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Pūrākau (Māori Myths and Legends)

Explore Māori culture through pūrākau about creation myths including; gods, goddesses, whenua, taniwha, Ranginui and Papatūānuku, the exploits of Māui, the voyage of Kupe and the discovery of Aotearoa. 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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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...

Mokoia Island from Ohinemutu

Mokoia Island from Ohinemutu

Painting titled Mokoia Island from Ohinemutu by Charles Blomfield.

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.

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 pūrakau or legends of the land.

Māori mythologies of creation

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

Māori legends and myths

Three 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.

Many Answers has relevant links to Māori myths and legends.

Maui fishing New Zealand out of the ocean

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.

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.

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).

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.

Battle of the mountains

The mountains in the central North Island once fought a great battle for the hand of Pīhanga.

Pania of the Reef

Pania of the Reef

Population clubs aimed to increase urban populations. The Napier 30,000 Club organised a range of activities and projects with a view to making the town a more attractive place to live and do busin...

Ngā Atua Māori

Te Orokotīmatanga o te Ao is the story of the creation of the universe according to Māori.

This representation of Tūmatauenga is from a work entitled 'Te wehenga o Rangi raua ko Papa' (the separation of Rangi and Papa) at Te Puna Mātauranga, the National Library. In tribal tradition Tūma...

Poutini and Waitaiki

Poutini and Waitaiki

Poutini is the name of the taniwha that, according to legend, swims up and down the West Coast, protecting both the people and the mauri (life force) of pounamu (greenstone) that is characteristic ...

Hinemoa’s swim

Hinemoa clings to a stump known as Hinewhata during her legendary swim to Mokoia Island to meet her beloved, Tūtānekai. This stump was placed in Lake Rotorua as a symbol of the mana (authority) hel...

The journey of Mt Taranaki

The journey of Mt Taranaki

In Māori tradition, Taranaki Maunga once dwelled with the other mountains – Ruapehu, Tongariro and Ngāuruhoe – in the centre of the North Island. He and Tongariro fought a titanic battle for the fa...

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Māori legends

Many Answers has relevant links to Māori myths and legends.

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