring.

Gods of the natural world

Gods of the natural world

Traditionally, Māori divided the natural world into realms ruled by various gods. These gods, the children of Ranginui (sky) and Papatūānuku (earth), were seen as the original kaitiaki (guardians) ...

Matariki story – Ngāti Toa Rangatira

Matariki story – Ngāti Toa Rangatira

Hear the Matariki story of Ngāti Toa Rangatira iwi (tribe), retold for children by kaumātua (elder) Te Waari Carkeek.

The little New Zealand mermaid

The little New Zealand mermaid

The story of the Little Mermaid is being retold in a new way at the Court Theatre these school holidays.

Hatupatu’s rock

Hatupatu’s rock

A distinctive rock by the side of State Highway 1 is significant to Māori for its role in the story of Hatupatu.

Māori myths & legends with a love theme

Māori myths & legends with a love theme

Peter Dowling on New Zealand place names and their links to Māori myths and legends.

Newspaper article about the opera ‘Hinemoa’ performed in 1915.

Hinemoa and Tutanekai sculpture

Hinemoa and Tutanekai sculpture

A sculpture of Hinemoa and Tutanekai in Rotorua.

A legend of the Whanganui river

A legend of the Whanganui river

This documentary film tells the story of the Whanganui River. It recounts a Māori myth believing the river is the path carved by a god.

The Gods of the ancient Māori world

The Gods of the ancient Māori world

Discusses the Māori gods of pre-European times.

Ranginui – the sky: Polynesian myths

Traditionally, Māori divided the natural world into realms ruled by various gods. These gods, were the children of Ranginui (sky) and Papatūānuku (earth).

Kūmara whakapapa

This kūmara whakapapa (genealogy) shows how kūmara is descended from Rongo-māui and Pani-tinaku.

Māui legend

Māori family (ancestors of the Reiri family) outside a whare puni (small communal sleeping house) at Mangaakuta, a hamlet near Masterton. The legend regarding the fishing of the North Island byMāu...

Stage set for Hinemoa

Stage set for Hinemoa

A stage set for Hinemoa as performed at the City Hall Auckland

Hinemoa

Shows a naked Hinemoa walking thigh-deep through water, towing two gourds on a string around her waist, and dipping her left hand in the water. At the top left is a constellation of stars and these...

Mokoia Island from Ohinemutu

Mokoia Island from Ohinemutu

Painting titled Mokoia Island from Ohinemutu by Charles Blomfield.

Māui

A group of men representing oil companies, and the New Zealand Prime Minister Norman Kirk are pulling on the ropes of a net to drag to shore a Māori ancestor figure, Māuii, who holds a flaming tor...

How Māui slowed the sun

A famous Māori legend from the animated series, A Māui te tipua - Māui, the enchanted.

Top 5 Māori gods

Video about the five famous Māori gods.

Rona in the moon

Poem about the legend Rona and the Moon.

Myths and Legends of Te Tau Ihu

Te Tau Ihu myths about events in the history of the South Island.

Māori myths and legends to live by

A recent article celebrating te reo Māori and famous parakau or legends of the land.

Mataora Moko - Robley: Te Ropere, 1840—1930

The designs of Maori male facial tattooing commonly known as Moko, are also referred to as Mataora Moko. Mataora is the Mythical figure attributed with venturing into Rarohenga (the Underworld), br...

Māori mythologies of creation

Tales from the mythologies of creation, including Maui and Aoraki.

Māori legends and myths

Four popular Māori Myths and Legends.

Māori creation story in sand art

Marcus Winter is an indigenous artist of New Zealand, and is the only "performance painter" of his kind in Australasia and the Pacific.

Māori legends

Many Answers has relevant links to Māori myths and legends.

Tiki carving

A photograph and information about a tiki carved from pounamu.

Pania Of The Reef

Pania Of The Reef

A photograph of the Pania Of The Reef statue in Napier, New Zealand.

Maui fishing

Maui fishing New Zealand out of the ocean

Myth lesson plans

Myths are the oldest and most powerful of all story forms.

Ngāpuhi - Our Origins

The epic story about the origins of Ngāpuhi.

Myths around Welcome Bay and Pāpāmoa Tauranga

Myths surrounding the hills around Welcome Bay and Pāpāmoa in the Tauranga area.

Cape Reinga and the spirits’ flight.

Legends of Cape Reinga, Northland.

Māori myths, legends and contemporary stories

A collection of myths and legends alongside contemporary stories reflecting themes relevant to today's world.

Kupe's travels around Aotearoa

Kupe names Matiu (Somes) Island and Makaro (Ward) Island after his daughters.

The spirit’s flight

Cape Reinga-Spirits Bay region of the Far North has great significance for Māori.

The significance of Maui in Māori myths and legends.

Whenua – how the land was shaped

Māori myths about how New Zealand was shaped.

Phantom Canoe of Lake Tarawera

A phantom canoe that warns of impending destruction.

Taniwha Poutini and the pounamu

The significance of the pounamu and the myth surrounding it.

Flight mythology

Tohunga(Priests) see manu atua (bird gods or kites) as messengers between heaven and earth.

Māori myths and legends

Maori myth and legend resources for the New Zealand classroom.

Discovery myths of New Zealand

Paul Moon explores some of the historical, cultural, and philosophical bases of NZ's discovery myths.

Find more information on this topic on EPIC. Databases recommended: New Zealand Geographic, Australia New Zealand Reference Centre Plus. School login maybe required.

Tarakura of the Rangitaiki Plains. School Journal Year 6: Level 3: 2012

A chief is determined to stop a taniwha terrorising the people of Ngati Awa. School login is required.

Legends of Rangitoto according to Tainui.

Te Rangi-i-totongia-ai-te-ihu-o-Tamatekapua (the day that Tamatekapua had a bloody nose).

Māori myths and legends

A set about Māori myths and legends.

An East Coast version of the Kae-Tutunui myth

Mohi Ruatapu and Henare Potae, of the East Coast relate the story as their elders told it.

The myth about Rangitoto Island

A myth about Rangitoto island in the Auckland harbour.

Three favourite Māori legends

Hinemoa and Tutanekai, Te Ika a Maui and the creation of the first woman Hineahuone.

Māori creation traditions

A Māori interpretation on how the world was created.

The Children of Waitaiki

In the myths and legends of the Ngai Tahu people, Poutini was a water spirit they called a Taniwha.

Legends of the Māori

An early New Zealand book of Māori myths and legends.

The Story of Ponga and Puhihuia

Stories telling how a young man of humble birth falls in love with a beautiful high-born girl are as old as the human race.

The legend of Rangitoto Island

The legend of Te Rangi-i-totongia-ai-te-ihu-o-Tamatekapua (the day that Tamatekapua had a bloody nose).

The Battle of the mountains- a story of great love

Tongariro’s battles other mountains for the hand of Pihanga.

Taniwha – unique to New Zealand

Taniwha – unique to New Zealand

A set of images, articles, videos and audio about the supernatural taniwha and the mystery surrounding them.

Traditional Māori religion – ngā karakia a te Māori

Māori believed that nature and supernatural were one.

Maui - the demigod

Maui - the demigod

This is a set of images, audio and videos on Maui and his significance to Māori mythology.

The Battle of the mountains

Tongariro’s battles with other mountains for the hand of Pihanga.

The legend of Rangitoto Island

Te Rangi-i-totongia-ai-te-ihu-o-Tamatekapua (the day that Tamatekapua had a bloody nose).

Māori Myths, Legends and Contemporary Stories

Collection of myths and legends alongside contemporary stories reflecting themes relevant to today's world.

Taniwha – unique to New Zealand

A set of images, articles, videos and audio about the supernatural taniwha and the mystery surrounding them.

Myths and Legends

Myths and Legends

Discover the connection between myths and science, history and religion. These resources cover legends from around the world from the past and include monsters, fairies, signs, ghosts, superstition...

Matariki

The rise of the cluster of Pleiades in winter sky marks the beginning of the Māori New Year. Understand the significance, traditions, and how Matariki is celebrated in New Zealand through kai like ...